Some may say Androidland is one of the best attractions this year at Mobile World Congress. I check out the Honeycomb and Cupcake smothies and talk with Android Developer Advocate, Tim Bray.

That's what Google gets for making Android so darn cute!  Those fun pins handed out in Hall 8 at Mobile World Congress by Google and its partners are collectibles and apparently, in huge demand.

You can view the entire 86 pin collection on Pocket-Lint (and without clicking 86 times, thanks Stuart!)

So, obviously it didn't take long before they were posted on eBay. And can you really blame the seller for trying to make a quick buck? However, he/she used Pocket-Lint's photos without credit and misspelled the acronym for Mobile World Congress (it's MWC, not WMC)!

Another eBay seller has somehow managed to collect all 86 pins and is auctioning it off at a starting price of £900! (Damn, I should have hustled harded at the show!) So far, no bids!

Tim Bray, Google's Android Developer Advocate whom I interviewed at Androidland tweeted:

But it wasn't just about the pins, Androidland was full of other fun things like a conveyor belt of all Android devices globally, a human slide, cupcake and honeycomb-flavoured smoothies and make your own Android sticker booths.

I rode the slide 3 times, drank 2 smoothies, pasted 6 stickers on my MacBook & snapped up 2 Android toys. But putting a smile on my face during a hectic week - priceless!

You won't find my Android paraphernalia on eBay, even though I have a rare Android Labs pin thanks to @Geekyouup.

If I do decide to part with my pins, I'll donate them to charity in a similar fashion to my Angry Birds toy auction last year.

If you needed any more proof that smartphones are here to stay - a new study shows the market exceeded 100 million units in the last quarter of 2010. So roughly 25 million smartphones sold every month!

Research firm Canalys published a report on the global country-level smartphone market data, revealing that Google’s Android has become the leading platform. No surprise there.

Nearly 33 million Android-based smartphones were shipped last quarter. Nokia's Symbian OS trailed slightly behind at 31 million worldwide, keeping the Finnish giant at the helm as the top global smartphone vendor with 28 percent market share. However, the long-standing regime will topple in the next quarter or two.

In the last four months of 2010, Android was helped by strong performances from LG, Samsung, Acer and HTC. Taiwain's HTC and Korea's Samsung together accounted for almost half of Google OS-based handset shipments (45 percent).

Canalys Smart Phone Analysis, Quarterly Shipment Data

Via Canalys.

The search giant alphabetically names each version of its operating system after something sweet but now it seems it's choosing names in conjunction with the seasons. Gingerbread launched right before Christmas and now Ice Cream Sandwich is rumoured to launch in June - just in time for summer. YUM!

You can read the full story on TelecomTV.com.

Google has officially launched it's latest flagship device- which is not only the world's first phone running Android 2.3 OS but thanks to its Contour Display, it's the first mobile phone with a curved screen. The 4-inch touchscreen has a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, combined Flash and HTML5 technology for Internet browsing and a front and rear-facing camera.

A quick look at both last year's Google Nexus 1 and the brand new Google Nexus S - running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Google has officially launched the latest Nexus S running on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Unlike last year's model that was available on google.com/phone - the Nexus S is exclusive to Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy in the UK.

The most exciting thing for me is that the phone is NFC-capable. Near field communications or 'contactless' technology is starting to become a reality as more handset manufactures start developing their next batch of smartphones equipped with NFC chips. Can't wait to cut down the clutter in my handbag and just use my smartphone to touch in and out of London's underground or to buy my afternoon latte and cookie.

The Google Nexus S will retail unlocked for £549.95 or free with a £35 per month contract. The Samsung phone is not only the world's first phone running Android 2.3 OS but thanks to its Contour Display, it also wins bragging rights for being the first mobile with a curved screen. It comes with 16 GB of internal memory, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor plus dedicated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and combined Flash and HTML5 technology for Internet browsing.

The phone features a 4” display that is up to 1.5x brighter than traditional LCD displays, has improved motion gesture sensors and location tracking without requiring GPS. There's a front and back-facing camera and since it's a ‘pure Google’ smartphone - users will be the first to receive software upgrades and new applications as they become available. But are you prepared to drop that much cash on a phone?

Also, was wondering what the S stands for? Samsung, Super AMOLED, Speed... someone suggested Sexy... I can live with that!

Last week's advances by Google to acquire deal-of-the-day website Groupon for nearly $6 billion was reportedly turned down, with the online sensation favouring an initial public offering (IPO) instead.

Amidst all the bidding craze, the Chicago-based startup snapped up three similar websites and launched in four markets in Asia, totaling its presence to 300 global markets. The company decided against the takeover bid estimated to be worth $5.3 billion, with an additional $700 million in performance bonuses for management.

Exactly two years old, the online coupon site is hugely profitable - making an estimated $500 million in annual sales. This unprecedented growth has sparked an unsuccessful bidding war between Yahoo and Google, and will likely continue to attract hopeful offers.

In addition to it's Asian expansion last week, it also launched 'Merchant Store,' an e-commerce platform where retailers claim their store, create a deal, advertise it and limit the number of users who can purchase it.

I highly suggest you watch Eric Schmidt's keynote at Mobile World Congress and forward it your colleagues if you work in mobile/telecoms (or plan to..)

I get it, Google has launched a co-branded phone set to revolutionize the way Americans buy a handset. But, in Europe, who cares? The real reason Google is going into the mobile industry is to profit off mobile search and services. In fact, the Head of Android Partnerships at Google, Tom Moss even admits to me - its all about ad-spend. Watch the video!

The Nexus One runs on Eclair OS version 2.1 - the latest Android software. Similar to the Acer Liquid and Sony Ericsson X10, the phone is powered by the super-fast Snapdragon 1 GHz core processor. But aside from that - the phone has a 5 megapixel camera- same as the HTC Hero and looks like a thinner and cleaner HTC Tattoo.

It's impressive to some level - but definitely not worth the hype everyone is giving it. Yes, I think its cool that Google is selling the phone online but to act like its democratising the US mobile space is a load of bullshit. Especially, as at the moment the phone only works on two networks - AT&T and T-Mobile. I am aware that it will be available on Verizon in the Spring - but by that point - many will be onto the next shiny and new toy.