While these stats are certainly encouraging, the older versions of Android are still dominating the Android eco-spher.  Let’s hope this changes with all the new handsets dropping this summer.

Wondering if your new HTC Desire will be getting Android 2.2? Yeah, so are we!  Well, according to HTC if your Android handset was made in 2010, it has a very good chance of seeing the Froyo upgrade (yay!).  The Desire, Droid Incredible, My Touch Slide, HTC Legend, as well as future models are a definite.  When this happens is anyone’s guess, but expect it to occur in the second half of 2010 at the earliest. For those who don’t want to wait you can always root!

Here is a portion of the official HTC statement regarding Froyo upgrades:

[...] if your phone was launched this year, we will most likely offer an upgrade for it to the Froyo version. This includes popular models like the Desire and Droid Incredible as well as hotly anticipated phones like the Evo 4G, MyTouch slide and upcoming models. We will announce a full list of phones and dates once we are closer to launching the upgrades. We are working closely with Google and our other partners to ensure we have the earliest access to everything we need to provide a complete and solid Sense experience on Froyo. We expect to release all updates in the second half of this year but can’t be more specific yet.

At a glance, the Devour has a similar form to the Droid. Inside, however, this phone is a very different beast.

Motorola Devour: The Hardware

Like the Droid, the Motorola Devour features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The two phones’ similarities pretty much end there.

The Devour has a 3.1-inch, 320-by-480 pixel touchscreen. The resolution is comparable to the iPhone but lower than the Droid, which boasts a 3.7-inch, 480-by-854 pixel display. While specifics about the Devour’s processor have yet to be revealed, the phone is expected to be more of a midrange Android option compared to Droid’s higher-end status. It’s rumored to run on the Qualcomm 600-MHz MSM7627.

The Devour has an optical trackpad directly beneath its display. It’s said to pack a 3-megapixel camera with digital zoom, along with an accelerometer and dual microphones for noise cancellation. The Devour comes preloaded with an 8GB microSD card.

Motorola Devour: The Software

Motorola’s Devour will offer a drastically different software experience than the Droid and many other Android phones. Like the Cliq, the Devour comes with Motorola’s Motoblur interface on top of the stock operating system. It’ll be the first Android device on Verizon to feature the Motoblur skin.

Motoblur changes the very look and feel of the phone, adding live streams of information onto the home screen through a series of custom widgets. Social network status updates, e-mail, and other messaging tools are all integrated into the desktop with a unique graphical look not seen in the standard Android OS. Motoblur also provides automated backups of user data and phone settings.

One possible software downside: Reports suggest the Devour will ship with Android 1.6 rather than the more recent Android 2.1 release that debuted on the Nexus One or even the Android 2.0 release introduced with the Droid. Motorola has yet to confirm this.

If the Devour does ship with Android 1.6, one would imagine that a 2.1 update would be rolled out at some point in the coming months. With that said, though, Verizon and Motorola have yet to update any other Android handsets to 2.0 or 2.1 thus far, so it’s tough to say how long the wait might be.

Pricing of the Devour hasn’t yet been released, but most analysts expect the Devour’s to sell for less than the Droid’s $199.99 pricetag. As you might expect, a Verizon voice and data plan will be required with all Devour purchases. The cheapest possible option will be about $70 a month.

Who will continue to rule the cell phone roost? Symbian, according to the research firm.

By 2013, IDC forecasts that worldwide shipments of smartphones will surpass 390 million units, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.9 percent.

“Mobile operating systems have become the key ingredient in the highly competitive mobile device market. Although the overall look and feel of the device will still play an important role in the buying process, the wrong choice of operating system coupled with an awkward user interface can mean the difference between success and failure,” said Stephen D. Drake, vice president, Mobility and Telecom, in prepared remarks.

Key takeaways from the report:

• Symbian will remain the No. 1 mobile OS worldwide, thanks to Nokia’s strength outside the U.S.
• Android will experience the fastest growth of any mobile operating system: from 690,000 units in 2008 to 68.0 million units by 2013 (that’s 150.4 percent compound annual growth).
• Linux and webOS handsets “will struggle.” Android will suck most of the life out of other Linux platforms and Palm’s webOS, despite steady growth, will be limited by restrained deployment and availability of devices across multiple carriers.

No mention of BlackBerry overlords RIM in the announcement, but judging by Android’s growth, that’s not a good sign for them, either.

Either way, there’s no way development market can sustain so many different platforms. And with Symbian (and Nokia) resting on its innovation laurels, it’s no surprise Android stands to benefit.

The IDC report is called “Worldwide Mobile OS 2009-2013 Forecast and Analysis.”