Smartphones powered by the Android and iOS mobile operating systems accounted for more than eight out of ten smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12). According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the mobile operating systems held shares of 59.0% and 23.0% respectively of the 152.3 million smartphones shipped in 1Q12. During the first quarter of 2011, the two operating systems held a combined share of 54.4%. The share gains mean that Android and iOS have successfully distanced themselves from previous market leaders Symbian and BlackBerry, as well as Linux and Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile.

The American wireless industry is increasingly taking a page from the airlines, adopting irritating fees and surcharges while curtailing the perks and rewards that used to come with customer loyalty and family plans that routinely run into the hundreds of dollars.<p>

Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all have a nasty surprise in store for customers who have not upgraded their smartphones in the last year or so: the equipment upgrade fee.  Sprint and AT&T both charge $36 per phone, Verizon Wireless now charges $30, T-Mobile $18.<p>

Verizon customers are especially peeved because that wireless company used to reward loyal customers with a $50 credit off any new phone at contract renewal time. Today, instead of getting “New Every Two” discounts, Big Red will charge you $30 for every new phone when you renew your contract.

LG is not, as rumoured, ditching Windows Phone 7 in favour of Android it seems with the electronics giant confirming as much to Pocket-lint.</p><p>

"None of it is true. Korea Herald is showing its speculative side again," a spokesman for the company in Korea exclusively told Pocket-lint before adding, "We are still on board with Windows Phone, but right now, we're focusing on Android because that's where the demand is."

Research in Motion Ltd may take four to five years to regain its stride after its recent stumbles, but the BlackBerry maker's stock is a good buy at current levels, value investor Prem Watsa said on Thursday.</p><p>

"Is it going to turn around in three months, six months, nine months? No," said Watsa, chief executive of insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. "But if you're looking four, five years ... We make investments over four or five years."

Since my post in June last year Sony Ericsson and Motorola were acquired making the total victims list total 14 companies with Nokia, LG and RIM having joined the “endangered species list”. If the pattern repeats, then RIM and Nokia are in early phases of what promises to be an extended period of pain followed by an exit.</p><p>

What the analysis does not answer is when a vendor loses its independence after beginning loss making. Motorola took 20 quarters; Sony Ericsson 14, Ericsson 8 and Siemens only 7. We cannot tell if or when LG which is still operating after 8 and Nokia, which is now in its fourth and RIM in its second quarter post-loss will lose independence.

Apple’s iPhone continues to sell well at Verizon, though not quite as well as last quarter. Reporting first-quarter earnings largely in line with expectations this morning, Verizon said it sold 6.3m smartphones. Of those, 3.2m were iPhones.

I recently participated in an interview with the Portuguese website Zwame, where I made some comments on the future of Windows Phone that created confusion. Rumors are swirling, so I feel the need to clarify my statements.</p><p>

The point I was attempting to make was simply that existing Windows Phone applications will run on the next version of Windows Phone. This is the same guidance that Microsoft shared late last year.</p><p>

I mistakenly confused app compatibility with phone updateability, which caused the rumors we saw yesterday.  I did not intend to give the impression I was offering new guidance on any products under development or their upgradeability.

The information was leaked through a website which, at the bottom, contained the image in question. By analysing the photo they were able to discover that it was taken on an iPhone and then using that, were able to find the GPS tag which is included with most images taken on smartphones today.</p><p>

Learning the location of the image was Austrailia they were then able to make the connection between the image and the fact that Ochoa had made several references to an Australian girlfriend.</p><p>

From there it was a simple matter of tracing his Facebook page through her own and then placing surveillance on him until they were satisfied to make the arrest.

Looking at product mix, Samsung growth is shown to be almost entirely due to smartphones while Nokia’s stagnant growth seems to be a failure to have any smartphone traction.</p><p>

It’s even more clear when showing the above mixes of devices as percents of total.

Although there are no reliable stats, China appears to have a big problem when it comes to malicious mobile apps either finding their way onto legitimate sites such as those run by the operators, or dubious third party platforms.</p><p>

Roy Ko, a consultant at the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center, told The Register that part of the problem lies with Chinese mobile users themselves.</p><p>

“In China people like to crack software and make it available for free but that is dangerous because Google Play at least has some quality control, but on the other sites you get these cracked apps alongside malicious ones,” he argued.</p><p>

The most common end goal for the creators of these malicious apps is either to steal data, or make money out of premium dialler malware, although increasingly hackers are using these infection channels to turn smartphones into botnets, Ko explained.

Canada’s love affair with the BlackBerry is waning.

Research In Motion has been ousted from the top spot for smartphone shipments in its home market for the first time, trailing Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, shipped 2.08m BlackBerrys last year in Canada, compared with 2.85m units for Apple, data compiled by IDC and Bloomberg show. In 2010, the BlackBerry topped the iPhone by half a million, and in 2008, the year after the iPhone’s debut, RIM outsold Apple by almost five to one.

Apple now has the top-selling cellphone of any kind in Japan, IDC Japan determined late Thursday. The iPhone 4S launch helped Apple claim 26.6% of all cellphone shipments in the country this fall. It may have been the first non-Japanese company to top local ranks, ending a longstanding emphasis on local makers.
The Fujitsu-Toshiba alliance was next closest at 18.3% courtesy of its Arrows smartphones, while Sharp (15.7%), Kyocera (9.8), and Panasonic (8.8%) were next. Year-long, the spike was enough to give Apple 14.2% of the country's cellphone sales. Sharp (20.1%) and Fujitsu-Toshiba (18.8%) were still larger, but it did see Apple eclipse Panasonic (10%) and Kyocera (9.7%).