Will we see dedicated gaming handsets from other manufacturers? It's hard to say. Aside from Sony Ericsson, no phone manufacturer has any track record in the gaming world. And Nintendo has said publicly that it has no interest in making mobile devices, so there's no competition from that quarter (though you can play on your Android phone via an emulator). Microsoft's mobile XBox Live is one of the best features of , so we would love to see Redmond work with an OEM to develop a dedicated gaming phone.

The iPhone 4 was the first phone to ship with a gyroscope, but Android phones are following suit, starting with the , which launched earlier this year. Most top-of-the-line Android smartphones are likely to have them this year.

So what do gyroscopes do for gaming? Many mobile games use the accelerometer for motion control, meaning that you tilt and move your phone to control the game. For example, in the iPhone-only game, you tilt your phone to roll the Katamari ball through the various levels.

A gyroscope provides greater precision and accuracy thatn an accelerometer for controlling your phone. It also permits developers to make richer, more immersive motion-controlled games. For example, in first-person shooter games like , you can aim your weapon by tilting the phone subtly. Now that more Android phones are shipping with gyroscopes, we hope to see games of similar quality on the platform.