Android will be making another splash on Verizon Wireless, courtesy of the enV Touch 2, the follow up to the original enV Touch that used LG's proprietary OS. The enV series has been a popular consumer-oriented feature phone series for Verizon, and by adding Android to the enV Touch 2, LG is helping to expand the scope of Google's mobile operating system to reach more consumers.

The device is reported to sport a landscape, oriented clamshell form factor, similar to a laptop, that will feature dual touchscreens—one on the outside and one on the inside to be used with the hardware keyboard. The device is said to be big and heavy, but will be offered as a world phone.

While Motorola is helping to push Android mainstream by introducing smartphones at the upper end of the spectrum on the Droid brand, LG and Verizon are doing the same on the consumer end, which may be just as important for Google's market penetration. Android is available as an open-source OS, and it isn't surprising to see the OS being pushed down into the consumer segment. All LG needs to do now is add a compelling UI overlay, which would probably require about the same amount of development work as its own proprietary OS, if not less. Additionally, Android will provide more powerful features, such as a larger market for applications, which will drive more traffic on Verizon.

As we see Android going into the consumer segment, we're reminded that the phone market is not yet mature. While smartphones are getting incremental upgrades that may not seem revolutionary with each hardware generation, there's an untapped market of advanced feature phones that may get a brain transplant to run a smartphone OS, such as that of the enV Touch 2.

Photo shown above is of the original enV Touch.

(via: Engadget)