PayPal Android: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "PayPal Android" is trending on the Internet today following news that the PayPal application for the Android phone has been updated with "bump" technology.

The app now allows users to tap two phones together, or "bump," to transfer cash.

PayPal 2.0 also has a "split the check" feature which automatically calculates the cost of a bill and then lets the user get the money from friends when out to dinner.

"We hope these new features make it even easier to get paid back on the spot the next time you're stuck picking up the tab," said Laura Chambers, senior director of PayPal Mobile.

In the past 6 months, PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay(EBAY), has generated almost twice the mobile payment volume it did in 2009, and expects to generate more than $500 million in mobile payment volume in 2010.

---

"Home loans" is a popular search topic on the Internet after the weekly survey conducted by Freddie Mac( FMCC) reported the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate dropped to 4.49% from 4.54% last week and the 15-year-fixed mortgage rate came in at 3.95%, down from 4% a week ago.

For the sixth time in seven weeks, the rates have hit historic lows, giving homeowners the opportunity to refinance or potential owners to purchase a house. A recent report out of The Mortgage Bankers Association showed that the number of applications for home loans was up 1.3% on Wednesday from a week earlier.

"More recently, housing investment picked up in the second quarter of this year as the homebuyer tax credit spurred new and existing sales and low mortgage rates encouraged remodeling," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

---

"Unemployment rate" is a trending topic on the Internet today following President Obama's comments that the latest private sector job creation figures are a "good sign," but that growth still needs to come faster for unemployed Americans.