Nearly 65,000 Android-powered mobile phones are being shipped every day, according to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt. To boot, the open-source mobile operating system is now being used on 34 mobile devices in 49 countries, Schmidt said at Google's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. "It looks like Android is going to be either the number one or number two player" in the mobile phone market, he said, according to Agence France Presse. Google now makes its Android software available to various handset manufacturers and sells its own Android-powered smartphone, the Nexus One. Sales of more than two million Android …

Time was when a person used a phone for calls. Yet, for the first time in the United States, the amount of data in text, e-mail messages, streaming video, music and other services on mobile devices in 2009 surpassed the amount of voice data in cellphone calls, industry executives and analysts tell The New York Times. "For many Americans, cellphones have become irreplaceable tools to manage their lives and stay connected to the outside world, their families and networks of friends online," writes The Times. "But increasingly, by several measures, that does not mean talking on them very much." …

Google has announced plans to stop selling the Nexus One direct, conceding defeat in its ambitious effort to sell its own smartphone directly online. In a blog post today, Andy Rubin, the head of the company’s Android division, said Google will switch to selling the phone through existing retail channels and will soon thereafter cease selling handsets online completely. Google had hoped to shake up the wireless carrier-controlled cell phone business in the U.S. but its online store opened to offer the high-end Nexus One failed to draw much interest from consumers accustomed to buy phones through carrier …

Google says it will close the Web portal launched to sell the Nexus One phone and other Android devices as it transitions more sales to retail stores. "Once we have increased the availability of Nexus One devices in stores, we'll stop selling handsets via the Web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally," Andy Rubin wrote in a blog post. The change aims to help get more phones to people quicker, which becomes better for the entire Android ecosystem, including consumers, developers, partners and Google.

In the world of automotive quality consumer perception may lag reality, sometimes by years, but it also trumps reality when it comes to determining things like resale value, and therefore what an automaker can charge for a vehicle when it is new. Jim Farley, Ford's head of marketing was on the phones this morning with salubrious news for the Dearborn automaker, which has been dealing for some time with consumer perception being way behind the automaker's real-time improvements in vehicle quality. The Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) says Ford now tops the industry in how much it has improved in …

California Poison Control System (CPCS) has launched a social media campaign to try and educate both English and Spanish speaking families about poison. CPCS's game challenges moms and dads, as well as grandparents, to decide what are look-alike pills versus candy. As seen by playing the game, it's easy to mistake the candy for the real pill. CPCS invites people to sign up as Facebook Fans at California Poison Control System and challenge themselves with quizzes about poison plants, batteries, chipped paint and other dangers that lurk in kitchen cabinets. Twitter users can find tips @poisoninfo. Aside …

MTV Networks will take viewers inside controller-free games to provide an entertaining experience through "The World Premiere of Project Natal for Xbox 360," a live performance by Cirque du Soleil, and Xbox 360 Media Briefing for game announcements at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 (E3 Expo 2010) in June. The visionaries at Cirque du Soleil created a production that brings the idea of controller-free gaming and entertainment to life. MTV Networks' GameTrailers.com will provide live, high-definition video streams online of both the Xbox 360 Media Briefing and the premiere of Project Natal, powered by Akamai's HD network platform.

Hertz is adding the Nissan Leaf battery electric-vehicle to its rental fleets in the United States and Europe beginning early next year, shortly after the car rolls out internationally, reports The New York Times. "We expect to have the car available in select American cities next year," said Paula Rivera, a company spokeswoman. "We're in the process of finalizing the list."--Nina Lentini

Facebook announced two new security features on Thursday that appear to be aimed at preventing hackers from gaining control of users' profiles. One feature allows people to identify and name the devices from which they access the site, and then receive notifications whenever someone attempts to log in under their names from other devices. The other feature will automatically block suspicious log-ins. "When we see that someone is trying to access your account from an unusual device, we'll ask the person to answer an additional verification question to prove his or her identity as the real account owner," …

M&M'S Brand has signed a partnership with Sean Combs, who will produce a M&M'S Color Party in New York City. Combs, known for his White Party, where everyone who attends has to wear all white, will let consumers choose the color scheme of one of his events. A winner of "Party Like Diddy Sweepstakes" and 20 friends can attend. Diddy will also meet the winner in advance to help plan his first-ever Red or Green or Yellow or Orange or Blue Party. Consumers have to register at MMS.com by July 6. The winner also gets travel and accommodations a …