Here are a few interesting innovations of Google's upcoming smartphone platform. It seems that Symbian and Windows Mobile will have some fairly stiff competition when Android finally goes live. For example, you probably know about the "slide to unlock" function found on the Apple iPhone. For that, you provide a single swipe across an appropriate section of the screen and then you get access to the main menu. For Google Android, there is a 3x3 grid of dots that you can connect in a specified manner. In the video, the Google rep draws a G. By allowing a custom swipe, Android adds an extra level of security too.

Another interesting feature is the ability to pull down the status bar at the top of the screen. Normal stuff like battery life remaining and signal strength are displayed, but when you see a little envelope at the top, that could mean a text message, an MMS, or an email. Pulling that bar down tells you exactly what the envelope means and who the message is from.