As expected, Motorola on Wednesday announced that the sequel to the popular DROID X smartphone will launch later this month. The Motorola DROID X2 will be available for pre-order on May 19th and will launch on May 26th.

The device will cost $199.99 with a new two-year contract. It features some pretty nice specs including a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, dual-core 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), an 8-megapixel camera with support for HD video capture, an HDMI-out port, a case that is nearly identical to the original Motorola DROID X, and “double the does,” according to Verizon Wireless.

Sounds like a nice device. As an iPhone user I’m always interested in what the Android folks will come up with next. These phones just keep getting better and better and the Android platform keeps maturing.

Hopefully Apple will realize its got some competition and step up with some amazing new features for iPhone 5. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

In the meantime, for the rest of the scoop on this new device, check out the full press release from version after the break.

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Google’s annual developer’s conference kicked-off yesterday with some fairly big announcements from the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, California. As 5,000 web, mobile, and enterprise developers packed in for the two-day event, Google provided the “State of Android” speech that everyone was expecting.

With over 100 million Android devices already activated and roughly 400,000 new ones registered each day, Google’s mobile OS is truly making some huge strides against their nearest competitor, Apple. In the app department, Google does not disappoint, with 200,000 apps available via Google’s Market as well as Amazon’s new Appstore for Android.

The biggest announcements from Day 1 of I/O seemingly patched up Google’s strategy for media sales and consumption on Android-powered devices, a substantial vulnerability for the Android platform when compared to Apple’s robust iTunes. ‘Music  Beta by Google‘ was announced as an invite-only beta service, offering cloud-based storage for up to 20,000 user-uploaded tracks, quite a bump over Amazon’s similar Cloud Drive service, which offers 5GB of storage for streaming.

Google Music launched with nary a single record label on board, so users will not be able to purchase tracks directly. ‘Google Movies,’ available via the Android Market, sounds a bit more ready for prime-time.

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Some would say it’s a crazy move to try and sell apps for the Android smartphone market outside of Google’s own Android Market which seems to do a relatively commendable job of making apps available and easy to download. But that’s precisely what Amazon has decided to do.

You’d also think it was painfully obvious that naming your new Android marketplace “Amazon Appstore” would result in an instant lawsuit from Apple, but again Bezo’s company seems to be pitching caution to the wind with their latest move. And predictably enough, Apple has filed suit against Amazon for trademark infringement.

Despite all dangers, the new Amazon Appstore for Android has indeed launched and the company is bribing folks to give it a try.

Up for grabs? A full copy (no ad-supported nonsense here) of Angry Birds Rio, the latest version of the popular game from Rovio. Pretty sweet, right? And you know what else is free right now? World Series Of Poker: Hold’em by Glu.

Not so fast! First you have to download the Amazon app, which seems easy at first, but becomes increasingly more difficult than you can possibly imagine. It failed miserably on my first attempt to install it. More recently, it managed to download and install much more smoothly, so it seems like you may have an easier experience than I.

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For those of you lamenting the lack of cool 4G smartphone offerings available for the Verizon Wireless network, this is the day you’ve been waiting for. Verizon Wireless’ first LTE handset, the HTC ThunderBolt, is now available on store shelves and online, ready to push the boundaries of wireless access.

If you plan on being one of the very first consumers to acquire the 4G handset, you have options as to where to pick it up. Verizon Wireless, Best Buy, and several others will be selling the handset for $250 with a two year contract.

However, if you don’t mind waiting for the device to be shipped to you, Wirefly will be selling it for $199.99. In addition, Amazon Wireless has it priced at $179.99. Plus, unless you live in certain areas of the country, no sales tax if you purchase at Amazon. Who doesn’t love that?

In case you’re not familiar with this 4G powerhouse, here’s a few stats to help get you excited:

• Powered by Android 2.2
• Latest version of the HTC Sense UI
• Support for Google Mobile Services, including Gmail, YouTube and Android Market
• 4G LTE optimized apps such as EA’s Rock Band, Gameloft’s Let’s Golf, Tunewiki and Bitbop
• 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area
• 4.3” WVGA display
• 8- megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording

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It seems like just a few months ago, we were reporting that despite how the Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry devices seem to be lagging behind popular smart phones like the iPhone 4 and the various Android-powered smartphones like the Droid 2 and Droid Incredible, RIM somehow managed to hang onto it’s market dominance in the U.S.

What a difference a few months can make. For the first time ever, Android has taken the number one spot in the U.S. Market, with nearly one third (31.2%) of all  U.S. smartphones running Google’s Android OS as of January 2011. This is according to a study released Monday by comScore. Android managed to best the BlackBerry share of 30.4% of American smart phone owners, as well as the popular Apple iOS and easily trounced the new kid on the block, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

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A few months ago, Google’s $6 Billion offer was roundly rejected by the object of the Internet giant’s overture: Groupon.com, a web-based local deals service who instead is preparing its own $15 Billion IPO. Fast-forward to today and Mashable has an exclusive report on Google’s attempts to compete in this important local niche.

According to the documents being leaked today, Google is preparing to beta their competing service, dubbed ‘Google Offers’ which in a similar manner to sites like LivingSocial.com, Groupon.com and an array of similar services, will offer local pre-paid offers to subscribers of the service. As of a few hours ago, it appears Google has officially validated the rumors with a prepared statement.

“Google is communicating with small businesses to enlist their support and participation in a test of a pre-paid offers/vouchers program. This initiative is part of an ongoing effort at Google to make new products, such as the recent Offer Ads beta, that connect businesses with customers in new ways. We do not have more details to share at this time, but will keep you posted.”

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Tech writers love to compare each and every new tablet computer that hits the market to Apple’s wildly successful iPad. And it makes sense, considering Apple’s device is truly the one to beat within the tablet niche. With almost a year under its belt and millions of sales, Apple is unlikely to yield its advantage in this important product sector anytime soon.

With that said, Motorola’s just-announced XOOM Tablet ($TBA), might just be the device to do it. Billed as the first 4G LTE upgradeable tablet, the specs speak for themselves:

• 10.1-inch widescreen HD display
• Dual Core 1GHz processor
• Android “Honeycomb” software
• 1080P HD Video Content Support
• HDMI out
• Forward-facing 2MP camera for video chatting

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Yesterday during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Verizon unveiled a bunch of upcoming devices built for its 4G LTE network. Some of the devices include smartphones, tablets, laptop computers and mobile hotspots. Here’s a quick rundown of each 4G device covered during the announcement, compiled by the folks at BGR:

• HTC ThunderBolt – HTC Sense 2.0, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.3-inch WVGA display, 8-megapixel camera with HD video recording, DLNA capability, video chat support

• LG Revolution – 4.3-inch touchscreen, Android 2.2, video chat, mobile hotspot support (up to eight devices)

• DROID Bionic 4G – Android, video chat, rear-facing 8-megapixel camera, 4.3-inch display, HDMI connectivity, dual-core 1GHz processor, 512 DDR2 RAM

• Unnamed Samsung Smartphone – Android 2.2, 4.3-inch Super-AMOLED Plus display, 1GHz processor, rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, video chat

• Motorola XOOM tablet – 10.1-inch display, Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, 1080p HD video, front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chat, 5-megapixel camera with video capture, mobile hotspot capability (up to five devices)

• 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab – 7-inch TFT display, Android 2.2, 1.2GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, rear-facing 5-megapixel camera, front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera

• Novatel MiFi® 4510L Intelligent Mobile Hotspot – 3G and 4G LTE compatibility

• Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot – 3G and 4G LTE compatibility

• Compaq CQ10-688nr – 10.1-inch display, Intel Atom N455 processor, up to 8.5 hours of battery life, multi-format digital media card reader, webcam and multiple connectivity options

• HP Pavilion dm1-3010nr – 11.6-inches, HP CoolSense Technology, up to 10.75 hours of battery life, 320 GB of storage, multi-format digital media card reader, HDMI port, Dolby Advanced Audio and GPS for mapping and navigation

Click through to check out the full press release from Verizon. But take note, its pretty massive.

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Without a doubt, Google makes some gorgeous Android phones and so expectations are high as the internet giant releases their second version of their branded smartphone, the ‘Nexus S.’ Officially going on sale Thursday in Best Buys nation-wide, the company hopes to avoid the fate of their last device, the hugely sexy ‘Nexus One’ that wowed Android fans with its design and specs, but failed to sell in sufficient volumes.

The new Nexus S certainly looks impressive. Running Android 2.3 (a.k.a. Gingerbread) makes this the first smartphone to run the Android OS’s latest iteration. Additionally,  the device sports a 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor, 16GB of flash memory, front- and rear-facing cameras as well as a contoured and curved 4-inch Super AMOLED screen.

The Nexus S is also the first device to support Near Field Communication (NFC), which will allow apps to communicate with other NFC devices in close proximity. Many mobile analysts expect pay-by-phone apps to be built around this technology, which could allow consumers to pay for physical goods by simply touching their phone to a compatible payment device in stores.

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Late yesterday, everyone’s favorite social media website Facebook announced an update for their Android version of the Facebook app. This update brings the application to version 1.5, for those of you who keep track of that sort of thing.

Some of the main features of this update include support for Facebook chat (In both background and foreground) as well as the much requested Push notifications. Unfortunately, Push notifications will only work on devices running Android 2.2 or higher.

The update also includes the requisite other “bug fixes” which are, let’s face it, nice to have. Sadly, still no photo tagging in this update. But I guess you can’t have everything. . . yet.

As usual, the update is available in the Android Market. If you do update, let us know your experiences, good or bad, in the comments. Now to start updating our Android phones here at the office.

Late yesterday Google released an update to its Gmail Android application for smartphones. The update brings with it several bug fixes, improvements, and feature additions.

The biggest improvements/changes include enhanced priority inbox support, an improved compose email feature, and in-line rely responses. With priority inbox support, users can now see importance markers in the main message list and rank messages right from their device. That is if you actually use priority inbox.

The new compose feature will allows users to switch between reply, reply all, and forward while in the compose screen as well as set the outgoing account on the fly if they have more than one Gmail account on their devices. In-line message replies work similarly to how they work in the traditional Gmail interface.

The new Gmail application, which carries the designation of version 2.3.2, is available in the Android Market now. So far the update seems to be working fine on our test HTC Incredible. We’ll let you know if something breaks.

For the first time in history, the Blackberry Mobile OS has overtaken Apple’s iOS, at least in the domestic U.S. market mobile internet usage. According to the report from StatCounter, which illustrates November 2010 performance between the major mobile browsers, the BlackBerry OS rang in a 34.3% market share, overtaking’s Apple’s iOS which recorded a 33% share in November.

Another interesting trend is revealed: Google’s Android is rapidly gaining and has almost tripled internet market share from 8.2% last November to 23.8% this year. Over the same period, Apple’s iOS has fallen from 51.9% to 33%. Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 has not yet registered a statistically meaningful presence, however we’re only a month or two past the software giant’s big release, so it remains to be seen how it will perform.

This is a huge vindication for Blackberry’s parent company, Research in Motion (RIM), who has historically lagged behind the extremely popular iPhone in both features and popularity. For a considerable chunk of recent history, Blackberry mobile devices didn’t sport a true web browser, and only recently has the company begun offering a modern mobile browser with their smartphones. We recently covered the launch of RIM’s new Blackberry 6 OS which brought so-called ‘crackberry addicts’ up-to-speed in terms of mobile features.

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