Finishing off today’s posts, we scoured press releases, developer sites, manufacturers’ sites and a whole slew of other information sources and chose a few top items for today’s Mobile News for 15 January. We found a model announcement we wanted to post and missed in the CES information flood, plans for Samsung’s Bada OS, and a WP feature development.

So without further ado, let’s get to it.

Droid 4 Announced

Verizon took full advantage of the CES 2012 exposure to announce it will be releasing the Motorola Droid 4 soon, which delighted Droid fans everywhere. The next-gen Droid will be available initially only on the Verizon network, obviously.

The 1.2 GHz speed, 1 GB RAM and 8 MP camera put this smartphone in the mid-range of capability, and it is powered by Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. ICS fans, don’t overlook this mobile phone, though: ICS updates are already planned.

Samsung Bada OS Meets Linux

In collaboration with Intel, Samsung is merging its home-spun OS, Bada, with newly created, Linux-based Tizen.

Bada was developed in 2010 for Samsung’s low-tech, cheaper mobile phones, and boasted better UI and smartphone features. However, since Samsung is working closely with Intel to fully develop the Linux-based OS, Tizen, Samsung has decided to merge the programming and technology into only one OS and not maintain software and hardware for two separate operating systems.

Users may have the option on current Bada devices to keep the Bada OS or change to the retro-compatible Tizen system. How long Samsung will service and upate the independent OS has yet to be determined. It may fall in line with the update history of certain PC operating systems: You can still operate your computer on it, but you won’t get new updates or security patches.

We’ll see.

Skype Migrates onto Windows Phones

Skype for Windows Phone 7, along with Windows 8 and Xbox is heading into the mobile phone world soon, according to Rick Osterloh, Skype’s Vice President of Products.

Microsoft acquired Skype early in the second quarter of 2011, and everyone has been wondering what MS would do with the technology.

We’ve found out part of it, and now you know, too.