Today’s mobile news roundup features: the highly anticipated iPhone 5 launch; Google announcing they’ve reached 500 million activated Android devices; and Verizon launching a new security app for Android devices.

iPhone 5 launch

Today is the day Apple fans have been waiting for.  In just a matter of hours, we’ll find out if all the rumors regarding the iPhone 5 are true.  Will it have NFC?  Will it have 4G LTE capabilities?  Will it be bigger?  Will it be better than the 4S?

The iPhone is the flagship device of Apple, earning them much of their revenue.  So people are expecting so much from the sixth generation iPhone.  Will it be better than the Samsung Galaxy SIII?  Will it have better features?  There are lots of questions regarding the device and I know people, especially Apple enthusiasts, are all dying to find out.

Just sit back and relax, the wait is almost over.

Oh, and by the way, the Apple App Store is currently down, it looks like they’re already prepping the site for the iPhone 5.  I’m sure the marketplace will be getting a lot of traffic just after the announcement.  In the past we’ve seen Apple crash after too much traffic hit their website right after a major product reveal.  They better brace themselves too: the iPhone 5 is coming.

Update: the App Store was restored shortly after publishing this article.

Google reaches 500 million Android activations

Hugo Bara, Android’s director of product management, announced that there now 500 million activated Android devices.  The announcement was made earlier today, perhaps trying to steal some limelight from Apple, who is set to unveil the iPhone 5 later today.

“Today is a big day for Android… 500 million devices activated globally, and over 1.3 million added every single day,” Bara said in his Google+ post.

Bara was happy also to announce that the Jelly Bean statue is back in their yard after some weeks of being kept in their shed for fixing.  Shortly after Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was unveiled, the statue had a accident.

Verizon Mobile Security

It is a fact that a lot of malware authors are targeting Android devices, and a lot of mobile users are unaware of what’s happening to their beloved handsets. So to better serve their consumers, Verizon launched their mobile security app for Android.

The Verizon Mobile Security app “helps customers protect their devices from digital threats and equips customers with the power to remotely locate, alarm, lock and even wipe data from a misplaced or lost device.”  It is the combination of the security capabilities of Asurion and McAfee and is available for devices running Android 2.1 or higher.