In the fourth quarter of 2010 Europeans snapped up 7.9 million Android-powered phones, compared to 470,000 during the final quarter of 2009. This places Android comfortably ahead of both Apple and RIM, who shipped 5.2 million and 4.8 million phones respectively.

Burlingame, Calif. – March 09, 2011 – OpenFeint, the leading cross platform social gaming network, and The9, an online game operator and developer in China, today announced a new way for top game developers to help fund their move to Android. The initiative is backed by the $100 million Fund9, a Chinese-based mobile internet development fund. OpenFeint and The9 will review and select top games and will fund their port to Android and OpenFeint integration. The companies will also pick select games to expand to China and willfacilitate their localization.

Games will be chosen based on the quality of the game, past download performance in other app stores, and the strength of the game developer. Interested developers should email androidfund@openfeint.com to express interest and learn more about the opportunity.

“We launched on Android to bring gamers great content. We’ve already helped launch 250 great games, but there’s still work to do,” said Eros Resmini, VP of Marketing at OpenFeint. “There’s a treasure trove of great games on iOS waiting for the rest of the world to discover. This fund will help make that possible for indie game developers.”

The $100 million Fund9 is a Chinese-based development fund that invests in mobile app, game engine, and platform technology developers around the world. Announced last December, the fund is a collaboration amongThe9, China Rock Capital Management, Chengwei Ventures, and China Renaissance K2 Ventures.

“Fund9 is focused on bringing the best mobile apps and platform technologies to China. Our partnership with OpenFeint is a great first step. We are excited to see some great games on Android devices in China soon,” said Chris Shen, Vice President at The9.

OpenFeint is the largest cross platform social gaming network with over 68 million players in 4,800 games. Launched just last September on Android, OpenFeint already has spawned several top 10 Android hits, including Fruit Ninja, Super KO Boxing 2, and Flick Kick Field Goal Kickoff.

The9, established in 1999 as one of the leading game developers and operators in China, has stepped into the mobile internet field and now working with major telecom carriers and application distribution channels in China with high speed growth.

Woah... The beginning of affordable mobile prices?

Check out this Virgin Mobile deal: only $25 prepaid with unlimited data/text/web.


http://androidandme.com/2011/03/carr...-25-per-month/

Now we're talking...

I wonder if it's possible to use the SIM in another phone (assuming there is a SIM).

For these prices, it would pay to get the phone for the SIM alone...

Virgin Mobile runs on the Sprint network (CDMA) so no sim card. However, I believe the Optimus V can easily be setup to be a wifi hotspot and share your "unlimited" data.

I wish one of the GSM providers would do a similar option to use in my N900.