In an interview with The New York Times, Google’s Andy Rubin revealed that the upcoming version of the Android mobile operating system will fully support Flash technology. Code named Froyo, Adobe showed us Android 2.2 with Flash 10.1 on a Nexus One last month.

According to Rubin, Google’s definition of openness “means not being militant about the things consumers are actually enjoying.” This is pointed commentary about Apple’s HTML5-or-bust attitude toward supporting Flash — or even allowing developers to use Flash when making applications –on Apple mobile devices. Google — at least based on our perception of the company’s public face — seems more focused on the interoperability, compatibility and diversity of user experience.

Rubin also commented on Google’s commitment to keeping Android open — open for developers, open for porn, open for API access, simply and completely open.

And as far as “stolen” phones are concerned, Rubin said Google would have been flattered by the attention.

All in all, Rubin’s statement came across as a thinly — and we mean thinly — veiled “screw you” to Apple. As the platform continues to grow, both in end-user adoption and in developer interest, who can blame him? We can’t wait to see what happens when an Android tablet is released to challenge the iPad.

NOTICE:  Updated and confirmed to be a prank!

AndroidPolice posted what was later revealed to be a prank, claiming that CyanogenMod had been ported onto an iPhone 3GS.

Their suddenly very active blog featured a handful of tweets like the following from @rikupw:

“People, I cannot disclose any more information outside of the #team ! But for your info: camera and radio work on iphone 3gs!”

They did eventually admit that it had been a prank post.

New information on Android 2.2 leaks out

Google’s next upgrade to the Android operating system is clearly set to drop in the near future, and a little more information on it has leaked out.

Apparently users will be able to set their phone to automatically upgrade applications in the background, which constant Android users will know is something that’s been missing for a while.

The new Android 2.2 (or Froyo to its friends) will presumably give the users to only auto-update the applications they trust, as otherwise it could be a simple Trojan horse for evil developers to destroy your precious phone.

I dub thee Frozen Yogurt

Apart from the naming process, Google has stayed very tight-lipped on the forthcoming release of Android 2.2, as it seeks to keep its powder dry ahead of the final unveiling.

But analytics data has shown that devices are testing the new OS update, which means it’s clearly up and running in the darkest dev offices of Google HQ.

We’re hoping to hear more on 19 May, when Google chats at the I/O event – until then we’ll have to stay speculating on what Froyo will bring us.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/new-information-on-android-2-2-leaks-out-685974?src=rss&attr=all#ixzz0mJzcbvxB

As we noted earlier, mobile ad network AdMob has released its monthly mobile metrics report for March, which takes a close look at Android OS traffic. One interesting stat that was hidden in the report was that Android ad traffic overtook iPhone traffic in the U.S. for the month of March.

According to the report, Android traffic in the U.S. increased to 46 percent of operating system share compared to 39 percent for the iPhone operating system. Worldwide, the iPhone OS still took the top spot, taking 46 percent of the OS share, with Android phones seeing 25 percent of impressions. AdMob measures mobile ad impressions, which is a proxy for overall traffic.

The Android ecosystem is steadily growing, with the App market counting 38,000 plus apps as of a few weeks ago, up 8000 apps from a month ago. This still pales in comparison to Apple’s booming App Store, but it seems pretty significant that one of the most popular mobile ad networks is reporting that Android ad traffic has surpassed that of the iPhone. Of course, Admob is still waiting for regulatory approval of its $750 milliondeal to be acquired by Google, so maybe it doesn’t want to call too much attention to how well Android is doing.

Read more: http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/27/admob-android-passes-iphone-web-traffic-in-u-s/#ixzz0mJrrgk2v