“Verizon Wireless is taking a leap forward with V CAST Music. We’re bringing the different kinds of music people love to have on their phones together in one, easy-to-use application, making it easy for customers to get what they want at lower prices,” said Greg Haller, vice president, Consumer Solutions for Verizon Wireless. “We’ve added features to V CAST Music that make it simple and more fun to enjoy your favorite music on your phone and with your friends and family.”

The updated V CAST Music now lets customers purchase full-track songs in high-quality MP3 format without any nasty DRM. Full-track songs are available for 69 cents, 99 cents or $1.29 per song, can be downloaded over the air to a smartphone, and then easily moved to a computer or other MP3-compatible device with the use of the V CAST Media Manager.

The V CAST Music app comes preloaded on select Android smartphones, and existing customers will be prompted to upgrade the next time they launch the app.

Whether looking for that special saying to include on a card or last minute gift ideas, Verizon Wireless promises that with the help of an Android smartphone anybody can become Cupid.

With the help of apps such as Love and Romance Quotes, Romantic Quotes and Love Quotes, sonnets of love will come easily.

Other great app ideas include:

• 1800flowers Mobile Gift Center – Customers can send the perfect flowers using the app, 1800flowers Mobile Gift Center, anywhere and anytime.
• Qik Video Camera – Customers can rediscover their love with Qik Video Camera. This app gives customers a way to record and share their videos of love with their beloved via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
• In the Kitchen: Recipes, Chefs – With the help of Food Network’s Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri and other chefs, customers can cook the perfect Valentine’s Day meal for their sweetheart. Available for $1.99, customers also get features, including shopping list, recipe box, kitchen timer and unit converter.

Customers can also book a trip using TripAdvisor or KAYAK Flight and Hotel Search. These apps let you find and book flights, hotels and rental cars, saving you tons of money in the process.

I’ve already mentioned the HTC Thunderbolt, the first 4G LTE smartphone to land on the network since Verizon’s 4G LTE system went live earlier this month, but according to reports in the WSJ it plans to release a whole slew of Android OS smartphones and even one presumably Android OS-based tablet.

The manufacturers include Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Inc., HTC Corp., and LG Electronics Co..

Some of the phones won’t be available until later this year, but Verizon is likely trying to let consumers know that they’ll have 4G smartphone options in order to boost interest in its month-old 4G LTE system.

With Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network users can expect blazing fast download data rates of 5 to 12Mbps and upload rates of 2 to 5 Mbps, but it doesn’t mean much if consumers don’t have a variety of 4G capable smartphones to choose from that can actually take advantage of it.

The plan is part of its effort to bringing its customers more advanced mobile-entertainment capabilities on more devices.

“Verizon is pushing the boundaries of TV with innovative technology that continues to spur the industry’s evolution,” said Eric Bruno, vice president of product management for Verizon. “We’re giving customers more control over their TV entertainment whenever and wherever they want it. Extending our FiOS Mobile app to customers using iPads gives more subscribers more ways to conveniently manage their FiOS TV services.”

Verizon already rolled out the app for Android devices earlier this year.

The app automatically personalizes options based on the tablet connected to the set-top box, enabling customized favorites and other preferences. Customers can use the app to change channels; manage parental controls; and pause, rewind and fast forward or record a TV show. Users can also click the video-on-demand button and browse and search on-demand titles; or click on the FiOS TV button and jump to live TV.

Verizon Wireless says it plans to add new features to the FiOS Mobile application over the next few months, including photo flicking for the iPad, which allows customers to use their iPad to send or “flick” stored photos from the iPad to the TV. 

For savvy shoppers:

• ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner: Acting as a personal shopping assistant, the app lets customers scan the barcode of any product to find the best prices on the Internet and at nearby local stores.
• ScanLife Barcode Reader: Quickly gives a customer everything he or she needs to know about a product before purchasing, including the manufacturer’s website, all product prices, reviews and more.
• Spend Smart Coupons: Find, save and redeem coupons for hot deals at favorite grocers and retailers. Spend Smart coupons cover a wide range of products on customers’ shopping lists and can be used at more than 4,000 locations of more than 20 grocery chains nationwide.
• Point Inside Airports and Malls: A comprehensive indoor navigation app, Point Inside provides customers with a full Smart Map directory of more than 700 malls and 85 airports in the United States and Canada, level by level.

Gift buying:

• Kindle for Android: Discover and read more than 700,000 books in the Kindle Store, including New Releases and 107 of 111 New York Times Bestsellers. More than 575,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 80 New York Times Bestsellers.

Others:

• KAYAK Hotel and Flight Search: Provides customers the same service found at KAYAK.com, including the ability to find and book flights, hotels and rental cars by comparing hundreds of travel sites with just one search, helping users save money by finding travel deals. Also track flights, manage trip itineraries and calculate baggage fees to make holiday travel easier.
• VZ Navigator: Get visual and audible turn-by-turn route directions, making travel stress-free and allowing for a timely arrival. The service is now integrated with Facebook, allowing users to keep up with their friends, family and social networks by updating their Facebook statuses directly through VZ Navigator, with the option to include and share their locations.
• NFL Mobile: Customers who can’t get enough of America’s favorite game can see the latest news, headlines, stats and scores of their favorite NFL teams. Fans can get live NFL game broadcasts every Thursday and Sunday night streamed right to their cell phones.

The apps featured above are available on select Android devices and can be purchased from Android Market or V CAST Apps. V CAST Apps offers direct billing, so app purchases appear on a customer’s monthly Verizon Wireless bill.

Field Force Manager is a Web-based handset business productivity application that offers location management, mobile timecards and job dispatch for businesses with mobile workforces.

The updated Field Force Manager for Android smartphones provides what it says is a “significantly enhanced user experience” that it believes will help drive adoption amongst mobile workers.

Field Force Manager offers new features like a redesigned user interface and barcode scanning, and will help businesses on with a range of issues, from transportation and distribution to mobile healthcare and business services.

Some of the new features include:

• New User Interface
• Powerful Search – Customers can use the search bar to find forms, locations and messages.
• Easy Touch Screen Access – A simple tap can add a job to the device calendar.
• Built-In Barcode Scanning

Available on all Verizon Wireless Android smartphones, Field Force Manager offers two pricing options – Limited and Basic – each providing a different level of features when added to qualifying voice plans, and ranging from $15 per month for the former, and $20 fro the latter.

“We’re extremely pleased to work with Verizon Wireless to bring KAYAK for BlackBerry: Flight and Hotel Search to customers, giving them an easy-to-use interface to make travel arrangements,” said KAYAK Chief Architect, Bill O’Donnell. “The mobile version has already been installed on more than 2.5 million unique devices, and we look forward to expanding even more with Verizon Wireless customers.”

The free app provides customers the same service found at KAYAK.com, including the ability to find and book flights, hotels and rental cars by comparing hundreds of travel sites with just one search, helping users save money by finding travel deals. KAYAK for BlackBerry: Flight and Hotel Search also allows customers to track flights, manage trip itineraries and calculate baggage fees.

To get KAYAK for BlackBerry: Flight and Hotel Search, customers with select BlackBerry smartphones can download the app in V CAST Apps under the Travel & Navigation category. KAYAK Flight and Hotel Search is also available in Android Market™, and customers with Android smartphones can find the app by searching for “KAYAK.”

Verizon says that Droid Incredible users will be sent a message on their handset about the Android 2.2. update. When you see the message, click the “install now” icon, and the download will begin. The standard warning: If you don’t immediately see the system upgrade message, be patient. Verizon is rolling Android 2.2 to an awful lot of users, and the process could take a few days to reach everyone.

The HTC Droid Incredible rolled out back in April to much fanfare, and has been extremely popular ever since.

The phone features a seven-panel home touch screen with a wide selection of interactive widgets so the most important content is immediately available at your fingertips. Users will be able to enjoy seamless integration with Exchange ActiveSync, quick and easy access to Flickr for sharing and viewing pictures, video, and Android Market with more than 30,000 Google applications.

It’s available at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

“When we announced DROID X last month, we reaffirmed our commitment to continue to bring unique Android experiences to the Verizon Wireless network,” said Jeffrey Dietel, vice president – wireless device, marketing and development for Verizon Wireless. “The DROID by Motorola was our first Android device, so it is important for us to include the successor to that phone in our portfolio. DROID 2 is not only a continuation of our commitment to Android but offers customers the features and form-factor they crave on the Verizon Wireless network.”

The DROID 2 sports an enhanced QWERTY keyboard, ultra high-speed Web browsing, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, full push corporate e-mail, intuitive social messaging and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for access to the full web – all built on Android 2.2.

Users will be able to watch content on the full multi-touch 3.7-inch brilliant display, or share content captured on the 5mp camera with enhanced functionality and DVD-quality video capture with DLNA connectivity to share on compatible devices.

The DROID 2 will be available online beginning August 11, and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning August 12 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

The portable device will sport a 10-inch screen and will allow users to watch TV on the go. It is the ability to stream TV content that is what Motorola hopes will set the device apart from others as it seeks to stay relevant in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

“We’re very focused on participating in this convergence between mobility and home, and I actually think you will see some products from us in a very short period of time,” said Sanjay Jha, chief executive of Motorola’s mobile devices business.

Apple has so far failed to convince TV programmers to either lower the price of TV show sales or sell a package shows for fear of undercutting traditional subscription TV delivery models.

With Verizon on board Motorola may be able to experiment with TV delivery options that complement Verizon’s current business model and which won’t worry TV programmers in the process.