So the Motorola Milestone is just like the Droid on Verizon. Minus all the carnage and the Stealth planes. And it actually says it's a phone. [via Pocket Lint]

Spotify has updated its app (think kind of like Pandora, only peer-to-peer) to version 0.3.24, which is really cool except that you can't use Spotify in the United States. And don't think we're not stewing over that.

Anyhoo, here's what's new:

• URI support - Open/Share Spotify URI’s to or from SMS, email, the Facebook or Twitter apps, etc.
• Updated player with cover art swipe support (similar to the iPhone version).
• Android 2.0/Eclair support. Spotify now runs on the popular Motorola Droid phone.
• Home screen widget - control Spotify from the home screen!

Worthy updates, all. Now excuse me while I go kick something.

[Spotify via Intomobile]

You know, we'd be ecstatic if the Galaxy was launched in the beginning of 2009 as opposed to the end of 2009 because there's just so many other Android devices to choose from. In any case, Bell Canada has just announced the Samsung Galaxy for $99.95 with new 3-year contract. You'll get a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, and usual slew of connectivity options wrapped up in a rather dated Android 1.5 OS. 

The Samsung Galaxy might've been the most overlooked Android device ever because it was never made available on any North American carrier, until now. Remember, we first saw the Samsung Galaxy back in April and drooled over the hardware--forgive us, this was a time when only the T-Mobile G1 and HTC Magic existed. We're certain that the Galaxy would have succeeded then. But now? Against the Motorola Droid and HTC Hero? We're not so sure.

[via bgr]

The second wave of updates to Android 2.0.1 for the Motorola Droid on Verizon should be going out today. (And if you're impatient, there's always the manual route.) After you've upgraded, hop on into our forums to see what little trinkets everyone is finding the update. [Official 2.0.1 findings thread]

Remember the Motorola Motus? Sure you do, it was Motorola's next Android device rumored to run Motoblur and have some interesting flip mechanism for the keyboard. More details are coming to light on the Motus and it looks to corroborate our previous report but the most interesting nugget is its potential launch on AT&T. Big Blue is the only carrier that doesn't offer an Android device and has yet to even acknowledge Android in the public arena. The Motus looks like a very sleek device, the type of 'flagship' device that AT&T could kick off their Android lineup with. Sadly, it looks like we'll have to wait until April or May 2010 to play with this puppy.

In the mean time, here's the latest on the Motus:

• The keyboard flip backwards, so it's facing out when the phone is 'closed'. When the phone is 'open' there's a trackpad behind the keyboard (so you can scroll while typing?). There's another hinge position to set the phone upright--in a desktop mode/alarm clock of sorts.
• 5 megapixel camera and LED Flash on the keyboard. We're guessing it's around that white area on the left hand corner of the Motus. Having the camera on the keyboard is interesting before you remember that the keyboard is the closed 'back' of the phone. Should be just a run-of-the-mill camera, rumor has it as a webcam.
• Keyboard is backlit, which should surprise no one. It's also 'domed', which is surprising because the keyboard in the picture above looks completely flat. If 'domed' means better than the Droid keyboard, we're all for it.
• Around 3/4 of an inch thick which would make it more on par with the thickness of the T-Mobile G1 than the Motorola Droid.
• Tipster was told it runs Snapdragon but original reports had it as your run-of-the-mill 528 MHz processor. Regardless, the Motus was very responsive
• Runs Motoblur

We've been waiting for a 'grown-up' Motoblur device ever since the Cliq and have been dying for a AT&T Android device for quite some time now. Could the Motus be the answer to both?

[engadget]

Remember the Dell Streak? Larger than a smartphone but smaller than a netbook, but running Android nonetheless? That makes it a MID, and it's now rumored that the Streak will make an appearance and/or launch at CES next month in Las Vegas. We'll be there. And if the Streak is there, we'll bring it to you. As for its plans in the United States (if any), well, that's still up in the air. [Pocket Lint via Slashgear]

Opera CEO Jon Von Tetzchner in the fall said Opera Mobile one day would be released for Android, and that day has come.

Sort of.

Opera this morning announced its new cross-UI framework, which in layman's terms means the browser should look, feel and act the same whether on Windows Mobile Symbian, Android, etc.

And so, Opera Mobile is ready for Android. But you can't have it, unless you're an OEM or network operator. Why, you ask? Says Opera, "Currently, these platforms present limitations that hinder mass consumer distribution."

OK, then. We'll wait. But check after a jump for a video of Opera Mobile on Android, and what they mean by cross-UI. [via Opera]

The Verizon Droid got its update this week, and now comes an update for the Droid Eris.

Here's what's coming down the pike, in the form of an over-the-air update, starting now:

• While on a call and the phone's in screensaver mode, pressing the End key takes it out of screensaver mode. A second press ends the call.
• In-call mute and speakerphone icon "enhanced."
• First-call delay after initial activation should be fixed.
• Better switch from 1x to 3G.
• Don't have to select a default e-mail after a soft reset.
• Better SMS and MMS delivery.
• 80-character SMS and MMS subject lines now allowed.
• Better picture messaging from LG phones.

As with the Droid update, this one will be trickled out. So if you don't get in the first batch initially, look for it in a couple of days. (Or, more likely, the manual method will present itself.)

[Verizon via Engadget]

Android is, after all, a product of Google. And Google, of course, makes its money off search. And search, as you know, is big in the mobile space. How big? Marissa Mayer, Google's VP of Search Product and User Experience, wouldn't say. But she did tell Tech Cruch's Michael Arrington the follwing:

I’m not able to share specific numbers, but it’s definitely growing. The percentage is going up, and even roughly doubled in a year.

Roughly. Doubled. In. A. Year.

And that's in no small part to all of you out there running Android. Tip your hat, if you want. And then go search for something.

Feel that? That's the Android Market growing right before our very eyes. After getting Yelp yesterday, Android will receive National Public Radio's NPR News app by the end of this month. The NPR News app on Android will deliver all the programs you love on NPR onto your Android device. And don't worry, the NPR News app for Android isn't some run-of-the-mill iPhone port, the Android version actually has features that make it a better app than its iPhone counterpart.

The NPR News app for Android will obviously run in the background, so you can listen in on programs while using other smartphone functions. The NPR News app also takes advantage of the open source aspects of Android, encouraging local stations and outside developers to put their own stamp on the app. To quote NPR:

“The main thing we want to preserve across all the different platforms are the bottom tabs,” which include News, Programs and Stations, says Perry, NPR’s mobile head. “On Android, we think it would be nice to let local stations include their own content, not just NPR content. And we want the users to be able to customize it according to their interests. It’s in their hands.”

Sounds good by us. Anyone excited about NPR News available on Android?

[paidcontent]