7 Weirdest Android Phones and Devices of 2011 Volume 5: watches, Walkman, smallest, and more

Welcome to volume 5 of 7 Weirdest Android Devices of 2011! As new Android devices hit the market, they get stranger and weirder every day! Here we bring you some of the oddest Android devices on the market!

This time, we have:

• Android Watch (yep, you wear it!)
• Android Walkman (official from Sony)
• Droid Prime / Nexus Prime, first Ice Cream Sandwich device?
• A Minecraft Phone?!
• Amazon's Android Tablet... But not Android as you know it...
• A 5.3 inch diagonal "mini tablet", or a very large phone?
• Android car stereo! Really!

Be sure to check out the rest of the series for even MORE odd Android devices!

Any way, let us get started! First up...

SmartPhone's not enough, now we have SmartWatch.

Certainly this is not the first "SmartWatch", as people have strapped small computers to their wrist before. However, this is the first Android device specifically marketed as a watch, albeit, one that will run apps. According to the Italian website, this watch will come in at least FOURTEEN colors (7 plastic, 7 semi-metal), run apps, have connectivity (what type is still unknown), and can stream music (presumably, play through stereo Bluetooth headphones / headsets ).

Right now there are no actual pictures, only artist renderings. However, there's no reason why this can't be made. If so, this will be the smallest Android device yet, beating out even the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini.

Are you intrigued? I am. Find out more at the watch maker's website

http://www.imwatch.it/en/smartwatch/features/

And here's a bit more information from Gizmodo

http://gizmodo.com/5828643/not-another-nano-watchthis-ones-running-android?tag=androidapps

Technically Sony isn't the first to make a music player out of Android. That would be Samsung's Galaxy Player, but that's South Korea only. This Sony Walkman will be released world-wide.

This Android Walkman, which has yet to receive an actual model number or name, is an official Sony Walkman product, and is basically Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, albeit without the phone. (Hmmm... hints of iPod Touch? ) It has the standard 3.5mm audio jack, plus Bluetooth, but also mini-HDMI and DLNA for supported devices so the content can be played / streamed onto big screen TVs and such.

The music app has been enhanced through Sony's proprietary classification engine so you can just pick songs by the mood. It will automatically check your library (and the songs you have acquired through its music service) and classify the songs for you, no manual tagging required. (Such a service had been long available on their VAIO laptops)

PC Magazine has a hands-on report on the Sony Android Walkman

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392278,00.asp

Details just emerged about the first ever device to use Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"... Boy Genius Report states that Verizon has opted NOT to sell a variant of the Samsung Galaxy S 2 as all the other major carriers (Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile) have opted to. Instead, a source disclosed to BGR that Verizon decided that a variant of GS2 will not be competitive with the upcoming launch of iPhone 5, and opted for a phone that is even better.

BGR reported that this phone will be called Droid Prime.

In related news, Geek.com reported that Samsung legal team have disclosed that Samsung is working on a "Nexus Prime" when they sent a cease and desist letter to a team about to leak firmware that belonged to this device.

Read more about whatever "Prime" this device may be over at Boy Genius Report

http://www.bgr.com/2011/08/29/verizon-wireless-exclusively-launching-samsung-droid-prime-in-october/

Minecraft is a fun game, and amazing indie effort, but make a PHONE out of it?

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play, i.e. Playstation Phone, will have Minecraft as an exclusive for a while, so apparently they made this limited edition phone as part of a promo, and gave it away during a convention.

The winner promptly put it up on eBay. If you want it, too late. Final bid was $1525.

Find out a little more about this phone at Ubergizmo

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/08/limited-edition-minecraft-xperia-play/

Amazon's upcoming Kindle tablet wasn't the first Android based eReader, but looks like it will be the first to be wildly successful. Barnes & Noble's Nook series just isn't quite as competitive.

TechCrunch has the first exclusive hands-on preview, and things are impressive. It will be 7 inches diagonal, no camera, and cost $250, period. Launch version will be WiFi only.

Physically, it was described as similar form factor as a Blackberry Playbook, with the same kind of rubbery back, though it will probably be beige / white like the other Amazon Kindles.

And it does run Android, albeit a heavily customized version of Android, with NO buttons, only multi-touch gestures.

Read the TechCrunch report here:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/

Samsung's Galaxy Note, at 5.3" inches diagonal is now the largest phone ever, beating the previous champion, Dell Streak 5 (5 inch screen). Though Samsung insists it's not a phone, but merely a very small tablet. To emphasize this, the Galaxy Note will come with a stylus.

As of now it's sporting built-in 16 GB of flash memory, dual core 1.4 GHz CPU, Bluetooth 3.0, 2 MP front camera and 8 MP back camera, and lots of other goodies. It's available for pre-order in the UK, and no idea when delivery will begin.

Find out more on TechRadar:

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-note-uk-pre-orders-begin-1016061

You know it will happen sooner or later... The car stereo gets smarter, and now here comes the first car stereo that runs Android OS, the Parrot ASTEROID.

Parrot is a pretty interesting car and audio accessories maker and had several very good hands-free kits for cars. They also make the amazingly fun AR.Drone, the RC quad-copter that you can fly by remote from a smartphone.

This car stereo will do FM, line in, SD card, Bluetooth, iPod dock connector, USB port, and when the module becomes available, Internet streaming. It also has full hands-free voice recognition and syncs contacts with your phone.

And yes, it will have apps, though it's probably "Points of Interest" type apps.

Initial MSRP is $350, and some modules may cost extra, as will the apps.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/08/24/parrot-asteroid-the-worlds-first-android-powered-car-unit-launches-this-october-for-349/

This is the end of Volume 5, Weirdest Android Devices 2011. I expect at least one more edition before end of the year comes around.

Android world is welcoming more and more members every day, and some of the devices are truly weird! Stay tuned!