Google’s Nexus One may be the speed king of the smartphone hill at the moment, but alleged leaks are showing that a newer and even more powerful HTC smartphone may already be in the works.  The rumored HTC Scorpion (may be codenamed “Olympian”), is supposedly equipped with a 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor running Android 2.2.

First there was Cupcake, then Donut,  Éclair, then Froyo.  And now hopes for “Gelatin” being the name of the next version of Android have been dashed, as Google’s “G” codename turns out to be “Gingerbread”.

The HTC Legend seems to have gained a taste for the camera; after being spotted in the wild yesterday, we’ve now had another leaked photo of the Android smartphone drop into our inbox.  From this side-on view, the slab-sided thickness of the Legend is on show; it looks a little chunkier than the HTC Hero.

Update: Picture looks to have come from @Xmoo on Twitter; thanks @ardoudwokke for the heads-up

Remember the Motorola MOTOSPLIT render that leaked back in late January?  According to an Android Community source, you’re looking at another design image of the upcoming Android smartphone, complete with its QWERTY keyboard.

While our source requested to remain anonymous, they did give us some information regarding the MOTOSPLIT’s unusual design. Apparently it will have a two-way sliding, split keyboard, and keys that can change their legends:

An updated version of Google Maps (3.4.0) is now available in the Android Market.

Additionally, Google will release Android 2.1 Update 1, which will allow handset manufacturers to add multitouch to the browser, maps, and gallery on any device with compatible hardware, according to PC Magazine.

[Android Market, PC Magazine]

Alexandria, VA, February  05, 2010 - ThinkFun Inc., the leading creator of mind-challenging games, announces the much awaited and highly anticipated launch of its original Rush Hour as an Android application, available for free in the Android Market beginning today.

“Our customers around the world have been asking for a Rush Hour app, the i-phone version was introduced in November 2009, and now the Android application joins the Rush Hour family” says Bill Ritchie, ThinkFun co-founder and CEO.

Rush Hour is the smartest and most challenging logic puzzle on the Android platform and is packed with exclusive features, such as:

Google’s getting all misty-eyed with their new Android smartphone -  the Nexus One’s conception and design is portrayed in a 4-minute long wrap-up video (first of an upcoming series of five), where we also get a passing glimpse at two new never-before-seen N1 docks.

Telus, one of the leading Canadian telecom giants,  has made an official announcement that they will soon be including the Motorola Milestone in their mobile device lineup.  Looks like the Canucks will finally get their first device with 480×854 resolution.

Fennec ‘s not out anytime soon yet, but it looks like they’re testing the full Firefox interface on Android at the moment, not any mobile version – but the real deal.

Motorola have officially announced the DEVOUR, their latest Android smartphone for Verizon’s network.  The Motorola DEVOUR is another QWERTY slider, with a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen and the company’s MOTOBLUR social networking interface.

If you’re getting impatient waiting for the major Google update to be forwarded to your Nexus One smartphone, Android Forums have cooked up some directions letting you manually update the Nexus One, finally allowing you to play around with multitouch, Google Goggles, and even possibly getting rid of the 3G issues that have reportedly plagued many N1 units so far.

Playing second fiddle at times to iPhone apps, Android apps sometimes get criticized for attempting to imitate features found in already existing iPhone functionalities as well as applications.  This iPhone app reverses that.

Not fond of the stock web browser on your Android-powered device?  We have some good news indeed – the first beta version of Firefox for Android (codename Fennec) may just be launching in February.  Firefox is currently one of the most popular online browsers, and this is both a push toward an increasing level of mobile browsing for Firefox as well as their future plans for the Android platform.

I’m sure that most of you have iPhone-toting friends (or maybe you’re one too).  It’s getting hard to bear Apple users that have access to a wealth of games in the App Store, while we sit quietly and look over their shoulders.  But Google and the Game Developers Conference are determined to change that.