Mobided

We’re here at Google’s massive HQ in New York City (they own an entire block) for what Google was calling a “partner event” but everyone knew was really an “NFC event”. Sure enough, Stephanie Tilenius, Google’s VP of Commerce, has taken the stage to announce Google Wallet and Google Offers.

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Google Unveils Wallet And Offers: An Open Platform For Mobile Payments

Yesterday at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC, Marissa Mayer, Google ’s location boss, projected that Google Maps would be accessed more by mobile than PC by 2012, so it’s no surprise that the search giant has enhanced its Maps app for Android , with an update to version 5.5. There are three big changes coming along with this update: you can check in and out, as well as rate directly from Place pages, Home and Work locations for Latitude history have been made editable, and the transit pages have been revamped to show a list of train lines that pass through the station, upcoming scheduled departures and links to other stations located nearby.

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Google Releases Update To Maps 5.5 For Android

Despite the fact that Microsoft didn’t find it important enough to mention during yesterday’s VIP reception, we think the launch of a web-based version of the Windows Marketplace in conjunction with the Mango roll-out is newsworthy. Just like the App Store, Android Market, and Amazon Appstore for Android, a web-based Marketplace will give users the option to browse and download apps from their PC, and install them onto the phone.

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Mango Includes A Web-Based Windows Marketplace

Oh, Sprint. You know us too well. “Invitation-only event” and “hands-on demonstrations” are some of our favorite phrases, but you had us at “Luncheon”.

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Sprint And Motorola Send Out Invites For A Mystery June 9th Event

Viral indie hit Minecraft has landed a mobile partner in Sony-Ericsson, whose Xperia Play (AKA the Playstation Phone) will the first device to have the game customized to a handset. Mojang, who makes the game, confirmed that they were working with S-E to fit the game to the screen and hardware. There’s no information on pricing or other platforms, but an E3 event points to a June 7 release

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Xperia Play Gets Exclusive On Mobile Minecraft

AT&T has gotten off to an incredibly late start rolling out its LTE network coverage, planning to compete with Verizon ’s 55 markets by deploying its own LTE coverage in five markets starting this summer. The Texas-based company isn’t making any effort to hide its homestate favoritism, with three of its first five LTE-supported markets located in the Lone Star state. CEO of Business Solutions John Stankey announced this morning that Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Antonio would be swimmin’ in AT&T’s LTE radio waves this summer, with promises of ten additional markets before the end of the year

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AT&T To Roll-Out LTE Coverage To Five New Markets This Summer

An early morning press release confirmed our previous suspicions : the LG Revolution will launch tomorrow, May 26, for Verizon . And even better, the Android 2.2 Froyo-powered smartphone will cost just $250 with a new, two-year contract. That’s a pretty sizable difference from the $700 off-contract price tag you’ll find on the Revolution at Best Buy.

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Verizon Confirms LG Revolution Launch May 26, $250 On-Contract

At this point, it would probably be safe to say that just about everyone opposes the AT&T/T-Mobile deal (besides, you know, AT&T and T-Mobile.) We’ve heard senators, CEOs, and FCC members openly object to AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, and this time Leap Wireless (the parent company behind the 8th largest carrier in the US, Cricket) is jumping on the hater bandwagon. “A competitive marketplace is critical to wireless innovation – and small and mid-sized carriers such as Cricket are driving that innovation,” said Doug Hutcheson, president and CEO at Leap and Cricket Wireless.

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Leap Joins… Everyone In Opposing The AT&T/T-Mobile Deal

A little “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours” seems to be going down between handset makers Samsung and Apple during their ongoing patent battle, only Apple has become that kid that never ends up showing theirs. In mid-April, Apple filed a lawsuit claiming that Samsung infringed on patents with regards to the design of its products. Last week, Federal Judge Lucy Koh ruled that Apple can have a sneak peak of soon-to-be-released Samsung devices to ensure that the products don’t infringe on Apple’s patents.

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Apple Steals A Glance At Five Upcoming Samsung Products… Legally

Bloomberg reports that Google plans to dip its far-reaching toes into the mobile payment space starting May 26 on phones from Sprint , according to statements made by three unnamed people close to the situation. The service will give owners of select Android phones (like the Nexus S ), the ability to perform transactions and redeem coupons with their smartphone, said the sources.

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Google Planning NFC Roll-Out For May 26