Android 2.3

Sprint and LG have announced their third device for 2012, the "eco-friendly" LG Optimus Elite. The new smartphone will be launched on Earth Day (Sunday, April 22) exclusively through Sprint.com, followed by a bigger launch through additional channels on May 18.

Tree huggers will be happy to know that the device is only $29.99 with a new two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate. Of course a $30 smartphone is going to be lacking in the normal specification department, but the Elite is all about its eco-friendly features. Just like the LG Viper, the LG Optimus Elite is ULE Platinum certified, and is protected by a casing made of 50 percent recycled plastics. It's also free from hazardous materials, such as PVC, phthalates, halogens and mercury, and it ships with a EC Code of Conduct efficient charger that onle consumes 0.03 watts of power when plugged into a wall socket.

Sprint has announced that LG Viper pre-orders will begin on Thursday, April 12. This is the first 4G LTE device with eco-friendly features to be offered by the carrier. The LG Viper will be available later this month from all Sprint sales channels, Best Buy and RadioShack for $99.99 (with a new two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate).

The LG Viper features a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, mobile hotspot capabilities and a 4GB card microSD slot that supports up to 32GB. It ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The eco-friendly features include being ULE Platinum Certified, being made of 50 percent recycled plastic and shipping in 100 percent recyclable packaging.

Verizon has officially announced the LG Lucid 4G LTE mobile phone. Marketed towards first-time smartphone users the LG Lucid features an easy-to-use experience for only $79.99 (after a $50 mail-in rebate, with a new two-year customer agreement).

The LTE smartphone features a 4-inch touchscreen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread (with a promised Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade to follow), 5-megapixel rear-facing autofocus camera, full HD (1080p) video capture, front-facing camera for video chat, a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM.

Glasses free 3D technology made the HTC EVO 3D a very popular smartphone. Making it surprising that there is only one 3D tablet readily available in the world. The Hong-Kong based company Brando is the only retailer that offers this type of device. For $199 you can get the clunky named Gadmei T863 3D.

The Gadmei T863 3D features an 8-inch glasses free 3D capable lenticular display, 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and support for a wide variety of 2D and 3D photo and video formats. It runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but only features a 1GHz Arm Cortex A9 processor. Not bad for $200 considering it also offers 8GB of built-in storage, HDMI output, and a micro SDHC slot.

Selling 200,000 iPhone 4S pre-orders hasn't stopped AT&T from embracing Android. The carrier announced five new phones on Tuesday brining their total count of new Android devices to 19 for 2011.

Motorola Atrix 2

The Atrix 2 comes equipped with a 1 GHz dual core processor, access to 4G speeds and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It features a 4.3-inch qHD display, HD video capabilities, an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, and HSPA+ 21 Mbps radios. You can dock it to the HD Station and browse the web on any size HD TV or monitor using the Firefox browser.