Andy Rubin (dubbed by many “the father of Android”) is known as a straight-talking person – we all remember how he wrote off Windows Phone 7 before it was even released. However, that’s not to say that he can’t speak highly of Android’s rivals – and the example below illustrates it perfectly well.

When asked during the D: Dive Into Mobile show what his opinion on Apple is, Rubin was gentle (and we presume honest) in his response:

“I think everybody is embracing the iPhone. I think that Apple makes good consumer products and focuses on a robust consumer experience and consistency across applications. More recently, I see them getting involved in the other end of the mobile spectrum, which is services–the App Store, iTunes, etc. I think that when you move into the services business, it creates a lot of new opportunities. If the operating system is the razor, then services are the blades.”

Respect where it’s due, you know. Rubin seems to like to get his message across and he found some time to praise Apple, regardless of the fact that it’s Android’s main opponent in the OS battle. Classy.

source: Digital Daily

An official NFC Certification Program will be revealed tomorrow, just when Andy Rubin is rumored to announce Gingerbread with his keynote speech at the D: Dive into Mobile conference in San Francisco later today. The certification program details will be spilled at a two-day conference in France by the NFC Forum, which is behind the standardization and marketing of the NFC technology. Android 2.3 is supposed to natively support contactless payments and Near Field Communication (NFC) chips.

The newly minted blue logo, called the N-Mark, will be indicative of a place where you can tap your NFC-enabled phone and pay with it, gain access to public transport or offices, and receive information about a specific place or item in a store. We will keep an eye out for news from both conferences, and let you know anything interesting that comes out. Have a look at how NFC will work on phones, demonstrated by Eric Schmidt on a Google Nexus S in the first few minutes of the video below.

via Engadget

Best Buy enjoyed success with their October special “Free Phone Friday” and has reincarnated that promotion in the form of “Free Phone December” which will feature a phone on each of the four major networks for free a week at a time.

Verizon has seemed to be the network to have the best deals within the walls of Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile, and that remains the case as the HTC Droid Incredible will be available at no cost to new and existing customers with a qualifying two-year contract. This isn’t the first time Best Buy has offered this phone for cheap, as it also went to free during their October promotion and was sold for a measly buck over Black Friday weekend.

LG is getting some love on both T-Mobile and Sprint, as the Optimus T and the Optimus S won’t force you to tap into your bank account, or run up some more credit card debt. On AT&T, the Sony Ericcson Xperia X10, which is available in black and white (buying white gets you the exclusive Taylor Swift accessory pack, yippee), will also be getting the free treatment.

Not too bad, right? Best Buy has had some serious deals lately, and we all anticipate the deals only getting better as the holidays get closer and closer. Tell us what you think of the first week of “Free Phone December” in the comments below.

HP executive Jon Rubinstein sat down with Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs at the Churchill Club last night, to discuss the future of mobile technology. Rubinstein practically conceded the first top two spots in the battle amongst operating systems when he was asked to rate the current crop available. After admitting that iOS and Android are obviously selling like hotcakes, he said that the real battle will be for third place and, “We’d sure like to be that,” Rubinstein said.

Qualcom’s Jacobs noted that the limitations in battery life and bandwidth have held back smartphone development as the two have not kept up with all of the other things that are being accomplished. When it comes to bandwidth, Qualcom’s CEO said, “We don’t have enough spectrum right now. We are just going to have to be more creative about how we get content to the devices.” He did point out that both the industry and the government are working on ways to solve this problem. As for battery life, Jacobs noted how today’s smartphones can do all of these cool things but then the battery dies three-quarters of the way through the day. As a solution, he self-promoted Qualcom’s low power display technology it is producing with Mirasol.

Other topics of discussion included carriers. Rubinstein commented that the carriers will not be the only distribution point for wireless devices in the future. Both Rubinstein and Jacobs did agree that Augmented Reality is going to be big. The technology can be used to translate signs in foreign countries among other things.

Sticking to what they see in the next five years, both agreed that the smartphone will become a digital wallet with Jacobs predicting an end to all check-out lines. He also sees digital networked textbooks and a bigger role for smartphones in the healthcare industry,

source: AllThingsDigital

Electronic retail giant Best Buy has plenty of “online only” sales going on for cyber week, many of which are deals on phones, but the word on the street is that the same prices can be had in the stores thanks to their price matching.

According to our sources, Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile employees were told not to price match any of the online prices for cyber week. Shortly after, there was a retraction due to recent policy changes, meaning that Best Buy could not reject a customer wishing to match the online price.

Probably the best deal right now is the T-Mobile HTC G2, which is priced online as free with a two-year activation. AT&T also has a nice offer, as the Android-powered HTC Aria can also be had for no cost. The great thing is that these prices are instant with no mail-in rebates.

Of course, they have some pretty sexy deals going on within the walls of their stores already, such as the HTC HD7 for only $79.99. So if you saw a deal online that interests you (even if it is not phones) then head on over to your local Best Buy and avoid the hassle of shopping online and waiting for your product in the mail. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

A global online survey of the OS market conducted by GfK points which platforms have the most loyal customers. The research in which 2,653 mobile phone users from Brazil, Germany, Spain, Britain, the United States and China participated, shows that only Apple may feel safe for its market share. And as we all know Steve Jobs, it seems highly unlikely that he will allow any complacency in his company.

The research shows that due to the growing diversity in the high-end smartphone market, only 25% of the people who participated in the survey say that they will definitely continue to use the OS they are currently using. When it comes to loyalty, Apple is absolute leader with 59%. RIM is second with 35%, while a little bit surprisingly, users who stated that they will stick with the green Android robot are only 28%. Nokia’s Symbian OS and Microsoft’s mobile platform are at the bottom with 24% and 21% respectively.

Of course, things are bound to change as Nokia has a new CEO making changes and Microsoft has a new mobile OS. Yet, what do you make of these figures? Does it seem strange to you that RIM has such a high percent of loyalty around the world? Is it true that Android is lacking a loyal fanbase? Tell us now with your comments.

source: Reuters

In business for just a few weeks, the word in Tokyo is already out about Bar Android. Open only on Monday’s from 7:30 pm to 11:30pm, it has quickly become the place for Japanese Android users to go to unwind-at least for one day a week. Located in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, the bar can be patronized by anyone, even if you use a handset powered by a different platform.

Drinks and snacks are available for 500 Yen apiece (approximately $5.95 USD) and the menu includes little Gingerbread men. Not surprisingly, the person who came up with the idea is an Android user.

The Bar Android tells prospective customers not to worry about battery consumption since the club offers power supplies for patron’s phones. The club also has it’s own Facebook page (in Japanese, of course) and a Twitter account.

If you should find yourself in Tokyo and would like to visit, the Bar Android is located at 2F Udagawa-cho 37-14, Shibuya, Japan, 150-0042.

source: Asiajin

Sprint is expanding its 4G network with the addition of Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Miami and Washington DC to the portfolio of WiMAXed metropolitan areas.

The grand total of cities where you can use your HTC EVO 4G or Samsung Epic 4G, as well as other WiMAX gear from Sprint, amounts to sixty eight now. Another handset to use on this network is rumored to be the upcoming HTC Knight, with a 3.7″ screen and a slide-out keyboard, which might be a version of the T-Mobile G2 made for Sprint.

source: Sprint

In this day and age, when most industry giants are entangled in some form of mobile OS patent dispute, HTC and Samsung are not taking any chances. Not willing to be mired in Android patent litigation both companies have bought patent licensing agreements with Intellectual Ventures. It is basically a company which has the leverage of more than 30,000 IP assets. Intellectual Ventures will also manage HTC’s existing patent portfolios.

HTC’s PR announcement states: “Given HTC’s innovativeness in developing some of the industry’s first smartphones and its continued development of some of the world’s most advanced products, HTC is forward-thinking with its IP practices and is working with IV to mitigate its IP risk.” This move comes hot on the heels of the court awarding Oracle $1.3bln in damages for SAP stealing patented software from it, the largest copyright infringement settlement, so no wonder HTC and Samsung want to avoid such fate, while focusing on their core competencies. A nice chart of who’s suing who in the mobile industry is displayed below, courtesy of the Guardian.

via Engadget

If you are looking for a new Android handset for yourself, or to give as a holiday gift, you might find some of the best deals at Wirefly.com during this week. The only caveat is that you must be ready to sign a 2 year contract with the purchase.

The action started today with the Pre-Thanksgiving Day sale which continues through the end of Wednesday. The phones on sale during those two days include the Samsung Fascinate and LG Vortex for Verizon. The former is free with a new contract for new Verizon customers while existing customers can upgrade to the phone with a $99 upgrade and a 2 year contract. The latter device is free for both new and upgrading Verizon accounts. On Sprint, new and existing customers can get a break on a grey or pink Samsung Intercept for free or for $39.99 respectively. Both will need to sign a 2 year pact.

From 11/25 through 11/26 is the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales. Want an HTC Droid Incredible? Get it free with a 2 year contract for both new and current Big Red account holders. Once again, the Samsung Fascinate on Verizon is free for new customers and $99 for existing accounts with a 2 year deal. T-Mobile chips in here with the flagship T-Mobile myTouch 4G. The fully loaded handset  is $199.99 from the carrier, but just $48.88 for new accounts only from Wirefly with your John Hancock on the signature line of a 2 year pact.. During these two days, all AT&T phones will be selling at their lowest prices ever from Wirefly, with free activation. Not only that, but AT&T will give you a $30 credit toward your bill for each smartphone purchased for AT&T’s network during those two days, with a maximum of a $60 credit.

11/27-11/28 brings us the Black Friday weekend. The new Motorola DROID Pro will be priced so low by Wirefly that they cannot publish the price other than to tell you that activation on Verizon will be free. The Samsung Intercept offer seen during the Pre-Thanksgiving Day sale is back so new customers on Sprint can upgrade to the handset for free with a 2 year contract, or existing customers can pay $39.99 and sign the contract. Meanwhile, the AT&T offer continues with low prices, free activations and $30 bill credit for each smartphone bought (up to $60).

The grand finale is the the DROID blowout on 11/29-Cyber Monday. All Motorola DROIDS will be sold at their lowest price ever from Wirefly. The models include the Motorola DROID 2, Motorola DROID X, Motorola DROID Pro and HTC Droid Incredible. Verizon will offer free activation and the AT&T offer has its last day

There are also Cash Back programs being offered for every phone bought during the holidays from Wirefly. To qualify for these programs, you need to visit the Wirefly.com site from your favorite cashback program:

$50 cash back from Bank of America Add it Up program
$30 cash back from Ebates.com
$30 cash back from Pig.com
$25 cash back from MrRebates
$17.50 cash back from Fatwallet.com Fat Cash program

So there you have it, some amazing deals are coming up from Wirefly. If the model that you have been dreaming of is on the list, just make sure that those giving you a cellphone for the holidays get a copy of this article.

source: androinica

The grand finale is the the DROID blowout on 11/29-Cyber Monday. All Motorola DROIDS will be sold at their lowest price ever from Wirefly. The models include the Motorola DROID 2, Motorola DROID X, Motorola DROID Pro and HTC Droid Incredible. Verizon will offer free activation and the AT&T offer has its last day.