Windows Phone at the top of the charts at Amazon

As we come to the end of the year, it seems that we might be looking at the start of a three-way battle for control of the smartphone market around the globe. The Nokia Lumia 800 has been successful with its launch in the UK and there is talk of an LTE enabled model coming to Verizon and AT&T in the States. While Windows Phone models still have a way to go to reach the sales totals put up by iOS and Android, the top 3 handsets offered on contract by Amazon, based on customers reviews, are all Windows Phone models.

Number one on Amazon's list of handsets that require a signed contract is the HTC Titan. Available on AT&T's network, the Titan lives up to its name with a 4.7 inch Super LCD WVGA display and has a 1.5GHz single-core Qualcomm QSM8255 processor under the hood. Also on board is 512 MB of RAM and 16GB of native storage. An 8MP camera on back captures video at 720p at 30fps, while there is a 1.3MP front-facing shooter. Amazon is offering this beast for $99.99 with a signed 2-year contract.

The top 3 smartphones at Amazon based on customer reviews are Windows Phone models

It might be impressive to see a Windows Phone handset at the top of the list, but it might be even more impressive to see such devices beat out Android phones for numbers 2 and 3. Behind the Titan is the Samsung Focus S 4G, also available for AT&T's pipeline. With a slim 8.55mm body, the device is equipped with a 4.3 inch WVGA display. Under the hood is a single-core 1.4GHz processor with 16GB of native storage on board. There is an  8MP rear-facing camera that captures video at 720p (29fps) and a 1.3MP front-facing shooter. Amazon is selling the phone for $19.99 with a signed 2-year contract.

Number three on the list is the HTC Trophy available for Verizon's network. A world phone, the Trophy has a 3.8 inch WVGA screen. Under the hood is a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8650 Snapdragon processor with 576MB of RAM aboard. 16GB of native storage comes with the device. A 5MP rear-facing camera with flash and AF, captures video at 720p (24fps). With your John Hancock on a 2-year contract, the phone is 1 cent.

It should be interesting to see where Windows Phone goes from here. By this time next year, will Microsoft's mobile OS be putting pressure on the green robot and iOS? Will it be the Tango update that makes it a three horse race? And perhaps most importantly, is there a piece of hardware out on the horizon that will do for Windows Phone what the Motorola DROID did for Android?

In the meantime, the first Android phone in the top 20 is the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket at number 4. Of the top 20, 14 are Android powered phones with the balance belonging to the Windows Phone camp.

source: Amazon

It's not easy being Google+ (or green)

With a report in the LA Times showing that traffic to Google+ has dropped in half over the 21 weeks since its launch, Google is calling out the big guns, heavy artillery, the A-Team in an attempt to reverse its fortunes. Yes, that is right, Google will feature the Muppets in its television advertisements for Google+.

There are those who would point to the latest statistics to show that Google+ doesn't need any help. According to Hitwise, the social site had its third largest week of traffic in the 7 day period ending November 12th. That figure showed a 25% increase in traffic to the site from October. The best week that the site has had since launch was 15 million visitors in a week, but as of the middle of last month the site was drawing an average of 6.8 million weekly visitors.

Visitors to Google+ have dropped since September

Google's own stats show a better picture. "Google+" is the second most searched for term in 2011, but despite what would seemingly be a positive statistic, the site only had two peaks in the number of visitors. One was in July when the service was invitation-only, and the second was in September when it opened to the public.

So can the whimsical nature of the Muppets as they sing the Queen/David Bowie song "Under Pressure" send new visitors to Google+? We will have to wait and see what the numbers tell us after the ad has been in rotation for a decent period of time. Google has used the Muppets before, namely on what would have been the 75th birthday of Muppets creator Jim Henson as the characters formed an interactive Google logo. But this is a more serious task for Google as the guys at Mountain View try to make a dent in the social network arena.

source: Hitwise via PCMag

First tablet in the States powered by Ice Cream Sandwich is just $120

The first Android tablet on U.S. soil to be powered by Ice Cream Sandwich, is an import from China that has won over none other than Andy Rubin. The Ainovo Novo7 Paladin is powered by a single-core 1GHz MIPS-Based XBurst CPU with a Vivante GC860 GPU clocked at 444MHz with a 7 inch WVGA display. The version of the Novo 7 with Android 4.0 does not feature a camera The Novo7 paladin is Wi-Fi enabled and while the tablet does not offer 3G connectivity out of the box, there is a dongle that will give you 3G/WCDMA support. Other  features include 1080p video decoding, and the tablet has 512MB of RAM on board along with 8GB of native storage that can be bumped up with the use of a microSD card. A 4000mAh battery offers 7 hours of web browsing or 6 hours of gaming, claims the manufacturer.

Originally, the tablet could be imported into the States from China for $100 with an additional $60 for shipping. Now, you can pre-order the first U.S. Ice Cream Sandwich tablet for $120 with free shipping from online retailers like Pandawill or Merimobiles. Just keep in mind that even though the device does have Android 4.0 installed, the price guarantees that this is a low-budget tablet. Still, the purchase should afford you bragging rights in your neighborhood for now.

There are two other variants of the Ainovo Novo 7. The Basic adds a 2MP rear-facing camera, a VGA front-facing shooter and is powered by Android 3.2 instead of Android 4.0. The Advance has a 1.5GHz processor, the same camera set-up of the Basic, and has Android 2.3 under the hood.

source: Pandawill, Merimobiles via Engadget

The first Ice Cream Sandwich powered Android tablet in the States can be yours for $120

Despite new technologies, pocket-dialing remains as prevalent as ever

It's something that happens to all cell phone owners at one tine or another. You have your handset placed firmly in your pocket and the next thing you know, the phone is activated and a call is placed to one of your contacts, a recently dialed number or a random combination of numbers without your knowledge. Now, this is not the most terrible thing in the world unless you happen to reveal a secret or two that is transmitted by accident to the wrong person. For example, a pair of thieves had just recently ripped off a Target in Madison Wisconsin and while in the getaway car, bragging about where they were going to hide the ill-gotten goods, one of the crooks pocket-dialed 9-1-1 on his handset. The police heard the whole conversation and an arrest was made much easier than it might have been.

Some newer Android models offer In-Pocket detection

Both touchscreen and non-touchscreen phones are at fault and that is despite an option to lock the phone when it goes into your pocket that is a feature on some of the newer Android models. Chicago 9-1-1 operators complain that many of the calls they get from wireless handsets come from a pocket-dialer. There are some ways to make pocket-dialing much harder for your phone to accomplish. On both the Apple iPhone and most Android models, you can lock the screen by pressing the button on top of the device that can put your phone to sleep. Of course, that leaves you just another accidental button press away from making a call.

Besides pocket-dialing, another potentially embarrassing problem is pocket-texting. Of course, the odds that you will send a coherent sentence by accident is astronomical, but sometimes sending someone a message comprised of nonsensical words is just as bad as completing a phone call that was dialed by your butt. You would think that with all of the high tech goodness that today's smartphones offer, the handset manufacturers would have a better solution for this decidedly low-tech problem.

With the New Year coming, it is time for a fresh start. Fess up now and tell us your most embarrassing pocket-dialing or pocket-texting moment by typing it in the comments box below.

source: USAToday

Battery Fix for Nokia Lumia 800; is that a Nokia mini-tablet running Windows Phone?

There have been some users of the Nokia Lumia 800 who have been experiencing some problems with the battery. Some units of the phone can only see less than 1000mAh instead of the full 1500mAh that the stock battery offers. As a result, there have been complaints of the battery draining even while being plugged in at night to recharge.

Carrier 3 Italy says it has received a notice from Nokia that says that a fix is coming to repair the battery in the form of an update scheduled for January 18th. If you can't wait that long, you can immediately swap your unit for a new one.

The Nokia Lumia 800

While the Nokia Lumia 800 has not yet made its way to the States, there is speculation that Verizon and AT&T have been testing an LTE enabled model for an eventual launch. And speaking of Nokia, Lumia, and the U.S., at the Nokia event announcing that the Lumia 710 will be coming to T-Mobile, the manufacturer's U.S. president, Chris Weber, was sporting some type of electronic name plate. Or was it something more?

According to website BooredatWork, Weber was holding a 3 inch "Nokia Windows Phone pocket tablet like device." It had no physical buttons and while BooredatWork said it had no idea what it was nor did it have any specs for the device, they claim that it definitely ran Windows Phone. WPCentral says that it is merely an electronic badge/media device and that could be more likely especially since the design on the badge is the exact same one used on Nokia's media invitation for its CES 2012 event next month in Las Vegas.

source: NokiaBlog, BooredatWork via WPCentral

Electronic badge or new Windows Phone device? (L,C), the CES invite (R)

HTC Radar 4G appears on Microsoft's website looking like a Maitre d'

The HTC Radar 4G is available from T-Mobile. Unlike most smartphones that are released these days, the device was originally launched in white, looking like it was dropped in some snow. That is what makes the picture of the phone found on Microsoft's website so interesting. The variant shown in the image on the Microsoft site has the same white border but the outer part of the device is black. The two-tone look gives the phone the appearance of a Maitre d' wearing a tuxedo.

We are not sure if HTC plans on issuing a version of the handset looking like this, or if it was just done for the website. We must admit to digging the look, even if it seems formal. In fact, this might be the first Windows Phone handset that gets invited to a Black Tie affair.

By the way, while the Microsoft website is offering the HTC Radar 4G free with a $50 mail-in rebate, a $100 trade-in value on your old handset, and a signed two-year contract, T-Mobile's site is offering the device for free with the two year lock up.

source: Microsoft via WMPoweruser

The color scheme on the HTC Radar 4G in this picture, makes it look like the phone is wearing a tuxedo

Apple iPad 3 might be launched on Steve Jobs' birthday

A report from the Economic Times says that Apple is looking to honor its fallen co-founder by launching the Apple iPad 3 on Steve Jobs' birthday. Jobs, who passed away October 5th, was born on February 24th. 9 to 5 Mac figures that since the latter date falls on a Friday, and Apple usually introduces new products on a Tuesday or Wednesday, the tablet might be announced earlier in the month and hit stores on the 24th.

For example, the first Apple iPad was introduced on Wednesday, January 27th and was in stores on Saturday, April 3rd. The sequel was introduced on Wednesday, March 2nd and was rolling off the shelves on Friday, March 11th. At the time of the announcement of the iPad 2, Jobs was on medical leave but was so pumped about the device that he came up off his sick bed to make sure he was there for the presentation.

We have already seen a number of different rumors about when the Apple iPad 3 will be launched, and there is speculation that the screen will feature a higher resolution display. One report called for a March or April launch of the 3rd generation Apple tablet, while another seems to confirm both the launch of the Apple iPad 3 on Steve Jobs' February birth date, and the higher resolution of the screen.

source: EconomicTimes, 9to5Mac via PCMag