J. R. Raphael

ICS Home ScreenGoogle's Android 4.0 operating system is more than just another upgrade.

Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, marks the start of a new era for Google's mobile platform. The release ushers in the biggest changes the software has seen since the launch of Froyo in 2010 -- maybe even Eclair back in 2009. Nearly every facet of the OS has been made over, and the very core of the Android user experience has been completely reimagined.

Google+ is all the rage right now. Even under its limited-invite "field trial" phase, the social sharing service is growing in leaps and bounds, with oodles of new users joining every day and even more champing at the bit to get in.

Most of us, however, are only beginning to scratch the surface of what Google+ can do; like many Google products, G+ is brimming with advanced features and untapped tweaks. That's why I decided to put together this massive list of Google+ tips and tricks. It includes some of the best power-user pointers I've found both from my own experimentation and from following some really smart folks in the Google+ universe.

Google's hoping you're ready to put your money where your phone is.

Yeah--you read that right. Google announced the launch of a new mobile payment system called "Google Wallet" on Thursday. The service lets you store your credit cards inside your smartphone, then use the device to make contact-free payments. All you do is wave your phone in front of a special sensor, and--hocus pocus!--the payment is made.

Imagine if, five years ago, your second cousin sent you a random e-mail telling you the color of her bra. Or maybe you bumped into a childhood friend you hadn't seen in 20 years--and he proceeded to inform you that he secretly loved the music of Gerardo (yes, that Gerardo). It would seem awfully weird, wouldn't it?

That's because it is weird--and let's be honest, a little disturbing. But thanks to Facebook, doling out random details about your life, lingerie, and love of mid-'90s multicultural rap is perfectly acceptable. In fact, thanks to Facebook memes, it's frequently encouraged.

The world of Android music is about to get flipped upside down.

We've been hearing about Google's plans to launch a cloud-based music service for some time now -- heck, Google itself gave us a peek at the plans during its I/O conference in May. (The news was largely overshadowed by word of the Android 2.2 upgrade, which was announced at the same event.) If the latest rumors prove true, the Android-centric song system could debut within the next few months.

Since we've been talking all week about the state of the mobile market -- specifically, how Steve Jobs' claims about Apple beating Android are misleading -- I thought I'd pass along some interesting data that hit my inbox this morning.

The folks at Quantcast, who measure mobile Web usage, have released some numbers showing platform-by-platform performance for the month of August. Bear in mind that the research doesn't directly represent the number of devices being sold or activated; Quantcast simply measures mobile Web usage, nothing more and nothing less. One could certainly make the argument that users of some mobile platforms access the Web more often than users of others. Either way, the relative change from month to month gives us valuable insight into the overall trends and how they're shifting.

It's the question that's divided the tech world into two feuding factions: Should a smartphone support Flash?

In many ways, the issue has come to represent the broader Android vs. Apple fanboy battle -- open support vs. one guy deciding what's best for your device -- but in this instance, most of the fighting words have been more about rhetoric than experience. Quite simply, the majority of people knocking Flash support for smartphones have never actually used a smartphone with Flash on it.

There's been plenty of buzz this week about Verizon's Droid Incredible and the Android 2.2 upgrade. Now, we're seeing official confirmation that the phone's Froyo fix is finally on the way.

Android Power has learned that Verizon has just updated its Web site to list the Droid Incredible as having Android 2.2. The change can be seen on the Incredible's product page at VerizonWireless.com (click on the image to read it):

Call me crazy, but my Android phone and I have been having some great conversations lately.

With Google's new Voice Actions, I've been using voice commands to control my handset every day. And now, thanks to a new app about to hit the Android Market, my phone's started talking back to me, too.

Don't look now, but there's another apocalypse a-brewin' in the world of Android. At least, that's what you'd think from some of the tales of death and destruction floating around the Web right now.

Are you ready? Brace yourself...

After months of speculation and more than a few false alarms, Verizon's Motorola Droid 2 is finally on its way into the world.

Verizon and Motorola officially announced the debut of the Droid 2 Tuesday morning. Pretty much everything appears to be in line with what we've heard about the phone so far:

It may be one of the worst-kept secrets in smartphone history. Verizon's Motorola Droid 2 Android phone is widely expected to launch this week, and while the companies are keeping pretty quiet about the device, there's no shortage of unofficial information available.

Buzz has actually been building about the Droid 2 for months. The phone was initially believed to be in-line to launch alongside the Droid X in early summer. When that didn't happen, it didn't take long for new theories to emerge. The latest leaks (and there are plenty of them) point to this Thursday, August 12, as the day for the Droid 2's debut.