There was plenty of Mobile Phone News this weekend and we’ve got you covered this Monday morning. Starting things off was the official release of the Motorola Backflip on At&t here in the US. With a 5-megapixel camera, 3.1-inch HVGA resolution touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard, the Backflip is At&t’s version the Motorola Cliq available on T-mobile USA. Canadian carrier Telus also announced their own Backflip which will be released “later this year”. The Wall Street Journal reported that China Unicom will be releasing an iPhone with WiFi. After legislation made it possible to release a WiFi smartphone in China as long as it also offered their native WAPI, it looks like the Chinese carriers will incorporate WiFi and WAPI in future generation iPhones, possibly the iPhone 4G.

For more details on today’s Mobile Phone News head on over to cellfanatic.com for the full story here.

It’s that time again, ready for your mobile news fix? Good because we have all the breaking news wrapped up in a short clip for your viewing pleasure. If you have any questions about devices or would like a recommendation on which smartphone to purchase on a budget feel free to drop a comment either below this post or over on our youtube channel (youtube.com/cellfanatic). Droidfanatic and Cellfanatic are the premiere sources for all your mobile news and to help deliver the content we need help from the readers. So post those questions, give us some suggestions and we’ll do our best to deliver the mobile news you expect every Monday through Friday.

The way we get our Mobile News is about to change, introducing the video version of the Morning Mobile Minute presented by our parent site, Cellfanatic.  Every Monday through Friday over on our YouTube channel Nick Marshall will be delivering the latest in mobile news in the new Morning Mobile Minute video series.  The first video is a bit rough and we are really open for suggestions on how you think we can make the Morning Mobile Minute better and deliver the Mobile news you want the way you want – fast and easy.  Feel free to drop a comment below and stay tuned for more video Mobile News on Droidfanatic, Cellfanatic and our YouTube Channel.

As Google slowly takes over the world we are continued to be amazed by the power of Android 2.0 coming next week with the launch of the Motorola Droid.  If you have been waiting for Google Maps to finally come out of its shell with full voice turn-by-turn directions,  lane assist with images of the actual location you are navigating, street view and just about every possible bell and whistle you’d expect from a stand-alone navigation unit, the future is now.  In the Google Maps Navigation beta video above, Google Product manager Michael demonstrates the power of this new beta software and confirms that Android-powered phones will be getting this amazing software.  Now if we only knew when the Sprint HTC Hero would be updated to Android 2.0 then we’d really be stoked, bu this video will do in the meantime.

For more information visit http://www.google.com/navigation

Whether your are looking to use Skype, Twitter, Google Talk or just about any other messaging client or Internet Voice Service (SIP), Fring is the device of choice for the mobile platform.  Beyond the fact that the software is free and currently available for Symbian, Windows Mobile and iPhone users, the software delivers as promised.  Today we have news that Fring is currently developing a version of their software for Android devices and will begin by delivering a beta version of their software to 25 lucky Italian contestants on the Fring Italy Blog.  While this is not an absolute indication of an impending worldwide launch it is a start, a good one at that.  In order to be selected as one of the 25 lucky souls who will be testing Fring for Android you must be following Fring on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fring and stay posted to their feed as the details on what it takes to be selected will be announced tomorrow.

[Via Fring]

You didn’t really think Google would let Verizon Wireless steal the thunder of Android 2.0 (Eclair) now did you, or course not.  Google has officially announced the launch of Android 2.0 today with two big announcements: SDK support  so that developers can go ahead and start building their wonderful apps and a comprehensive list of the changes found in 2.0.

• Support for multiple Google and Exchange accounts
• Third-party “sync adapters” allow apps to tie in to the phone’s sync services
• Quick contact menus for fast access to specific key pieces of contact information
• Unified email inbox (yes!)
• SMS and MMS search
• Text message auto-delete after a user-defined thread size is reached
• Significantly improved camera controls with white balance, macro, effects, and more
• Improved keyboard layout, dictionary, and algorithm based on multi-touch support
• Double-tap zoom in browser, support for HTML5
• Bluetooth 2.1 support with addition of OPP and PBAP profiles
• “Better” graphics hardware acceleration

Unfortunately Google did not make any announcements regarding the roll out of Android 2.0 to other carriers so we’re still waiting for new on that.

[Via]

The solid SDK and attractive business model has lured many developers towards writing applications for the iPhone.  Today, Airplay has created a way for developers with a cost-effect way of creating applications for iPhone, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and BREW devices after only compiling their application once to native CPU instructions. Airplay takes care of the vagaries of the various underlying OSes so that developers need not be steeped in detail; it also deals with handset differences such as screen size and input type, again simplifying the task for the developer.

Developers with annual revenues of less than $50,000 can use Airplay SDK for iPhone development absolutely free, or deploy to all platforms at a cost of $99 per seat per year. Those with an annual turnover between $50,000 and $1m pay $999 per seat per year, and receive an increased level of support. For organisations earning over $1m annually, a per-application fee is payable, available on request. All developers can register and download a full free evaluation of Airplay SDK 4.0 by visiting www.airplaysdk.com.

According to Research Firm Gartner’s forecasting the aforementioned question has already been answered thanks to a future valuation of mobile market share. The firm predicts that by 2012 Android will own nearly 18 percent of the market and maintain the number 2 position below top ranked Nokia who will own 37.4 percent. Android will be followed by BlackBerry OS with 13.9 percent and iPhone with 13.6 percent. While the news that Android will move to the number 2 position is impressive, the outlook for Windows Mobile is bleak at best thanks to a forecasted 9 percent market share in 2012. It’s sad but somehow the Windows Mobile news is not that surprising considering the lackluster effort of WM 6.5 which debut this month.

Today begins the start of a new venture for the Fanatic web properties, introducing DroidFanatic the one-stop-shop for all your Android news.  While you can still find news covering the entire mobile industry at our parent site Cellfanatic, Droidfanatic will be specialized for emerging Android OS.  By 2013, Android is expected to overpower both Windows Mobile and the iPhone OS and we want to be with you every step of that ride.  So sit back relax and remember DroidFanatic has you covered.