More Android Rollouts

It's been a while since we revisited the army of new Google (GOOG) smartphones hitting the streets, so let's check in with the latest batch to challenge Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and the BlackBerry. To wit:

Motorola has announced that its new crop of Android-based smartphones will hit the stores by the holiday season, in what many industry experts think could be the mobile phone company's Hail Mary pass to stay in the game. PC World writer David Coursey likes Motorola's chances, given its powerful brand name, and thinks that the big loser in this market could well be Microsoft. "There was a time when it appeared Windows Mobile and Apple's iPhone would battle it out for smartphone supremacy," he writes. "Those days seem long ago, however, and Redmond's inability to compete with Google's Android OS or the iPhone or BlackBerry render Microsoft a wireless afterthought."

HTC, the Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer that rolled out the first Android smartphone with T-Mobile, has just churned out the first copies of Hero, its latest Android phone iteration. The phones will hit the European and Asian markets next month and will make their way to North America later this year.

And then there's T-Mobile itself, which is about to introduce its latest Android offering, the Mytouch 3G. For the American market, this phone is generating the most buzz of any of the Android devices. But how will it do in the crowded marketplace? Silicon Alley Insider's Dan Frommer is not impressed. "In the era of a $99 Apple iPhone $199 iPhone 3G S, there's nothing here that makes this a must-have phone," he writes. "Unless T-Mobile and Google do something radical—such as offering the phone for $49 or free, or making monthly service much cheaper than $65+ a month—it is not going to attract a whole lot of would-be iPhone buyers."

On the other hand, ChannelWire blogger Steven Burke thinks that Android has a number of features that could make it a game-changer. It learns from what you do, for example, and uses your browsing history to suggest stores, products, and restaurants you might like. The ease with which developers can submit apps is a contrast with the iPhone store, and Google's endless tinkering with the software means updated phones come to market faster and faster.

"[Steve] Jobs can crow all he wants that the new iPhone 3G S has sold 1 million units in its first three days," Burke writes. "He says customers are voting, and the iPhone is winning. That Jobs' boast is nothing more than a sign that he is worried sick about Google and Android. Look out, Steve. Google Android is set to rain on your iPhone parade."