comScore tell the story of Europe's smartphone choices: Android and iOS lead the way!

   

comScore are back today with a new piece of research from their MobiLens service, which outlines the rate of smartphone adoption within Europe's big five markets. So this research concerns France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

   Unsurprisingly, smartphone adoption is on the rise again, just breaking the 50 percent barrier, with smartphones now in the hands of 54.6 percent of mobile users, a 13 percent increase over the same time last year! On a more country specific level Spain and the UK have 63 and 62 percent smartphone usage respectively, but on the other end of the spectrum Germany is 1.2% off of half their mobile using population rocking smartphones!

   Just like the United States, Android and iOS are the platforms driving growth and Android is doing spectacularly well. The platform has an extra 12.4 percent audience share compared to October 2011 and is now only a few percent short of half of the market share, at 46.6 percent. Apple saw a modest 1.5 percent increase to a 28 percent share. The news is not as rosy for the rest of the bunch; RIM are holding third place but their share is down 2.5 percent and Symbian again lost a huge amount of users, down over 10 percent to 6.4 percent of the whole smartphone market. And Microsoft is bringing up the European rear, with a 3.1 percent smartphone share, which on the plus side is a growth of half a percent compared to the same period last year!.

   These operating system statistics reflect in the Top OEM chart too. Apple is out in front with  28 percent of the share, again there was a small growth to 28% of the market. That means that one in every four smartphones that you see around Europe is made by Apple, a staggering statistic given they only offer three different phones at any one time! Samsung's recent growth is reflected through their share more than doubling in a year to 24 percent! The tale of woe continues for everyone else though as RIM, HTC and Nokia all lose market share year over year. Nokia came out worst, losing just over half their market share. But, when you consider that Nokia's eggs are firmly in the Windows Phone basket, it is not surprising that Nokia's sales are reflecting Microsoft's 3 percent presence in Europe! So we expect that to dwindle even more by this time next year!

   So where will the market go from here? If we are going to place our bets, we can't see anything changing from now until next year, although Nokia might slip off of the top 5 chart to be replaced by someone like Sony who have been doing extremely well in the UK lately!

comScore via AndroidGuys.

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17/12/2012: Sony updates their Jelly Bean plans, Google apologises for Nexus 4 availability and Foxconn reportedly scoops Amazon phone manufacturing deal! Plus much more!

Sony updates their Jelly Bean plans. It's not all good news.

   In recent times Sony has been heralded as the new champion of the Android modding world with their recent support of modding initiatives and their trial period with the Xperia S in Google's AOSP. So you would think those guys would be good at pushing out software updates to keep their standard users happy too, well yes and no.

   Most of Sony's devices are currently on ICS so this update concerns Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. With that in mind Sony wants get the Xperia T, Xperia TX and Xperia V on to updated version as soon as possible and these updates are 'progressing as planned' and so they should be getting updates right around February and March. After that your trusty Xperia P, Xperia J and Xperia go will be upgraded from the end of March. Followed in the 'subsequent weeks' by Xperia S, Xperia SL, Xperia ion and Xperia acro S updates.

   Sony said that they're 'particularly excited about the Sony Xperia Jelly Bean features and functionality – [they] look forward to bringing you more information on this in the New Year'. Naturally we'll keep you updated on that front.

   Unfortunately though, Sony has taken the decision 'not to upgrade Xperia U, Xperia miro, Xperia tipo, and Xperia sola beyond Android 4.0'. So if you're rocking any of those devices you'll only be receiving your bug fixes and security patches.
SonyMobile Via XperiaBlog.

Google apologises for the issues with the Nexus 4 launch and availability.

   Us folks on the European side of the pond have had the same trouble everyone else in the world has had getting hold of the Nexus 4's at the Play Store price. Google’s UK and Ireland managing director, Dan Cobley, feels our pain and after one of his posts about Google Zeitgesit 2012 on Google+ got high-jacked by disgruntled Nexus 4 chasers, he felt he should address the problem. His statement on Google+ places the blame squarely on the shoulders of LG for not providing the supplies they want or need, but he also acknowledges that there have been communication problems too. His full statement reads:

   "Dear all, I know that what you are going through is unacceptable and we are all working through the nights and weekends to resolve this issue. Supplies from the manufacturer are scarce and erratic, and our communication has been flawed.
I can offer an unreserved apology for our service and communication failures in this process.
I am optimistic that we will be able to share some positive news shortly, but I do not want to cause any more disappointment by making a commitment until we are 100% sure we can deliver on it.
I realise that the people who ordered the Nexus 4 so early are among our most committed and loyal users and we are doing all we can to put things right."

   Since then he has reiterated that customers with orders in the 3-5 day shipping estimate are their main focus at the moment and customers can expect a refund to their Google Play account for shipping charges. If you were promised you would get your phone before Christmas you still will!
Via TechCrunch.

Amazon smartphone rumours start up again. Foxconn has the contract to make them?

   Ever since Amazon launched themselves onto the tablet market with their Kindle Fires, and more recently the Fire HD's, people have been suggesting it would only be a matter of time before Amazon turned their attention to mobile phones.

   According to Taiwan's Economic News, Foxconn have secured an exclusive contract to build Amazon's smartphone! Amazon has supposedly commissioned a maximum of 5 million of the devices, which is a rather understated figure, but it is better to be safe than sorry, as HP and their TouchPad can testify. This could also suggest an initial US or other region specific launch, just as Amazon did when they only launched their Kindle Fire in the US to begin with. The smartphone is set to cost somewhere in between $100 and $200 to manufacture so this could be a high-end device.

   The report says that the phones will be released to the public at some point between the second and the third quarters of 2013. This is a suitably broad 6 month period from April 2013 to September 2013, Amazon will probably have to finalise a release date which doesn't coincide with the launch of the Galaxy S4, Google I/O or any of Apple or other competitors events, which is easier said than done these days!

   What do you think? Would you be interested in an Amazon smartphone? Would you allow it to have adverts on its lock screen like your Kindle does? Let us know in the comments below!
Via AndroidCommunity.

   

 In other news:

• Over the weekend Apple launched their iPhone 5 in China and subsequently shifted 2 million of the new iPhones. On the surface that looks very rosy indeed, however Slashgear have said that it was only with 'heavily subsidized carrier deals' that Apple broke their Chinese sales records. There was reportedly a distinct lack of purchases in Apple's own stores, people instead chose to head to carriers who were selling the new phone for as little as $96 on a contract! Either way this is undoubtedly successful for Apple; the Chinese market is pivotal to making money at the moment because it's so huge!
  Via Slashgear.

• RIM have opened their new “technical review program” to over 120 enterprise and government “customers” and they've offered some pre-release software and devices to these companies to give them the early opportunity to decide if BB10 and RIM's new services are for them.
  
  Some of the people involved are from the 64 Fortune 500 companies RIM offered the chance to beta test their new BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and pre-production BlackBerry 10 smartphones. This is something RIM hopes will “get them started” with the platform and allow them to make an informed decision on whether or not to promote RIM's devices within their company. Now we just need to come up with a convincing business name to get our hands on one of the devices!
  Via TheNextWeb.

• Samsung's Exynos chips have got a very big security flaw in their kernels, which came to light over the weekend. We won't offer up any details at the moment, but there are some temporary fixes for custom roms from CodeworkX. Other than that Samsung is aware of the issues, which affect both the Galaxy S2 and S3 and all of the Galaxy Notes that use Exynos chipsets! There may well be a couple of other devices like the Meizu MX and the Galaxy Player which are affected too. The issue is that malicious apps can easily take control of your phone, so in the mean time please only download trusted apps from the Play Store otherwise you may well be risking your phone. Of course we will update you as soon as we hear more back from Samsung's 'official investigation'!
  Via AndroidCentral.

• Nokia has promised via their US Twitter account that a software update will be arriving for Lumia 920 owners to make their cameras a little bit better in daylight, something which users have been complaining about since the devices launch. The timescale is currently only described as 'shortly', so we're hoping for a pre-Christmas update!
  Via IntoMobile.

• HTC's Butterfly J or the Droid DNA as US readers will know it, will not be coming to Europe in its current form. It seems we will have to wait until CES or MWC at the start of next year to see what sort of equivalent device HTC is planning to offer their European customers! Ronnie from Coolsmartphone got an email from Expansys, who had put the device up for pre-order, it read:

"Thank you for your recent interest and preorder of the HTC Butterfly. Unfortunately, we have now been informed by HTC that this device will not be available in European markets, and as such we have had to remove it from our website and cancel your preorder." Via CoolSmartphone.

And finally, it seems Google is wishing their customers a very Merry Christmas with deal every day from now until January the 1st. They could literally be anything! Today's treat was $35 off of a Hotel, but we have a feeling Google's mobile and tablet users may well have a few useful discounts coming their way in the next few days! Remember to check back tomorrow to see what they're offering. If you did want to claim today's discount head over here!

Via AndroidCommunity.

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WESC Conga headphones review!

   A couple of weeks ago we got a pair of WESC Congo headphones land in our post box! We got them for a relatively reasonable £20, a price which is comparable to the lower budget options from Sennheiser, Sony and Skullcandy. So the competition is good and the WESC options are relatively hard to get hold of, so is it worth the effort of finding them?

   First up, they do produce a good sound. It's a relatively deep and full, although it's not on the same level as Beats by Dre, but those headphones are considerably more expensive! If you're used to the normal iPhone/iPod earphones then you will be seriously impressed and similarly if you have some inexpensive in-ear buds, you will also be suitably pleased with your purchase!

   One thing to mention about these is the adjustable sliders on the sides. Firstly, they don't move in tandem, you have to adjust them separately, which sometimes means they end up slightly lopsided on your head. As well as this, the sliders do, according to some reviewers, have a tendency to become a little loose over time, something which we haven't yet experienced, but we can understand how this could happen after a couple of months! Although, in reality we don't think this will be too much of an issue, as the headphones will always default to a comfortable position around your head, so we wouldn't be too concerned by this. The final issue is that the headphones are tight around your head when you initially take them out of the box. They do loosen up slightly after use but they still remain quite tight. This may make wearing these headphones slightly painful if you wear glasses as your ears are pushed into the frames.

   Having said that, people around the university campus have commented on how 'stylish' the headphones are. We firmly agree with this sentiment because these headphones are from a brand that's well known for their unique clothing designs. So if fashion is pivotal to you these are a great choice! That's the point of these headphones, they are all about the looks, but you have the added benefits of good sound quality and an affordable price point. These two points make these a compelling option and we would wholeheartedly recommend these despite the slight comfort issue with glasses, which we're sure can be overlooked at this price point!

   At the time of writing you can pick up some Congas from Amazon from £14.99 in a variety of styles. These ones are quite like to sell out if you don't get in quick! Otherwise Google Shopping is the best bet of finding a pair as they're quite elusive!

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14/12/2012: Huawei and Nokia rumoured to working on phablets, EE announces LTE tablets, Sony Yuga rumours and much more!

Phablet rumours! Huawei 8.5" beast and a Nokia Lumia supersized.

   The past few days saw rumours of a Galaxy Note 3 that could have a 6.3" screen, something which would really push the boundaries of pocket-ability. But, Eldar Murtazin believes the device in the picture above is an 8.5" device which is coming from the Chinese company Huawei.

   There's some scepticism on the actual size because it's unlikely that the screen size will be 8.5" judging from the picture. But, it's quite likely we're talking about the diagonal length of the entire device. There's no word on the rest of the specs at the moment but as always we'll let you know if we hear anything more.

   From the Finnish part of the equation we've seen this picture of, what is likely to be, a prototype Lumia device. It looks very much like a blown up Lumia 810. This device has very likely to be a prototype and that alone because the resolution of the screen is 480x800, something we don't expect to see on a high-end device at the moment. 

   Either way we should expect to see a barrage of giant devices in the coming year that are of similar sizes to this given the success of Samsung's Galaxy Note range!
Via Slashgear.

In other news:

• Google+ for Android has been updated today with the some additional features. The main benefit of this update is the instant upload feature on Android. Google will now let you store up to 5GBs of photos for free. You can get the update here and when the update hits you'll see a full changelog on the app description.
  Via AndroidCommunity.

• Motorola's Atrix HD for AT&T and T-Mobile are getting an update to Andorid 4.1 Jelly Bean. You can see if the update is ready for your device by clicking through Settings>About Phone>Software updates. It'll be worth it to get your Project Butter smoothness and your Google Now capabilities.
  Via AndroidCentral.
  
  
• The UK's first LTE carrier EE has announced a pair of tablets which can connect to their new 4G network. The Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE is now on offer £99.99 on a 24-month contract. This is by no means a cheap option; it's £35.99 a month for 8GB of data, a 5GB data plan is £30.99 a month and the tablet will cost £199.99 and a 3GB deal will set you back £25.99 a month and the tablet will cost you £249.99. The Nexus 7 is also on offer but you will have to connect through the Huawei E589 Mobile WiFi device. You can get this tablet on exactly the same price plans as the one above, although the Nexus 7 and the hotspot device will cost £29.99 on the 8GB and 5GB plans and £49.99 for 3GB of data.
  Via PocketLint.

• DigiTimes has reported that market observers say it’s very likely that the next version of the iPad mini arrive with a Retina display. Obviously, this means they're not sure, but if we had had a guess at what Apple was planning with the next iPad Mini, we wouldn't have been too far away from this conclusion either!
  Via Slashgear. 

• The rumour mill really pushed its boundaries today as rumours of a new smartphone from Sony, code named the Yuga, come to the internet. If the rumours are to be believed then the device will feature a Samsung Exynos 5 quad-core processor, 3GB RAM, 128 GB storage, a 16-megapixel camera, and a 3,000 mAh battery! This is supposedly all to be topped off with a 5-inch 1080p HD display, which is the most likely of all of the specs! We would love to see a device like this running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but from the moment we'll take a big pinch of salt and we'll cross our fingers for a device like this arriving at CES in the new year!
  Via AndroidGuys.

• Google's Nexus 7 has been waiting a little while for an official dock, but it's been captured on camera today! Check it out on the video below!
  Via AndroidCommunity.

And finally, Alcatel have outed their Windows Phone 7.8 device which is expected to be heading to Russia in the near future, through a new YouTube promo! Check it out in the video below!
Via Engadget.

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Sony's original Tablet S receives 'a big system update' in the UK.

   This morning we woke up to find a big system update message sprawled across the screen of our original Sony Tablet S. Sony has had a relatively good track record of offering maintenance updates and bug fixes, but this particular update caught our eye because it 'is a big system update which offers all sorts of new features'.

   Upon checking Sony's website we realised this was the update US users received a while back and indeed there are lots of enhancements, but it is still Android 4.0.3 ICS. There's Guest mode, a set of new media apps, more 'small apps' and a host of other new features which are quoted below! One thing just to mention before the new features is that the update is 262MBs so please don't download the update by tethering to your phone unless you have unlimited data!

New Features:

• Adds Guest Mode

• Adds new media player applications (WALKMAN, Album and Movies)

• Adds new Small Apps (Timer and Voice Recorder) and supports widgets

• Adds Xperia Link application

• Adds macro functionality to Remote Control App and skin change *1

• Adds news widgets including Topics

• Adds Socialife (Updates Social Feed Reader Cloud to Socialife if you have already installed Social Feed Reader Cloud)

• Adds the following input languages: Japanese (Hand-writing), Korean, Arabic , Thai , Greek

• Enhances the clipboard function

• Adds the following applications: YouTube *2, Google Books [Play Books] *3, Google Videos [Play Movies] *3

• Supports the SDK (Software Development Kit) for IR Remote control and Small apps

• New Looks

• New icon design for applications developed by Sony

• The following apps are renamed: Personal Space becomes Play Memories Online *3, Select App becomes Sony Select

• Background color of application tray is changed from white to black.

Features removed:

• Removes Favorite application

• Removes DLNA application. You will still be able to access DLNA enabled devices within WALKMAN, Album and Movies

• Removes Throw feature within Gallery application. You can throw photo/video using Album application

• Removes current Video Player and Music Player's apps/widgets placed on Home screen. These are to be replaced by by Movies and Walkman

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13/12/2012: Google Maps for iOS and a plethora of other app updates, Jelly Bean for Verizon Galaxy S3's and much more!

Apps get updates: Everything from GMaps for iOS to iPlayer for Android!

   Everyone loves apps! We use them all the time on our phones and tablets and for whatever reason today has been a hot day for apps and app updates in particular! There's a few major ones to go through so hold tight!

Google Maps for iOS!

Google maps for iOS supports 2D, 3D and Street View(Credit: BBC). 

   This will be the most popular one without doubt! It's the return of Google's maps to iOS! For whatever reason Apple gave Google's solution the boot with the introduction of iOS6. Apple's new maps weren't received very well; Australian police still advise you not to use them and even Tim Cook himself suggested people use other (Nokia (now called Here)) maps while Apple ironed out the teething problems!

   But alas we don't have that problem any more! Google's Maps are back with 2D, 3D and street view options in tow! There's also turn-by-turn navigation, although it lacks the indoor maps, the ability to download maps for offline viewing, and voice search which you get on the Android version of the app, although that shouldn't upset most people!
Via BBC.

Google Now for Android.

   Google Now received another update today, but at the moment we're not sure what this update brings to the organiser!

BBC iPlayer for Android.

   The BBC has today posted a blog post outlining their commitment to providing the best quality of iPlayer for the vast range of devices which run Android. They said it is this diversity which has caused them problems, but they're now working to making Android updates happen quickly and in a comparable time frame to their iOS updates!

   The BBC said their three mains goals are:

1. Improve the playback experience.
2. Achieve feature parity between iOS and Android.
3. Support a variety of screen sizes. 

 The guys finished off by outlining their plans for the future:

"Before Christmas we're going to enable iPlayer on Jellybean 4.2 and offer a richer tablet experience on devices such as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD.
Thereafter--with Adobe and Google's help--we'll improve playback on devices like the Sony Xperia Arc. Into 2013 we'll prioritise the most popular Android devices so we can deliver the best experience for the biggest audience. As you can see this is just the beginning."

   Hopefully this will mean a much better tablet UI, which isn't too shoddy already, and then much better playback on other devices which have some issues at the moment!

Via BBC.

Google apps for Windows platforms.

   Google has offered a rather brutal condemnation of Microsoft's platforms in a recent interview from Clay Bavor, Google's Director of Product Management for Google Apps. He was speaking with V3 when he said 

“We have no plans to build out Windows apps. We are very careful about where we invest and will go where the users are but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows 8. If that changes, we would invest there, of course."

   Ouch! Sorry Windows users!

Google Magazines comes to the UK.

   And finally, Magazines are available for your phone or tablet in the UK! You have the ability to purchase individual issues or a subscription and have it automatically delivered on publication day. If you're lucky you could also get “Interactive” versions of magazines which have "more in-depth features, videos, animations, and other content."
Via Slashgear.

In other news:

• Verizon has announced that their Galaxy S3's will be getting an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean over the weekend! One thing to bear in mind is that this update will not give you Google Wallet, you'll have to be content ISIS Mobile payments!
  Via AndroidCommunity.
  
  
  
  
• Sprint has formally offered $2.1 billion for the 48.3 percent of Clearwire that it currently doesn't own, Reuters says. This buyout is now subject to acceptance and regulatory approval and if both of them turn out positively then Sprint will be paying $2.90 per share which is slightly more than Clearwire's share price at the close of play yesterday! We'll have to wait until Softbank’s buyout of Sprint is confirmed before this one will take place!
  Via AndroidGuys.

• ZTE has all but confirmed their Nubia Z5 devices, which has been much rumoured lately. It's been advertise on the CES website and it's been confirmed that it's a 5" smartphone.

 "Be the first to see the brand new Grand S, ZTE’s flagship handset in its high-end Grand Series of products. ZTE’s first FHD smartphone is also the world’s thinnest for 5 inch FHD smartphones. Made of ceramic and featuring traditional Chinese style, the Grand S is the perfect phone for the fashionable set." Via AndroidGuys. 

• Vodafone have a new signal booster called the Sure Signal, it's designed for those of you who have a slightly dodgy signal!  The new device will cost you £100 and you'll need a minimum broadband speed of 1MB is required for stable use, although speeds will depend on how many people are using your internet at the same time!
  Via Slashgear.

• The Korean Times thinks Samsung is getting ready to step the size of the next Galaxy note up again next year! It started at 5.3", not it's 5.5" and next year it's supposedly going to have a 6.3" screen!
  Via Slashgear.

• EE has announced that another 17 towns will be lit up with 4G LTE. On this list there's Bradford, Chelmsford, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Leicester, Luton, Newport, Reading, Rotherham, St Albans, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, Walsall, Watford, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton. Are you about to get fast mobile internet near you?

• Samsung has today announced that they've hired David Eun, formerly of AOL and Google fame, he has been tasked with leading Samsung's new push into media. We're not sure exactly what his role will be although Samsung said:

“He will play a key role in developing a global media strategy and driving new business opportunities to take advantage of Samsung’s growing number of digital televisions and displays, mobile phones, tablets and other connected devices.” Via AllThingsD.

And finally, Samsung's spicy advert of a couple sharing a video via Galaxy Beam has been given a Christmas make over! You can see the video in all it's filth below!

 

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12/12/2012: HTC pen a sponsorship deal with UEFA, O2 set to raise prices and they got into trouble with regulators, Blackberry L-Series devices caught on video and much more!

HTC and UEFA agree a sponsorship deal.

   At the moment HTC is having a bit of a hard time of it. They're One series has become diluted, despite the company saying they would focus on a core set of devices, but they seem to have a few tricks up their sleeve to make it all smiles again. Today they have announced that they will have a three-year deal with UEFA, which is Europe's Footballing authority.

   This will mean that HTC will have their logo plastered across match tickets, broadcast credits and match photographers' jackets. We expect HTC will have some pitchside adverts too! The Taiwanese company also promised to give customers access to match footage and archive broadcasts.

   Peter Chou, who's HTC's CEO, said: 'Football elicits so much passion around the world and we are excited to partner with one of the leading sporting brands in the world. We’ll be working closely with UEFA to offer football experiences to all fans in addition to providing a richer overall mobile experience.' We would like to see some dedicated apps which are exclusive to HTC devices, but that might be a push too far!

   UEFA's general secretary, Gianni Infantino, said: 'I am pleased to welcome HTC to the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League family. Through this partnership UEFA and HTC will promote European club football to a worldwide audience and bring new opportunities for our fans to engage with the competitions. We value the support and commitment of HTC and anticipate their involvement with these competitions will increase the profile of their brand on a global scale.

   This seems like a worthwhile investment from HTC and this will definitely get them a lot of brand exposure in European countries at the very least!
Via MobileToday.

O2 in trouble with ASA and possibly with you!

   UK carrier O2 has found themselves in a spot of hot water today after their misleading claim that prospective iPhone 5 buyers get their 'pre-order [to O2] before 4pm the day before launch, we'll get it to you on launch day'. What they didn't make clear is that there was a limited amount of stock and once those 'pre-orders' were exhausted it was a 'standard order' and so you would have to wait up to three weeks to receive your phone.

   The Advertising Standards Authority thinks O2 was a little out of line here and they've "ordered that the claim must not again appear in its current form and that the distinction between pre-orders and standard orders must be clarified" for next time.

   If you weren't affected by the first issue above, then every O2 customer is about to be affected by this second announcement. "From 28 February 2013, your line rental will go up by 3.2 [percent]. That's in line with the current rate of inflation as at December 2012 when we made the announcement."

   It's never popular when carriers utilise this small print in people's contracts. But, this will mean that if your contract is currently £15.50 a month contract then it'll soon be £16 and your £31 tariff will shoot up to a penny short of £32. O2 has calculator on its website so you can find out the damage!
Via ITProportal and TheInquirer.

In other news:

• RIM's upcoming L-Series device has been shown off on camera today after Tinhte showed off a set of pictures last night! They've made the video below for your viewing pleasure!
  Via Crackberry.
  
  
  
  
  
• Google's Eric Schmidt has today been on stage at The New York Times' Dealbook conference today, and he's made a bit of news concerning the company's big broadband effort, Google Fiber. Schmidt said that Fiber "isn't just an experiment, it's a real business and we're trying to decide where to expand next."
  Via Engadget.

• Google has released an update for their Currents app for Android. There's a lot of new things in this release including:

* Edition sidebar - quickly access your editions within categories such as business, sports, etc.
* Fast scan - Vertical swipe to scan an edition, horizontal swipe advances to next edition
* Edition-section chooser - Choose “Customize” to filter out sections
* Unread marks - Read stories are marked. (Setting to hide)
* Breaking stories - ranked by Google News. Links to full length content.
* Saved stories - star for future reference
* New catalog design
* Widget

Via AndroidPolice.

•  The WSJ has again tipped Apple to make a TV, they've written a hugely detailed report on why they think it's back on the cards! You can check it out here!

• The research firm Informa has tipped budget smartphones to make up 52% of the market by 2017! This demand would be driven by emerging markets and would see phones costing less than $150 becoming the norm. This would be bad news for companies profits as it would turn the market into a more quantity focused affair!
  Via CNet.

• Sky has updated its Sky+ app for iOS with on-demand listings something which will allow your iPad or iPhone to a remotely control film and boxset downloads that get sent to your Sky+HD box. You can scroll through the Sky TV On Demand catalog and queue the things you want to watch while people in the house are playing with the box itself!
  Via Slashgear.

• Acer has released a slightly beefier version of their recent Chromebook. This time they've kept the screen and processor but they've bumped storage up to 500GB's from 320, doubled the battery size to 5,000 mAh pack and they've add $100 to the price tag so this one will set you back $300! You can find full details here!
  Via Slashgear.

• Dell will officially be ceasing smartphone production from today! The company was famous for their huge (at the time) Dell Streak 5! But, from here on out Dell will stay committed to their computers and Windows based tablets. There's still the possibility that Dell is still looking at Android, but don't get your hopes up too much guys!
  Via PhoneArena.

And finally, this is Russia's finest new smartphone called the YotaPhone. It's an interesting new phone it's got a Gorilla Glass 4.3-inch 720 x 1,280 LCD display on the front, a 200dpi E Ink rear display with the same same size and screen protection on the back. There's also a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor with 2GB of RAM and there's a minimum of 32GB of non-expandable storage. On top of that there's LTE, a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 720p front-facing camera! This certainly looks like a fantastic device and we love the implementation of the eInk screen, it'd be great for the cheeky notification readings as it's always on!

Via Engadget.

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11/12/2012: Skydrive for iOS in jeopardy, Larry Page speaks, HTC One SV, SkyGo for Android updated and more!

Skydrive for iOS in jeopardy over in-app subscription upgrades!

   This is not really a surprise but it seems Microsoft will have to start coughing up 30% of their 'subscription fee' for the upgrade to Skydrive if you upgrade through the iOS app.

   It's quite clear why this will be an issue for Microsoft. The upgrade path, which is new to their iOS app gives users the ability to upgrade their SkyDrive subscriptions straight from their Apple phone or tabler. This functionality though makes the purchase an 'in-app' purchase and as such Apple will be taking their 30% cut from the sale.

   Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is not on the same page as Apple when it comes to that size of cut and because their SkyDrive subscriptions aren’t exclusive to iOS, Microsoft is arguing that they should be exempt from the 30% charge! 

   We understand why Microsoft has a problem here, but by the same token Apple's 30% cut has been their since the inception of the App Store. We're sure Microsoft could find a work around, but for the mean time your in-app upgrade for Skydrive may well be disappearing!
Via TheNextWeb.

Larry Page offers a rare interview: talks about Apple, Android and a Motorola Nexus!

   It's not every week that we get interview from Tim Cook, Eric Schmidt and Larry Page! But a terrible tech trio has been rounded out this week with Larry Page stepping forward to offer some views! This week he sat down with Miguel Helft from Fortune to go through a variety of issues from a Motorola Nexus to Apple's "island-like approach" to its platform.

   Lets start with the gossip about Apple! He said that Apple's "island-like approach was somewhat a shame for users." He said he though it:

"would be nice if everybody would get along better and the users didn't suffer as a result of other people's activities. I try to model that. We try pretty hard to make our products be available as widely as we can. That's our philosophy. I think sometimes we're allowed to do that. Sometimes we're not."

   Page also had Android high on the agenda. He explained how he thought that availability and sharing were fundamental to the successes Android has seen. Naturally he linked Google Plus into that and said how Google had "18 different ways of sharing stuff before we did Plus. Now we have one way that works well, and we're improving." Google are also reportedly exploring ways of monetizing Android, Page said, " I think we're in the early stages of monetization. The fact that a phone has a location is really helpful for monetization."

   Lastly, when probed about a Nexus device from Motorola, Page offered the simple answer that Google hasn't "owned the company long enough." Interestingly he doesn't pledge a Motorola Nexus but he said that Google plans to develop "amazing innovative devices" with it's wide range of partners. Whether these partners are new or old Google has pledged to keep them as happy as possible!
Fortune500 Via Slashgear.

HTC announce the One SV: LTE on a budget!

   HTC's newest mid-range smartphone, the One V was not the runaway success it's Wildfire named predecessors were and the HTC One S was a relatively popular mid-range device. These two things and that lovely new LTE network from EE in the UK, may go some way to explaining that shiny new device pictured above!

   This phone is the HTC One SV, a new LTE compatible phone with a solid amount of power for a mid-range handset. To start with there's a new 4.3-inch 480x800p LCD2 screen, Beats Audio, burst photography and a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. It'll be powered by the slightly ageing Android 4.0 and you'll be able to snap 5-megapixel images with f/2.0 lens, which can also record 1080p video. To round it off there's a microSD card slot, which is compatible with cards up to 32GB's and there's NFC too!

Via TheInquirer.

In other news:

•  Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour was finally launched on the Google Play Store late last night. That was after a previous delay. Unfortunately it seems Gameloft has another problem with the game and it has been pulled from the Play Store once again. The best guesses of the interwebs are that it'll be back in the next couple of weeks! We'll keep you informed!
  Via Phandroid.

• It seems iOS will have a new untethered jailbreak on December 22nd! It comes from a new dveloper called 'Dream JB', we've never heard of him before but everything looks legit on his site. Although, the world is supposed to end on December 21st so this could well be a very dedicated troll effort! We'll have to wait and see!
  Via Slashgear.

• Hot on the heels of the subscription offered by UK newspaper, the Times, which came with a Nexus 7 at a lower price, the Financial Times is also offering a new deal. If you're willing to cough up for a Premium FT.com subscription that will set you back $446.50 for the year or the Newpaper bundle price will be $597.48, then you will get a complementary Nexus 7! Although, this is the 8GB model, which Google doesn't sell any more, but if you want some FT news and you want a Nexus 7, you could do worse!
  Via AndroidCommunity.

• Sony has launched a new app for all Android users called 'Xperia Lounge'. The app is pegged as a 'new entertainment application with exclusive content and competitions across different genres including music, film, gaming, and sports.'
  
  The apps content will be limited though, with Xperia users getting access to all of the goodies; things such as live concerts and exclusive content from Coldplay! If you want to try the app you can get it here!
  Via Slashgear,

• SkyGo for Android has finally been updated! The new version of the app works with the full list of devices you see below! It's also now compatible with all versions of Android from 2.2 to 4.2.1! (Excluding Honeycomb). If you want to start that streaming hit this link!
  Via Coolsmartphone.

And finally, Angry Birds has just celebrated its third birthday today! Appropriately the game has received updates to version 3.0.0 and this has brought with it 30 new levels which are in the 'Happy Birdday' world! See what they did there?!

Via AndroidCommunity.

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