Phone Junkie

I dunno, their Twitter account seems real sad or something, like it could use a hug. [Twitter]

AT&T's first Android phone won't ship with Google Search. Instead, The Motorola Backflip's home screen will sport a Yahoo Search widget, and its browser will run Yahoo searches by default. Yep. I think that's what they call a burn.

It'll be the first Android device of any kind with Yahoo as the main search engine, which makes sense: Android is Google's platform, so Google Search is a natural fit. But Android's also an open platform, which means that carriers can do with it what they please—including denying its creator a chunk of valuable search revenue.

AT&T's undisputed bread and butter is the iPhone, which means that appeasing Apple is high on their priority list. And it's hard to see what other advantage this move has for the carrier other than scoring a point in their patron's favor in the escalating Apple-Google feud.

There are four more AT&T Android phones on the horizon, and it'll be interesting to see how many of them follow this same track. That'll probably have something to do with the consumer response to Yahoo. In the meantime, the Backflip exposes a noticeable chink in Google's Android armor: an open system is, by definition, one you can get shut out of. [Engadget via Android Community]

Champagne corks stopped popping in Rubinstein's office long ago, but speculation suggesting Palm might be working on a WiMax phone with Sprint could see the CEO buying in a few crates of Veuve.

Palm embarked on a massive bender with Sprint last year, launching its first webOS products with them, so it's not the craziest rumor we've heard. It'd certainly be a big launch for Palm to get behind, though HTC was thought to be working with Sprint on something similar. [Computerworld via BGR]

The mobile OS running on this old Toshiba TG01 looks like Windows Phone 7 and it mostly acts like Windows Phone 7. But in reality it's a clever user interface skin covering up Windows Mobile 6.5.

Put together by a fellow named LeSScro, this interface tweak can make older WinMo phones pretend that they can handle Windows Phone 7 and will hopefully be made available soon. [Pocket Now via Mobile Crunch]

At first blush, you might look at this $381,000 gold coffin that comes with a cellphone and think: what a hopelessly tacky waste of money. You'd be so wrong. Here's just a few benefits:

• Get back at ne'er-do-well next of kin by blowing $381,000 of their inheritance money on a coffin.
• Make outgoing calls in case of accidental burial (hope it's Verizon).
• Gold gives your pallbearers a much better workout than mahogany, or a pile of ashes.
• GPS-equipped phone makes tracking down grave robbers a cinch.
• Be the envy of your fellow undead during the inevitable zombie uprising.

See? Now don't everyone rush out to get one. I'm sure there are plenty enough to go around. [France24 via Born Rich]

Assassin's Creed II is one of the best console games of 2009. And now, Ubisoft has released a top-down multiplayer version of it for the iPhone/iPod touch, free for two days.

The game, which is to the console version of ACII what the original Grand Theft Auto is to GTAIV, features a top-down viewpoint. The goal is to seek out fellow assassins who you're playing over WiFi and...assassinate them. You sneak around by blending in with civilians.

Sound fun? Well, it's free for now but bumps up to $2.99 after 48 hours, so get on it! [iTunes Link]