Millions of CDMA handset customers running Android will be left in the dark without full support according to a statement Google posted on Google Groups saying that the Chocolate Factory won’t be providing support for CDMA devices. Many Verizon customers were shocked when they heard the news, leaving them wondering the fate of their handheld devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

“For various technical reasons, recent CDMA Android devices implement core telephony functionality in .apk files provided in binary form by the carriers,” said the posting from Google last Friday. “To function correctly, these .apk files must be signed by the so-called ‘platform’ key. However, when an individual creates a custom build from the AOSP source code, they don’t use the same signing key as these CDMA flies were signed with. The result is that these files don’t work properly, and pure AOSP builds running on these devices can’t place calls, access mobile data, and so on.”

The news has created a frenzy of protest among customers with many pointing to the ongoing battle between Google and Verizon over the Google Wallet payment system. Google attempted to clear the air of panic on Monday stated that only custom builds will be effected, major devices will continued to be supported.

A statement from Android engineer, Dan Morrill said, “just to be clear this change is only related to AOSP support for these devices – that is, personal custom builds. These are obviously still officially-supported Nexus devices for everyday use, they will receive official software updates, and so on. Similarly, these are still fully-supported development devices for app developers.”

This may reassure some but many users who love the customization of their handhelds still have unanswered questions. This also leaves many wondering the fate of word wide Android CDMA users including tablets running Android.

In 2009, Samsung introduced its new cellular phone model called the Samsung Blue Earth. It is a touch-screen phone packed with the usual features of Samsung cellular phones but with eco-friendly features. With just one click, the user will know how much pollution he may have contributed and how many trees were saved by using the new environmental phone.

The Samsung Blue Earth structure is made of materials recycled from plastic bottles or now known as post-consumer materials (PCM). It has built-in solar panels at the back which prolongs the battery life as it continues to charge every time it is exposed to the sun. Even its packaging is also made of recycled material. Samsung even encourage the cellular phone user to use the box into art projects. Samsung was indeed successful in developing an eco-friendly phone.

Due to the use of recycled materials and the solar panel, the Samsung Blue Earth is heavier than the other Samsung phones. This is a potential cause of concern to the users despite the compact design of the phone.

For some users, the slight heaviness of the phone is easily ignored as Samsung made the Blue Earth attractive to use especially with its color (blue!) and great design that makes it a real stand out from the crowd. Also, even if it is made of recycled materials, it has a design that can compete with high-end Samsung Phones.

One other concern for this phone is the fact that its structure is a bit fragile. Some users claimed that the Blue Earth breaks when they accidentally sat on it or when it falls from a relatively low end table. Some users found it irritating that they still have to remove the battery if they will change their SIM card or their microsd memory card.

Nevertheless, these concerns are pretty common to cell phone users. Of course, no one can expect that Blue Earth phone will be lighter with the solar panels built on it. Phones most probably will break if it will be sat down or if it fell from a high place. Blue Earth is not the only cellular phone which requires the battery to be removed first in order to get the memory card or the SIM card. The fact remains that this compact, recycled, eco-friendly cell will have a great impact in the environment and the society. In fact, there are environmentalists who encourage other phone companies to follow the ingenuity of Samsung Electronics. Some even suggest that instead of making new phones like the Blue Earth, why not have all other phones use recycled materials and make them into eco-friendly tech gadgets too.

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It’s not the antenna this time – it’s the battery. According to numerous (thousands) complaints at the Apple Support Communities forums, iPhone 4S users are claiming battery drainage at rates that range from 1%every 3-4 minutes to 10% overnight on standby.

Light usage has users claiming their batteries drain at about 12 to 35% every 30 minutes.

Theories are suggesting that the issue is a software one. Users who have upgraded their device to iOS 5 are reporting issues, leading experts to believe the problem might be attributed to a glitch in the software, and not in the actual guts of the iPhone.

Virgin Mobile announced that they are releasing an eco-friendly cell phone. Called the Samsung Restore, it is made from over 80% recyclable materials. Restore’s casing includes post-consumer recycled plastic and 83 percent of the phone is recyclable.

Samsung Restore is a full-feature messaging phone, offering a slide-out full QWERTY, 4-row keyboard, 2.0 MP camera and camcorder, and media player with microSD card slot.

The green packaging is now composed of 100% recycled plastic and uses almost 50% less plastic than prior packaging.

Eco-friendly and special versions of the Nokia C7 and the Nokia N8 have been announced. These new eco-friendly Nokia Symbian handsets will not look different and will come with an eco apps folder which will contain green content such as games and other third party applications.

The eco-friendly Nokia phone versions will also come in “minimal and 100% recycled” packaging. Additionally, the included start-up guides and manuals will be fit into one page to help Nokia use lesser paper.

Initially, these new eco-friendly Nokia handsets will be released in Spain via Movistar-Telefonica. The eco-friendly cellphones will also become available in other regions like the UK, Germany, Argentina and Peru soon.

Created by London designer Patrick Hyland, the Nokia E-Cu concept handset has a thermogenerator built in so that it can convert heat into energy. The copper outer layer, which is designed to look like dry, cracked earth, has engraved heatsinks which draw body heat energy to convert into charge.

Hyland worked the design up based on the fact that unwanted phone chargers produce around 51,000 tonnes of e-waste each year. The E-Cu concept aims to completely do away with the phone charger. As this is just a concept there is little chance of it getting made, since the technology is still dodgy at best. That said. its a good idea, so if Nokia or some other cell phone manufacturer likes the concept we may see a variation on this kind of thermogenerator cell phone in the future.

Motorola has recently announced that its eco-friendly Grasp will be offered by U.S. Cellular. The Motorola Grasp is a messaging phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and features threaded messaging, e-mail, an MP3 player, an optical trackpad, a 3.5 mm headset jack, Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a MicroSD card slot that can take up to 8GB cards. The Grasp is available now for $39.95 after a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate.

Motorola released the Grasp smartphone this week. The Grasp has a full QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3-megapixel camera, an MP3 player, a 3.5mm headset jack, messaging features, stereo Bluetooth, GPS, and a microSD card slot.

It also claims to boast an eco-friendly design, which Motorola promises is 100 percent recyclable. “GRASP is the newest device from Motorola to give back to the environment. Featuring eco design elements, Motorola GRASP is BFR and PCV free with a housing that is 100% recyclable at end of life,” the company states.

Sony Ericsson recently announced the new Cedar at CommunicAsia. It’s a cleanly designed phone that claims to give 3G connectivity at an undisclosed “affordable price”. With Cedar, users will be able to delve into social networking site anywhere with tri-band 3G support and Widget Manager 2.0 that gives quick access to these sites.

Furthermore, the Cedar has email support, 2MP camera, FM Radio, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth and belongs to Sony Ericsson’s GreenHeart portfolio, which means it is created with keeping nature in mind with its low power consumption charger, e-manual, recycled plastic and waterborne paint.

Gray Powell is the unfortunate Apple Software Engineer who left his iPhone 4G device at a bar in Redwood City, and Gizmodo apparently paid someone 5000 dollars for it. Gizmodo held on to the mystery device before publishing an article that detailed their finders keepers prototype. Apple wants it back. Gizmodo gave a detailed report on lost device and the new features as well as industrial design of the device.

New physical features of the iPhone 4G model:

* Front-facing video chat camera
* Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
* Camera flash
* Micro-SIM (Like one used in iPad and not standard SIM)
* Improved display that is slightly smaller than the one in iPhone 3GS but may support higher resolution
* Secondary Mic for noise cancellation at the top, next to the headphone jack
* Separate buttons for volume up and down
* Metallic buttons for power, mute, and volume functions

We’ll see if Apple responds to the leak by releasing more details early, or maybe trashing the whole thing and starting from scratch with a new design. I hope not, because this one looks awesome.