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The Motorola DROID 4 is now available from Verizon Wireless for $199.99 on contract. The sleek QWERTY slider features a 4-inch qHD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4G LTE connectivity, 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel rear camera, and it is being billed as the “thinnest and most powerful 4G QWERTY smartphone.” Thanks to upcoming network enhancements, the DROID 4 will also be able to roam overseas, making it Verizon’s first 4G LTE device with global roaming capabilities. The handset is also eligible for double data, offering subscribers 4GB of data each month for $30.

Google hasn’t been known as a hardware vendor in the past. That may soon change thanks to the company’s pending acquisition of Motorola, and recent reports suggest Google is already working on a self-branded home entertainment system and HUD glasses. Through a recent FCC filing, it has now been discovered that Google is also planning a “next generation personal communication device.” Details surrounding the mystery device are few and far between, although the filing does confirm both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are on board. The company has requested to test 102 units near Google office locations throughout the United States. The Mountain View-based company is listed as the manufacturer of the devices and it is described as being “in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing.”

AT&T is increasing the fee charged when subscribers upgrade to new handsets on contract beginning this Sunday. BGR has been informed by multiple readers via email that AT&T has sent them notices regarding the increased fee, which had previously been $18. ”Because the overall costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased, effective Sunday, February 12, 2012, AT&T will change its upgrade fee from $18 to $36,” AT&T said in a note to dealers obtained by BGR. An AT&T spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A portion of the memo follows below.

UPDATE: AT&T has confirmed the change. “Wireless devices today are more sophisticated than ever before. And because of that, the costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased and is reflected in our new upgrade fee,” an AT&T spokesperson told BGR via email. “This fee isn’t unique to AT&T and this is the first time we’re changing it in nearly 10 years.”

Amazon is reportedly preparing to launch an updated 7-inch Kindle Fire alongside a brand new 9-inch tablet this summer. Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley on Thursday raised his full-year Kindle Fire shipment forecast to 14.9 million units, up from his earlier estimate of 12.7 million. “We believe there is an upward bias, particularly from the new 7- and 9-inch models, which we expect to launch in mid-2012,” Bartley wrote in a note to clients. BGR exclusively reported last May that Amazon was working on two tablet models, the 7-inch “Coyote” that ended up launching at the Kindle Fire last November, and the quad-core 10-inch “Hollywood.” A later report would suggest that Amazon tweaked its tablet roadmap, however, pushing the release of its 10-inch model back in order to first  launch a new 8.9-inch tablet. Bartley also lowered his shipment estimates on Amazon’s E Ink Kindle eReaders from 28.6 million units to 24 million units.

An Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Samsung Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note is slated for a March 1st release, according to mobile industry insider Eldar Murtazin. Murtazin posted a tweet claiming the official update would roll out next month, though availability will vary depending on country and carrier. He also said that the Android 4.0 update will be made available over the air or using Samsung’s Kies software. Samsung previously announced that an Android 4.0 upgrade would be coming to the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Note, Galaxy R, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

Images of an unannounced Android smartphone from HTC have been published online ahead of a possible announcement at the Mobile World Congress trade show later this month. The nameless device features a design similar to Verizon Wireless’s DROID Incredible line of phones, leading phoneArena.com to speculate that it could hit the market as the DROID Incredible 3. The smartphone is running Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich along with Sense 4.0 — just like the HTC Ville — and other notable specs include a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera and 4G LTE connectivity. Given the timing of the leak, we may see HTC introduce the phone alongside the ultra-thin HTC Ville and the flagship quad-core HTC Edge at MWC in late February. A few more images of the phone follow below.

Google is preparing to launch a new cloud storage service that will compete directly with popular start up Dropbox and similar services. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday evening reported that Google is almost ready to announce the new service, which will be called Google Drive. Similar to Dropbox, which creates a virtual drive containing files that are mirrored on a user’s local hard drive and on cloud servers, Google Drive will allow users to store photos, videos, documents and other files in the cloud, and it will be accessible from computers as well as Android tablets and smartphones. The service will launch in the coming weeks according to the report, and it will be free to most users, though the report does not elaborate on the amount of free storage Google will provide or which customers might be charged.

The security experts at zVelo have discovered a vulnerability in Google Wallet that allows them to “easily reveal” users’ PINs. If a Google Nexus is rooted, Google Wallet’s PIN verification system can be cracked using a brute force attack. zVelo said on Wednesday that it immediately reported its findings to Google, and the company “agreed to work quickly to resolve it,” although the researchers said Google “ran into obstacles.” To fix the problem, the PIN verification must be moved into the secure element of the NFC chip in a device, however to do so Google must apparently coordinate with banks. Moreover, changing the way a PIN is stored will also change which company is responsible for its security. Read on for more.

Google is developing a home-entertainment system to stream music wirelessly throughout a users’ houses, The Wall Street Journal reports. The device will be Google-branded, marking a first for the search giant which historically develops software it then licenses to outside vendors. The system will most likely be Android-powered and will allow users to download music and stream it to Google-made speakers or other Web-connected devices in a home or office. The system may also be able to stream other digital media beyond just music. Apple, one of Google’s main rivals, has long developed both the hardware and software for its products. With its pending acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Google is looking to make waves in the hardware sector as well, and this new home entertainment solution could be one of the first own-brand devices to launch following the approval of Google’s Motorola buy, which is expected to come next week. The Android-powered entertainment system will reportedly be available later this year.

Apple and Samsung are in the midst of a patent-fueled war with no end in site, but the pair has also inadvertently joined forces to make it increasingly difficult for other vendors to continue making smartphones. New estimates suggest Apple and Samsung combined to take in a staggering 95% of smartphone industry profits in the fourth quarter of 2011. The figures paint an even bleaker picture for the rest of the players in the smartphone business than earlier estimates; UBS analyst Maynard Um said last week that Apple and Samsung’s combined take amounted to 90% of smartphone industry profits. Read on for more.

Google’s bid to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion is set to gain regulatory approval as soon as next week, multiple reports claim. Google announced last summer that it intended to purchase the struggling smartphone and set-top box maker for $40 per share, and CEO Larry Page explained that Motorola’s patent portfolio was a key draw for the company. Google’s Android partners had fallen under attack from patent predators such as Apple and Microsoft, and the ability to spread Motorola’s patents around as needed could be the only way to save Android. As recent events in Germany have shown, Motorola’s patents could indeed be Android’s best bet. While some regulators apparently remain unconvinced that Google intends to license Motorola’s patents on fair terms, The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal is still on track to gain approval from the Justice Department as early as next week.

When the HP TouchPad was released in the summer of 2011 it did little to impress consumers, leading to the tablet being discontinued after a mere 49 days on the market. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions, dropping to as low as $99 dollars during a huge fire sale. Shortly after inventory ran dry, crafty hackers had announced their intention to run the Android operating system in replace of WebOS on the TouchPad, and progress thus far has been slow, with alpha versions being released that are fairly stable but have serious bugs. In an act of good will, HP has now released an Android kernel source code to the hacking community. Read on for more.

Samsung has confirmed that the company will not be holding a press event at this month’s Mobile World Congress trade show, reports to PCMag. At last year’s event the company introduced the Galaxy S II smartphone and in 2010 it announced its Bada mobile operating system. Samsung may still have product introductions at the show, however it will not debut them on the big stage. The company previously confirmed that the highly anticipated Galaxy S III smartphone would not be announced at the event, and BGR exclusively reported in December that Samsung has plans to unveil a new high-end tablet with a high-definition display at Mobile World Congress, though the status of those plans may have changed in light of this new development. The show runs from February 26th until March 1st.