Motorola has sent out “save-the-date” notices for an Android-themed press event on Sept. 10 that is likely to see the announcement of the company's first two Android phones, says eWEEK. The manufacturer is expected to announce a “Sholes” smartphone, destined for Verizon Wireless and/or a “Morrison” model, headed for T-Mobile, says the story.

The Motorola invitation (pictured below) includes the now familiar Android icon. Together with the timing, which matches previously announced plans to ship two Android phones for the holidays, the invite suggests that Mot's long-awaited Android phone(s) will soon be officially confirmed.

Motorola's "save-the-date" announcement

Over the last month, rumors and leaked photos of Motorola Android phones have popped up around the web. The first to be revealed was the Sholes phone (an image published by Engadget is shown, below left). More recently, several sites claiming to have inside info, including Android and Me, have confirmed the Sholes and also revealed details on an upcoming Morrison phone, says an earlier eWEEK report by Michelle Maisto.

According to the eWEEK story, Android and Me reported that the Morrison will feature a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of flash, and a MicroSD slot supporting up to 32GB. The Morrison is said to support both GSM and W-CDMA networks, while other claimed features include a 480 x 320 pixel display, WiFi, GPS, accelerometers, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, and a five megapixel camera.

According to the report, the Sholes is said to have fairly similar features, but will offer a 3.7-inch touch-screen with a higher 854 by 480 resolution. The phone is also expected to run the next release of Android, called Eclair.

While most reports appear to suggest that the first carriers for Motorola's Android phones will be Verizon Wireless (Sholes) and T-Mobile (Morrison), Sprint executives have also stated an interest in fielding an Android phone, with CEO Dan Hesse suggesting the company is leaning toward a Motorola model. T-Mobile already offers the original HTC G1 phone, and recently introduced its own branded, HTC manufactured MyTouch 3G model.

Hero unpacked

Other Android phones expected to ship in time for the holidays include the HTC Hero, which will initially be offered in Europe prior to a worldwide release. Orange has committed to carry the phone in the U.K., and T-Mobile is rumored to be launching the Hero elsewhere in Europe.

Now, a beta user for the Hero, "Davedontmind," has posted some observations on AndroidCommunity.com about the phone, which is said to offer an HTC-developed "Sense" UI atop Android.

Mostly, Davedontmind does appear to mind a series of "niggles" about the Hero, posed as questions to fellow users who might also be checking out the new phone. He notes various problems with contacts sync, group ringtones, PocketPC compatibility, Windows sync, calendars, beep silencing, and wallpaper. Davedontmind concludes, "I love the phone so far," although he does not offer many reasons why.

Availability

The eWEEK story by Michelle Maisto on Motorola's save-the-date invite may be found here, and her earlier story on the Morrison phone may be found here.

The Hero forum post on AndroidCommunity.com from Davedontmind may be found here.

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