The Netflix app has been in the works on Android for what seems like an eternity, but according to a Qualcomm rep we may actually be closer to a release than most of us had expected.  Our buddy Taylor over at Android and Me had the opportunity to hit up one of the processor gurus while at CES and the topic of Netflix came up.  This insider mentioned that Qualcomm is pushing to have the app released on their phones running Snapdragon processors first because of their sophisticated security measures…

“We have been working with Netflix to bring their service for the first time to Android phones. Because of our ability to have very sophisticated SecureMSM and all kinds of layers of security we have been able to get Netflix approval. We meet all of the very stringent security requirements of the studios and we have been working with an OEM to have Netflix come pre-loaded.”

Since we had seen the app running on an LG Revolution which has a Snapdragon processor, we could see the app in a matter of weeks.  Why so soon?  Well because the HTC Thunderbolt is also a Snapdragon phone and should be here some time in February.

Who’s ready for 4G LTE streamed movies?

Source:  Android and Me

We haven’t talked much about Beautiful Widgets lately, but after receiving this new set of skins from reader Nicholas, we’re back on the bandwagon.  For those of you looking to add some extra spice to that Liberty or Gingerbread ROM of yours, these should fit in nicely.  Oh, and these will all be included in the BW download list in the next week or so if you don’t want to do this all manually, but we wanted to get them to you early.

Download:  Curved_Collection.zip (alt link)

Instructions:

1.  Download the file from above to your PC or SD card.
2.  Unzip the files and place them in your Beautiful Widgets skins folder.

/data/beautifulwidgets/skins

3.  Run Beautiful Widgets and choose your favorite skin!

And a big “Thanks!” again to Nicholas for sending these over!

We spent last night enjoying the Honeycomb SDK preview and snapping these 52 pictures of it, but somehow missed the friendly little bee you are seeing above which most would describe as the official logo for Android 3.0.  Apparently he was hidden deep inside, but not for long as he appears to have taken over the interwebs this morning.  What do you think?

Now, if only we can see the giant statue of him on Google’s lawn.  Maybe when the full SDK is released?

Via:  Phandroid

Last night we had the chance to spend a significant amount of time with the new Android 3.0 SDK preview and decided to grab as many screenshots as possible so that the rest of you can experience Honeycomb in a much less stressful scenario.  I say “stressful” only because this SDK is about as slow and buggy as it gets.  It was created to help developers see what tweaks are needed to get their apps up and running, so we didn’t expect all that much from it and just went in with an open mind.  We actually came out with a ton of good shots and one heck of a preview for this new version of Android that we hope you’ll enjoy.

Check out all 52 pictures of Honeycomb after the break.  

What on Earth is that?  One of the new buttonless HTC devices headed to Verizon has found a home on the internet, only we have no idea what it is.  The fact that it’s buttonless suggests that it could be one of their mini-tablets and will run Honeycomb, but since we know the Incredible 2 is in the works, we’re starting to wonder if this is it.  We had heard that the Inc2 would be a bigger screened version of the old one and since this mysterious device is sitting next to an old Incredible, maybe this is actually it?

Oh and when you see the back plate after the break, you’ll really jump on this notion.  

Back in June, we ran a contest that asked our readers to put their graphics on-display by creating the next Droid Life logo.  We received a ton of submissions, picked 12 finalists, and allowed you to vote on your favorite.  When we tallied up all of the votes, we were left with a fine logo, but now we’re ready for something new.  It’s 2011 and we have a big year ahead, so let’s start it off with a brand new look!

How will the contest work?

1.  Design a new logo that you think we can use as our avatar, Facebook, and Twitter picture.
2.  The dimensions of the it are simple yet important.  Please submit 512×512 logos only.
3.  We need the logo to include our color scheme which is essentially:  black, pink, grey and white.
4.   Once created, upload it to your favorite hosting site and paste it in the comments below.
5.  We’ll allow logos to be submitted for the next  6 days (until 1/31).
6.  On 1/31, we’ll take all of the submissions and decide as a team who wins.
7.  A winner will be picked on February 1st and announced on the site.

What do you win for creating our next logo?

Since we love to give away goodies on this site, we thought we package up a couple of items for the winning logo designer.  How does a brand new and unopened Android mini-collectible plus an ezeStand XL sound?  All you have to do is create a logo that drives us wild and both items are yours!

Tip:  Our font is BN 3rd Place.

Everyone ready?  Let’s see what you can do!

We’re listening in to Motorola’s earnings call right now and CEO Sanjay Jha just confirmed that the Motorola XOOM will definitely be out in February.  At first he said “end of February” but he’s come back on now to confirm that it will definitely be in February which could mean middle of the month.  The device as expected, will ship as a 3G device, but will be upgradeable to 4G LTE shortly there after.  We thought we heard March, but it could have been May.

Update 3:31PM:  Sanjay was asked about gross margins for tablets and how subsidized pricing would work with them and his answer wasn’t straight-forward as you can imagine.  He actually wouldn’t confirm either way if there will be subsidy with the XOOM, but did bring up some variables they look at in the tablet market which you’ll find interesting.  He made reference to 3G/4G vs wifi-only tablets and also different sized tablets including 7″ and 10″ variants.  We may be jumping at nothing here, but it sure sounded like wifi-only and 7″ tablets are in their plans.

Update 3:41PM:  Asked about future plans for Blur and they are as expected, still using it.  They think it helps them understand their consumers and what they want, which means they don’t read this blog nearly enough!

Note:  I should also point out that Sanjay confirmed Q2 for the DROID BIONIC and the 4G LTE XOOM which puts them in play some time before July.  Our May date is looking good so far.

If you are interested in their earnings numbers, you can check the press release here.

We should point out that their Q1 2011 numbers show that they are bracing for the i*hone landing on Verizon.  Without a major release in early Q1, they are expecting to see losses of anywhere from .09 to .21 cents per share and a $26 to $62 million net loss.  The XOOM will likely help keep that number closer to the $26 million mark and then carry them through Q2 alongside the Atrix 4G.