Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ, NYSE:VOD) and Motorola (NYSE:MOT) today took the wraps off their first Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) device and the first to run Android’s 2.0 software. The official Droid unveiling took place in New York City this morning, but Chicago executives held a meet-and-greet with the Droid following announcement of its Nov. 6 release date. My colleague Kevin Fitchard and I had an opportunity to attend and were duly impressed with the device. more

180Squared, a start-up formed by former Microsoft Mediaroom architects in April 2008 to focus on billing/operational support systems or IPTV deployments based on Mediaroom is moving beyond its Microsoft beginnings to be platform-agnostic. The company today also announced two customers using its product line geared towards rapid IPTV installation, integration and deployment, Surewest Communications and Reservation Telephone Cooperative. more

Social games have become increasingly popular online as the user demographic has expanded and social networks like Facebook have added built-in gaming options. Virtual goods with real price tags are a key component of these games, a market that Think Equity forecasts to double to $1 billion in revenues next year. Mobile payments vendor Obopay today announced a mobile payments platform to help merchants cash in on this gaming movement, allowing users to make seamless in-game purchases. more

To the applause of many key stakeholders, the Department of Energy will today unveil the recipients of $3.4 billion in stimulus grants for 100 smart grid projects. The grants will range from $400,000 to $200 million to fund 25 large and 75 small utility and state projects across 49 states. The money is meant to enable a complete grid overhaul, as well as create tens of thousands of jobs. more

Even with a slew of competitors coming to market any day now, Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) has a reason for feeling cocky. The maker of the iconic iPhone today reported its best quarterly sales ever for its phones and line of Mac computers. Apple posted a 47% increase in profit in the fourth quarter and sold more than 7.4 million iPhones across 80 countries. more

The economic recession may have caused layoffs and cutting back in the enterprise, but it hasn’t hurt the growth of business use of mobile data services. According to ABI Research, mobile data services revenues will increase 17% next year and continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12% until 2014. more

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VOD, NYSE:VZ) is taking on AT&T (NYSE:T), cable companies and anyone else that might stand in its way in a series of confirmed and rumored announcements today. Most notable has been the bevy of device announcements coming from VZW and others that suggest the carrier fully intends to become a smartphone force to be reckoned with. more

Smartphone competition continued to take a toll on Nokia (NYSE:NOK) in the third quarter as the handset maker’s market share declined to 30.9% from 34% in Q2. Competition won’t let up going forward either, and it is primarily coming from the same source – devices built on Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system. more

Popular music discovery application Shazam passed the 50 million user milestone today, an increase of 15 million users since February. The app, available in more than 150 countries, lets users tag and identify songs by holding their handset to the source, and then gives the option of purchasing or sharing the identified song. Shazam also announced an undisclosed strategic investment from the iFund, a $100 million fund started by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. more

The WiFi Alliance’s certification program for peer-to-peer device connectivity won’t launch until next summer, but the organization is nearing completion of a new specification to enable this hot spot-free WiFi connectivity. Products that achieve certification based on the new standard will be dubbed WiFi Certified WiFi Direct. more