today at mobile world congress in spain, verizon wireless and skype announced that they have partnered up to provide a nifty application to their smartphones which will allow for free international calls, is free to specific smartphones users with data plans, and will not use your monthly minutes.  one of those smartphones is as you’ve probably guessed, the motorola droid.  yay or who cares?

According to Verizon, the application will allow smartphone users to make unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls around the world; call international numbers at more favorable Skype rates; send/receive instant messages to/from Skype users; and see contacts’ presence to know when they are online. Calls made from the Skype Mobile app will transit Verizon’s cellular circuit-switched network, but won’t use a subscriber’s monthly minutes. The application will not work over Wi-Fi via VoIP. The application and its use will be free to smartphone owners who subscribe to a monthly data plan. The application will be available for the BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm2 9550, Curve 8530, Curve 8330, BlackBerry 8830 World Edition and the Motorola Droid and Devour, and the HTC Eris. It will be available starting in late March.

they have already established a web address (http://phones.verizonwireless.com/skypemobile/) that should be live at some point today.  anyone out there a big skype users?  i myself have used the service once, maybe twice, but i guess i’m still excited to know that we’ll get this app for free.  can’t beat that right?

(via phonescoop)

TAT or “the astonishing tribe” just dropped TAThome which might be the coolest thing i have ever seen on an android device.  they are calling this a “gesture-powered 3d home screen for android that marries advanced ui technology with astonishing design.” and that sounds just about right with an enormous emphasis on astonishing.

they are currently enlisting people to get early access and give feedback, so you may want to cruise over to their site and sign-up.

want to see it in action?  here you go…

it’s a simple monday poll this week and really one we are using to gauge our readership a little more to give us some direction going forward.  we have some ideas in mind for the future and want to feel you all out (not up) before making some pretty major decisions.

positive news rolling out of mobile world congress today as (yay!) adobe unveiled AIR and also readied flash 10.1 for launch.  yes, you should be crazily excited about this.  while we had a rumor this morning that the 2.1 update will arrive with flash 10.1 already running, i’m a little more skeptical on that front as adobe has always maintained their “first half of 2010″ timeline and we are no where near that.  and on to the article…

a little background on AIR…

With support for the Android™ platform expected in 2010, AIR provides developers with a feature-rich environment for delivering rich applications outside the mobile browser and across multiple operating systems via mobile marketplaces and app stores. AIR leverages mobile specific features from Flash® Player 10.1, is optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities for a richer and more immersive user experience.

more AIR info…

Adobe AIR enables developers to deliver Web applications outside the constraints of a browser. With support for mobile devices Adobe AIR includes specific functionality offered by mobile operating systems and devices such as multi-touch, gesture inputs, accelerometer, geolocation and screen orientation.

adobe’s proof that flash 10.1 really is just around the corner…

Adobe also announced that a beta of Flash Player 10.1 was made available to content providers and mobile developers worldwide. With the general availability expected in the first half of 2010, Flash Player 10.1 is the first consistent runtime release of the Open Screen Project enabling uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and high definition (HD) videos across screens including new tablet devices, smartphones, netbooks, smartbooks, desktops and other consumer electronics

i’m still trying to envision myself cruising over to ESPN.com and running videos directly from their front page or even browsing this site and not having to leave to watch one of our tutorials.  i love you adobe.

anyone else seeing the greater importance of this news as compared to the 2.1 update?

what’s better on a monday morning that some android 2.1 ota update rumors?  our “end of the week” has come and gone and motorola has left us with nothing except this timeline which uses the buzzword of the month, “soon” in glorious fashion.  many have lost hope and have also moved on from even thinking about the update, but there are still a few running wild with rumors, speculation and fuel for this fire we refuse to put out.  enjoy…

droidforums.net member on flash coming with 2.1…

First time poster, long time reader. I do contract work for Verizon every so often. Today while working I asked the manager about 2.1. Was informed that the update will roll out the end of the month WITH FLASH! He said the inclusion of flash was the reason for the delay. By now I know not to get too excited but it makes sense and the guy seemed to know what he was talking about.

droid life reader larry with confirmation for today…

So I went to Verizon this morning in reference to a jbl speaker that busted on me anyway I asked an employee about 2.1 for Droid and he said it will come out today and Droid Eris will be shortly after the Verizon store I went to is in Vidalia,GA

and finally, a forum dweller who is living in rooted la-la land…

I’m over it and I know most of you are too. 2.1 is over rated and missing some key features that all of the custom ROM’s already have. For those of you wanting 2.1, do yourself a favor and install a custom ROM. There are a few out there but I’m running sholes, and others have had good luck with BB.

So post up why you wont’ use 2.1 even when verizon finally pushes it out to the few phones out there that are un rooted.

the few phones out there that are un-rooted?  you mean the 2,499,900 that are un-rooted?  anyway, this is likely our last rumor post as the speculation has gotten a little out of hand.  if we have official news, we’ll definitely have it for you, but at this time we’ll be moving back into our regular programming.

with that said…stay tuned!

motorola decided to answer to the mounds of criticism they’ve had over the last few days by putting together a timeline of android 2.1 releases to their varied devices. while we were all aware that their devices would be receiving 2.1 at some point, we now have a better idea of when to expect it. well sort of…

Android Software Upgrade News

Thank you for being a Motorola customer. We have heard the overwhelming feedback asking for details on Android software upgrades for various Motorola devices, and apologize we were not able to share information sooner. We’re hoping that you will find the below timeline helpful.

Please note that we know you value having the latest and greatest technology on your devices. We are working very closely with Google and our carrier partners to bring you the most optimized experience on each of our smartphones powered by Android.  We will continue to update the information below, regarding the timing and availability of software upgrades, and will provide additional details as we have them to share. We appreciate your understanding and continued support.

This page details plans for software upgrades only; other various routine updates will be delivered to optimize device experiences and these will be communicated separately when deployed.

Phone Model	Timeline
DROID by Motorola (USA)	The DROID by Motorola over-the-air software upgrade is expected to roll out soon
MILESTONE (Europe)	Upgrade to Android 2.1 planned for Q1 2010
MILESTONE (Latin America)	Upgrade under evaluation
MILESTONE (Asia-Pacific)	Upgrade under evaluation
CLIQ (USA)	Upgrade to Android 2.1  planned for Q2 2010
DEXT (Europe)	Upgrade under evaluation
DEXT (Latin America)	Upgrade to Android 2.1 planned for Q3 2010
DEXT (Asia-Pacific)	Upgrade to Android 2.1 planned for Q3 2010

Q1 = First Quarter of 2010
Q2 = Second Quarter of 2010
Q3 = Third Quarter of 2010

The information contained herein is provided for information purposes only and is intended only to outline Motorola’s presently anticipated general technology direction. The information communicated is not a commitment or an obligation to deliver any product, product feature, software upgrade or functionality and Motorola reserves the right to make changes to the content and timing of any product, product feature or software release. The software functionality and features provided by a specific version of the Android operating system may vary by phone and manufacturer.

This page and the information on it is provided by the Motorola Media Team.

the link to this timeline was posted by another of motorola’s forum managers. no, not the guy that started the “oops” internet craze, but a new guy. here is his message…

sick of waiting for android 2.1?  check out our running list of 2.1 applications that have been ported over to your motorola droid.

Cheers Chad!

while we continue to wait for android 2.1 to be sent from verizon over to our droid devices, we have another launcher for you to play with and kill some time.  this new launcher is essentially the nexus one 2.1 launcher we posted before but has the look of htc’s sense ui.  the creators (xeodoxus) have also fixed a couple of the bugs, made it run a little smoother and overall made it feel just a little more stable.

check it…

update 2:  after more testing we’re running into some of the same force closes as the previous launcher.  we also have a report of a phone unable to restart after installing this launcher.  please install at your own risk.

instructions for installation…

1.  go into settings -> applications and check the “unknown sources” box.
2.  visit this post from your phone’s browser.
3.  tap and download this file onto your phone:  Launcher2-app.apk   (alt link)
4.  tap on the downloaded application once it has finished.
5.  install it and tap your “home” button when installation has completed.
6.  you can check “default” and then select “launcher” to set it.

(cheers once again alldroid.org)

the rest of the android 2.1 apps you need:

1.  nexus one / sense ui launcher
2.  new eclair gallery with multi-touch
3.  genie news and weather 2.1
4.  launcher 2.1
5.  music app 2.1
6.  clock app 2.1
7.  flan gallery 2.1