If you’re an Android-powered device user and have been jealous of all your iPhone and iPad using friends who get to watch Netflix content on their devices, be jealous no longer. Netflix finally announced that its Android application is now available and ready for you to download in the Android Market.

However, as great as that news is for Android users, there’s one thing that may dampen the excitement. The app is only supported on “select phones that have the requisite playback support.” All is not lost, however, as Netflix says it will add supported devices to its list over time.

As you probably already know, the video streaming service is currently available on Windows Phone and iOS devices, but what was the holdup for Android? “Because the platform has evolved so rapidly, there are some significant challenges associated with developing a streaming video application for this ecosystem,” Netflix product team member Roma De said.

“One of these challenges is the lack of standard streaming playback features that the Netflix application can use to gain penetration across all available Android phones. In the absence of standardization, we have to test each individual handset and launch only on those that can support playback.”

I guess that makes sense. See, Apple owning the entire widget and making developers adhere to a strict set of rules might not be a bad thing after all. At least iOS users get cool apps first, at least in most cases.

Netflix for Android currently runs on the HTC Incredible, Nexus One, and EVO 4G with Android 2.2 installed. It’s also supported on the Nexus S and Nexus One with Android 2.3 installed.

I guess its’s a good thing I decided not to cancel HBO. If you’re considering ditching your premium subsctiption to the HBO service, you might want to re-think it too. Why? Read on.

The long-anticipated HBO Go app just hit the iOS App Store and Android Market, bringing original HBO series and a variety of blockbuster films to your mobile device. You’ll need an HBO subscription with your cable or satellite provider to get past the login screen, but unlocking all that the service has to offer is a pretty easy experience.

Although, it doesn’t seem Time Warner Cable is participating so if you’ve got that cable service, you’re out of luck — at least for now.

However, as I’m both a Time Warner and DirecTV subsciber (don’t ask) I was able to authenticae using my DirecTV sibsctiption and was off and running. This app features a pretty amazing collection of programming including pretty much every episode of every show HBO has ever aired plus many of their movies as well. Plus, you can also watch these programs via your computer as well. But you’ve got that fancy iPad or iPhone so why not watch it on those instead, right?

So, if you’re an HBO subscriber, head on over to your iOS or Android stores and check this app out. It’s pretty cool.

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.

As of late last night (Mine came in around 11PM) Verizon Wireless began rolling out a new minor software update for the HTC Incredible. This update is more of a minor update that includes bug fixes and a few new features.

Chief among these new features is Verizon’s V CAST Apps store. The new store will allow HTC Incredible users to download and install applications to their devices. This new service works similarly to the current Android Market but also allows users to pay for new apps via their monthly Verizon cell phone bill instead of using a credit card.

The update, which is delivered over the air, is an 18 MB file and brings the software to Android Version 2.2 (3.26.605.1/Baseband Version: 2.15.00.07.28). It should be pushed out to all users over the next few days.

For the complete list of big fixes and improvements, click through.

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Color me excited. I just fired up my HTC Incredible this morning to find a message alerting me that the update to Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) was ready to be installed.

Naturally, this made me very happy and I proceeded to do the update. Here’s what was added or otherwise made much better by this update, which changes your software to version 3.21.605.1 and Android version 2.2:

• 3G Mobile Hot Spot
• HTC Widget: Mail
• HTC Widget: News
• EAS Updates
• 720p Video Recording
• Amazon MP3
• Skype
• My Verizon

The rumored 802.11N wireless enhancement seems to be untrue as so far my updated HTC Incredible can’t find my N wireless network. That’s a shame. I will be testing out these changes and whatever else I can find today and will let you know if anything else seems odd or broken.

Plus, if I end up finding anything else cool not so far known with this update. If you guys decide to update, let us know your experiences in the comments.

If you’re an HTC Incredible user then this info is for you. According to an article at The Boy Genius Report, the Incredible is expected to get the brand new Android OS 2.2 (code name Froyo) in August. This information, taken from an email sent in by a tipster, goes into detail about the update and what users can expect from it.

Take a look below at the email and see if you believe what’s being said.

I wanted to pass along that the upcoming Incredible MR will also include Froyo (originally it was going to be two separate MRs). We are targeting the end of the month/first part of August. As a reminder, below are the highlights:
• Froyo
• 802.11 n
• 3G Mobile Hot Spot
• HTC Widget: Email
• HTC Widget: News
• EAS Updates
• 720p Video Recording
• Amazon MP3
• Skype
• My Verizon

If ultimately true, this update is very good news for current Incredible owners. these are features they will certainly all want to have as soon as possible. Of course, this means the rumored OS update that was supposed to roll out last weekend was either untrue or was halted to make ready for this improved one.

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During Apple’s recent iPhone 4 press conference, they made some pretty hefty claims about other smartphones having similar problems as the iPhone 4, including devices manufactured by HTC, Blackberry, and Nokia. Devices that they singled out, such as the HTC Droid Eris and HTC Nexus One, supposedly have their own history of reception problems.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who heard this and went “Huh?”, as I have had no reception issues with my recently purchased HTC Droid Incredible, because HTC has started fighting back with numbers of their own.

While only 0.55 percent of calls received by Applecare are about the iPhone 4′s reception issues, HTC’s numbers were at a measily 0.016 percent of calls about the HTC Droid Eris. Though the phone was recently discontinued, it has been out far longer with fewer complaints than Apple claims to have received.

Regardless, any issues that the iPhone 4 has cannot be compared to phones like the HTC Eris, as its antenna is located on the top of the phone while most new smartphones have them on the bottom.

Nokia and RIM have both commented on the situation on their own, but Nokia stressed that reception interference due to human hands was a problem across the smartphone market and wasn’t limited to just Apple and the iPhone 4. Regardless of what phones have this problem, it’s unfair for Apple to just say “It’s ok that our phone has a reception problem, because these phones do too”, without first looking at the numbers.

Hot on the heels of Verizon’s Twitter campaign (follow @DroidLanding for details), as well as our own coverage of the Droid X here at The Flickcast, the wireless company has now released a sneak peek of a 60-second trailer for their hot new Android-based smartphone.

The video as well as the Twitter campaign have really served to build the hype in advance of the official Motorola Droid X launch, which begins today at Verizon retail stores nationwide. Since June 21st, Team Droid X has been tweeting tantalizing details concerning the whereabouts of  twenty of their so-called ‘Droid Designates’.

Advanced copies of the massive smartphones hidden in various states across the U.S. As the weeks rolled on, the hints became more and more specific, eventually culminating in a GPS coordinate that could be entered into Google Maps to learn an exact location.

Obligatory twitpics of the winners of the Droid X scavenger hunt began popping up late last week. One-by-one, the beaming faces of Droid X owners holding up their new smartphones really had me thinking that Verizon knows how to run a successful viral twitter campaign. And clearly, getting advanced copies of a hot new phone out in the wild only stokes the interest all the more.

Hit the jump for all of the launch-day details as well as the sneak-peek video!

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A new report from comScore on U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share reveals some interesting statistics for both domestic cell- and smart-phone users. For fans of Google’s open-source Android Platform, the good news is that Android is continuing to grab ever-larger shares of the U.S. smartphone market. With the sheer number of outrageously great Android-based smartphones being released in 2010, it makes sense that devices based on Google’s OS would jump a healthy 4.0% over the previous period.

Over 234 million Americans age 13 and older are currently using mobile devices and comScore’s report ranked mobile equipment manufacturers (OEMs), smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in the U.S. according to their share of current mobile subscribers, and finally mobile content usage (how mobile device owners used their devices).

In terms of top manufacturers of mobile devices, manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 22.4 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, up one percentage point from the preceding three month period. LG ranked second with 21.5 percent share, followed by Motorola (21.2 percent share), RIM (8.7 percent share, up 0.5 percentage point) and Nokia (8.1 percent share).

Of all mobile device users, 49.1 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in May, up 8.1 percent from the corresponding February period. RIM, with their business-friendly Blackberry phones was the leading mobile smartphone platform in the U.S. with 41.7 percent share of U.S. smartphone subscribers, followed by Apple with 24.4 percent share and Microsoft with 13.2 percent.

Google saw significant growth during the period, up 4.0 percentage points to capture 13.0 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.8 percent. Despite losing share to Google Android, most smartphone platforms continue to gain subscribers as the smartphone market overall continues to grow.

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It’s no secret to any Android fan that the HTC Droid Incredible is one awesome piece of technology. This explains why, over two months after the phone’s release, it is almost impossible to get your hands on one. This is due largely to the fact that Samsung, who manufactures the AMOLED screens that HTC uses for the phone, cannot keep up with the incessant demand for the device.

While most people are ordering their phones and patiently waiting, Verizon is offering another option to those who’ve ordered the Incredible but just can’t seem to wait: the Droid X. Announced last week by Verizon, the Droid X has some impressive specs. With a 1 GHZ processor, a 4.3″ display, 8 MP camera with 720p video capabilities, and a multitouch keyboard, the phone certainly rivals both the HTC EVO 4G and iPhone 4.

Verizon will be releasing the Droid X on July 15th, while if you order the Incredible today it won’t be shipped until at least July 27th. Verizon is now allowing those who’ve ordered the Droid Incredible online to switch their order to the Droid X in order to get an Android device in their hands as soon as possible.

It’s definitely nice that Verizon is offering this to customers, especially those who jumped on the Incredible and realized they’d rather have the latest and greatest Droid X when it was announced a few days ago. But speaking from my experience with the Droid Incredible, it’s the best Android device I’ve ever used and is more than worth waiting a few weeks for.

Regardless, with the change from AMOLED to LCD and the release of the Droid X, the strain on HTC will helpfully be alleviated and those who are waiting for the Droid Incredible will finally be able to get one.

UPDATE: We were contacted by Verizon and they sent us this official statement regarding Incredible pre-orders:

“The Droid Incredible by HTC, as you know, definitely lives up to its name and is a fantastic device. It has proven to be very, very popular with our customers. Should a customer who has ordered a Droid Incredible decide that the Droid X (or any other device) better meets his/her needs, he/she can take advantage of the Verizon Wireless Worry Free Guarantee and choose the Droid X when it goes on sale July 15. Customers cannot pre-order the Droid X with us.”

There you have it. Does that jive with your experiences? Let us know in the comments.

Even though as a recent convert to Verizon and a happy HTC Droid Incredible owner I’m reluctant to see any new phone that makes mine obsolete or diminishes it in some way, it is nice to see that Verizon and Motorola keep trying to raise the bar with newer and more feature-rich smartphones. Case in point is the announcement late yesterday of the actual specs, release date and pricing for the next generation of Motorola DROID, better known as the DROID X.

Here’s the summary of specs for the device in a nice, easy to read list.

• Texas Instrument 1GHz Processor
• 4.3″ display with 854 x480 resolution, 400,000 pixels
• 8GB internal storage• 16 GB microSD card expansion (expandable to 32GB)
• 8 MP camera with dual flash, HD camcorder
• Integrated Multitouch keyboard, optional Swype keyboard
• 3G Mobile hotspot functionality with support for up to 5 devices, 2GB cap, $20 monthly fee
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• Support for Exchange and Gmail for Business
• Adobe Flash Player 10.1 ready
• Android 2.1 with a “toned down” version of Motoblur

Yes, there’s no “out of the box” Flash support and no you don’t get Android 2.1 (aka Froyo) but Verizon does say they will be releasing an upgrade for both “issues” in the latter half of the Summer. So, you got that going for you if you end up getting the device, which is nice.

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It looks like Amazon isn’t going to simply wait around while Apple’s iPad and iPhone kill their eBook market. Instead, they are expanding beyond Apple and RIM and into the Android market by bringing their Kindle reader to the platform.

They already have an application for the iPhone, iPad and Blackberry and now they are planning to release one for Android powered smartphones. The Android app will look like its iPhone counterpart and include the the ability to read, preview, and purchase books from Amazon’s Kindle bookstore. You will also be able to navigate with a finger flick and sync reading progress across all supported platforms — which is a nice feature if, like me, you have several platforms.

The app is reportedly also compatible with popular Android handsets including the Moto DROID, Nexus One, HTC Droid Eris and HTC Incredible. Look for it in the Android Market soon. You can also sign up at Amazon to be notified when it becomes available.