If the stock market is any indicator, Google’s announcement that the next edition of the Android system will include navigation tools is seriously bad news for traditional satellite navigation manufacturers. But there’s some debate about whether that doom is too imminent to escape.

Google has cut the list of blocked numbers on its Voice service to under 100. But that’s unlikely to satisfy critics who argue that blocking even one number breaches regulations.

The forthcoming Motorola Droid handset will be the first to feature GPS tools based on Google technology. The handset will launch on Verizon on Nov. 6.

Until now, Google Voice’s biggest drawback has been the need to learn and pass round a new phone number. That’s about to change with the introduction of tools allowing users to tie an account to their existing number, though with some limitations.

T-Mobile is bidding to increase its disappointing market share with a new range of cheap service plans. They include a full range of plans for people who don’t want to sign a contract.

It’s well-established that the vast majority of cellphone applications offered for sale make a pittance. But some firms are pulling in a genuine fortune with the potential for even more thanks to an Apple policy change.

Motorola’s Droid handset, the subject of a Verizon ad slamming the iPhone, appears to be ready to buy earlier than expected. Verizon has announced what appears to be a launch event for Oct. 28, while Best Buy looks set to sell a contract-free version of the phone four days earlier.

If a finance industry report is to be believed, Google is planning to launch its own Android-based handset. An analyst claims the firm will sell the unlocked handsets directly through stores rather than via the traditional network subsidy route.

Microsoft says it is now possible for Sidekick users to recover their contacts, feared lost after a server outage. It says it is making “solid progress” on recovering other data.

Pretty much every consumer-oriented smartphone is a rival to the iPhone. But Verizon’s latest marketing campaign doesn’t even pretend to make that rivalry subtle.