By Megan Fleet

The hype and buzz have died down a bit from CES, now we are on our way to the build up and news out of the Mobile World Congress. So without further ado, let’s fill you in on the latest  HTC cell phone –  the HTC Ville.  Get a detailed review of the svelte metal uni-body design that is less than 8mm thick that  is  HTC Ville.

Potential customers can expect an Android 4.0 mobile OS which will please those who don’t want to have to wait for their device to roll out upgrades. Additional specs are Sense 4.0, a 4.3 Super AMOLED display, with a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor under the hood. What’s really exciting is that this Snapdragon’s Qualcomm Krait CPU will increase performance by 60% compared to the existing Scorpion micro-architecture in previous Snapdragon versions. A face-lifted Adreno 225 GPU will make graphics perform 50% faster too. Get ready for a little zoom zoom in your HTC Ville!   Get a complete view of the HTC Ville preliminary specs at GSM Arena

Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky!  Discover the latest innovative protection solutions… stylish top brand bags, sleeves and cases specifically designed to protect your devices from scratches and blemishes.  Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside these brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.

By Aldo Panessidi

The world’s greatest tech show – CES 2012 – kicked off on Monday,  January 9th… and will run until Friday January 13th.

With more than four decades of success, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) reaches across global markets, connects the industry and enables CE innovations to grow and thrive.   The show is produced by Consumer electronic Association, the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer technology industry. CEA represents more than 2,000 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.

This year’s show is held at the Hilton Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas and will cover more than 1.8 million square feet which is equivalent to 35 American football fields with over 2700 exhibitors and close to 200,000 attendees from across the globe.

Most of the leading smartphone and wireless mobile device (such as tablets) manufacturers and vendors will be unveiling their latest product and technology.  In the same breath, these manufacturers will be showcasing their latest in innovative protection solutions… … stylish top brand bags, sleeves and cases specifically designed to protect your devices from scratches and blemishes.  Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside these brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.

The following capture the most important CES smartphone and wireless mobile device news and product video overview:

	LTE-packing Nokia Lumia 900 is finally official, exclusive to AT&T HTC Titan II vs. Nokia Lumia 900 vs. Samsung Focus S – the ultimate WP showdown [TABLE]  Nokia Lumia 900 – specs • hands-on
	New Samsung Series 9 ultrabook comes in 13.3″ and 15″ versions, the small one weighs just 1.16kg Samsung and AT&T unveil Note, Skyrocket HD and Exhilarate Android-powered webcam-like device, the Samsung inTouch, adds Smart TV magic to your boring HDTV Sprint unveils Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE Verizon debuts Galaxy Tab LTE   Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE- specs • hands-on • second hands-on AT&T Galaxy Note LTE – specs • hands-on • second hands-on Samsung Skyrocket HD – specs Samsung Exhilarate – specs Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE – specs
	Sony Ericsson LiveView successor spotted at CES, announcement seems imminent The Sony Xperia ion coming to AT&T in Q2 2012 Sony announces Xperia S with a 12MP camera and HD screen  Sony Xperia ion – specs • hands-on Sony Xperia S – specs • hands-on
	LG brings a ton of new HDTV stuff to CES, 3D is everywhere, and there’s a motion-controlled remote with voice input LG Spectrum goes official, joins the Verizon LTE gang on Jan 19 Sprint unveils LG Viper  LG Viper- specs LG Spectrum – specs • hands-on
	HTC Titan II vs. Nokia Lumia 900 vs. Samsung Focus S – the ultimate WP showdown [TABLE] LTE HTC Titan II with 16 MP camera revealed, heads for AT&T HTC Titan II - specs • hands-on • camera samples
	Acer announces Aspire S5 and Aspire Timeline Ultra Ultrabooks, claims the former to be the world’s thinnest Acer showcases the new Iconia Tab A700, comes with a quad-core processor and a full HD display
	Verizon announces several Droid RAZRs  Motorola RAZR MAXX – specs • hands-on Motorola Droid 4 - specs • hands-on
	Lenovo continues CES invasion with IdeaCentre B-series all-in-ones and refreshed desktops Lenovo announces IdeaPad S200 and IdeaPad S206 netbooks, will launch in June Lenovo IdeaPad U310 and U410 new Ultrabook laptops get under the spotlight Lenovo unveils Ideapad S2, the S2 smartphone and K91 TV
	Huawei Ascend P1 and Ascend P1 S droid beasts announced  Huawei Ascend P1 – specs • hands-on Huawei Ascend P1 S – specs • hands-on
Misc	Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update starts rolling out for the ASUS Transformer Prime ASUS and NVidia CEOs show a 7-inch Tegra 3-powered tablet with ICS for $249 Gigabyte keeps Atom dream alive with Cedar Trail powered T1006M convertibe netbook and tablet, Windows 7 on board In case of emergency: The new SpareOne mobile phone promises to hold its charge for up to 15 years Fujitsu showcases quad-core Tegra 3 smartphone at CES Parrot shows AR.Drone 2.0 at CES – now with 720p video recording, easy sharing and sturdier hardware OCZ Lightfoot SSD boasts Thunderbolt connectivity, speeds beyond belief Canon PowerShot G1 X is a 14MP compact with a DSLR-sized 4:3 image sensor • Canon G1 X hands-on Fujifilm announced rangefinder-style, mirrorless X-Pro1 camera, to cost $1,700 at launch SanDisk unveils the world’s fastest SDXC card, promises write speeds of up to 45MB/sToshiba showcase three mysterious tablets at CES and tell us nothing about them Razer reveals Project Fiona, a tablet with controllers attached to it running on a Core i7 and Windows 8

Many thanks to GSM Arena for the above references and links.

By Megan Fleet

Every brand and company has its shtick, its M.O., its press friendly sound bytes. Google is no different when espousing the virtues of its Google Android operating system at each event they are able to use a soapbox and spread their smartphone evangelism. The main gospel is the Android culture of openness and the lack of limitations is to the benefit of the consumer.

This is great PR spin. And this writer truly loves a good euphemism laced with truth. So, while Android is more open that its competitors, it is comparative. When held up to open-source software like Linux, it is actually quite closed. Hence, a Hollywoodesque Benniffer moniker is bound to catch: Clopen.

At the moment, Google makes the Android OS source code available to companies and individuals to customize to their liking. Very open and transparent, non? Flip side of this coin is the Google mobile suite: Gmail, Android Market, Google Maps, and the long list of “Google” stamped functions. These are closed sourced. The double talk is confusing for customers. Especially when end users purchase a no-Market Android device. Not good PR.

Throw in the custom skins and fragmentations used by the varied carriers and manufacturers and there is a varying standard of quality for the smartphones bearing the Android and Google names. This is damaging to a brand. In fact, Marketing Land’s Danny Sullivan wrote that these quality control discrepancies are resulting in customers with outdated devices in their hands. This particular quirk can be addressed with accessories (protective cases, upgraded screen skins etc), but what is under the hood is harder to resolve.

Case in point: the latest Android OS release, Ice Cream Sandwich. Various manufacturers have hedged and speculated about when the update would be available and on what phones and what carriers (at least with an unlocked phone, the customer will have more say in to get the latest Android OS). As of right now, only one physical device has the update on it. The flagship Android phone, Galaxy Nexus. Newer devices like the DROID RAZR, DROID Bionic, and the Rezound should see the update later in 2012, but there are many others like the LG Revolution (launched only 7 months ago) that will never get the ICS upgrade treatment because of the carrier (please see above note about unlocked phones!).

Luckily for customers, the Open Handset Alliance which encompasses major US players (LG, HTC, Motorola, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to name a few) which has pledged with Google to bring an end to fragmentation and bring the latest Android OS to devices if the smartphone release is 18 months old or younger.

By Megan Fleet

Many pro-business advocates will espouse the virtues of patents and their being upheld with patent law in the free market world. A clear comparison in the schools of thought: free market vs. controlled market is the US vs. China. The latter is known for its corporate espionage, systemic lack of creativity, and lack of respect for the rights of intellectual property. The former sometimes has the opposite problem where obscure patents and a muddy system work against entrepreneurs and fail to promote the sharing of information and technology. Strangely, the proprietary model of Apple and their inclination to sign carrier exclusive deals instead of providing carrier agnostic unlocked cell phones seems counterintuitive to this pro-business strategy they’ve pursued.

With these polar opposites at work in the global corporate world, the HTC / Apple patent infringement case actually made me a smile a bit as it is a rare case of patent law being meted out justly and under the intent of the law. On Monday, the United States International Trade Commission ruled that as of April 19^th, 2012 they will ban the import of certain HTC devices (no word on if any of these patent infringements extend to HTC specific after market phone and mobile accessories.  Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky!  Protect your devices from scratches and blemishes with stylish top brand cases and skins accessories.

In response, HTC released this statement to BGR via email “We are gratified that the commission affirmed the judge’s determination on the ‘721 and ‘983 patents, and reversed its decision on the ‘263 patent and partially on the ‘647 patent […] We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the ‘647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon.”   Discover the select accessories, such as, stylus & pens, data cables, batteries, SD micro cards, desktop chargers, earpieces & headsets as well as glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

This is a ruling that was made after the July 16^th decision that determined a violation of two Apple owned patents by HTC. Luckily for the device manufacturer, it appears that they will be able to side step considerable losses in inventory, research & development, and market share by implementing the required changes before the April 2012 deadline.  The latest  trend setting fashionable bags, cases and sleeves accessories express your unique style.  Make your mobile devices stand out.  Customize your look – how cool can you be?

By Aldo Panessidi

While the mobile carrier options are different, the mobile device brands, their popularity, and availability are very comparable between the US and Canada. In particular the convenience of unlocked cell phones which better serves mobile consumer in North America with the freedom to choose their service provider  and subscription plan that best meets their lifestyle needs.

So what are the trends and popularity for this year? Two words: Samsung cell phones and Android. According to research giant ComScore, Android is chipping away at the market share previously held by the beleaguered RIM’s BlackBerry OS… In a short three month period Android captured an additional 4.4% of the market as RIM dropped 4.5%.

Samsung’s recent successes have allowed them to gain market momentum thanks to the growing of their  Samsung Galaxy SII cell phone and Galaxy Tablet.   In fact, Samsung’s smart phones account for over a quarter of the mobile devices in the US market today.  This is no paltry amount of handsets based on the newest census of users indicating a whopping 234 million Americans use cell phones. That number is only going up as premium electronic  accessories specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich… turn your device into a power tool.  This whole gambit of new  functionality further help make us multi-tasking masters.

But what are they really being used for these days? This writer hazards a guess based on personal usage: most everything but talking.  And the increase in mobile device accessories, such as stylus & pens, speakers, headphones & earpieces and special glider gloves continue to highlight shifts in user behaviors.  We use them as the pocket PCs to browse Facebook (and update statuses), indulge in online shopping (after using the bank app to check account balances), fill the social calendar via texting, stream music from Pandora while running, or keeping fidgety fingers occupied while waiting in line with a quick game of Solitaire. Discover the hottest unlocked cell phones.

As the ComScore report indicates time and again, the collective consumers are driving trends and commerce that the carriers and handset manufacturers cannot ignore.

By Aldo Panessidi

Before October, the casual smart phone consumer was likely blissfully unaware of the existence of a company by the name of Carrier IQ. Thanks to researcher Trevor Eckhart, it has come to light that the stealth software company is recording keystrokes, SMS messages and other information and possibly reporting the data back to their servers. Carrier IQ’s response? Issuing a cease and desist letter to the whistleblower, Eckhart, and releasing a media alert dismissing the accusations saying that they are “not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools.” Enjoy the freedom brought about by unlocked phones… which allow you to choose not only the service provider but the plan that best meets your lifestyle needs.
The potential privacy contagion is rumored to be limited to certain smart phone OS’s, so be an informed consumer and review all your mobile device options. The best part is the great offerings and releases of new phones and from Apple, Blackberry, Samsung, Motorola, HTC and everything in between during the holiday season! This Holiday Season – protective accessories solutions make excellent and greatly appreciated stocking stuffers.

And to end on a high note, legislation may be in the works to bring greater data equality and accessibility to all Canadians. Christian Paradis, the Minister of Industry, recently made significant remarks at the International Institute of Communications Canada Conference in Ottawa that rolled out “an update on measure taken to support the digital economy in Canada […] Canadians should receive the same services wherever they live.” The implications of this could be huge, ending regional monopolies by carrier based on tower service areas. Putting the power of choice back into the hands of the consumer who could better take advantage of unlocked mobile devices creates a competitive environment to drive technology and affordable, customizable plans. Music to all Canadians’ ears!

By Megan Fleet

Most travelers would expect a European capital to have a bustling international airport.  However, most first-time visitors to Finland would be in for a surprise.  This Nordic beauty has a mere population of 5 million… hence, its Helsinki airport resembles a small regional airport . It may be home to global mobile phenomenon, Nokia, but its population doesn’t appear to be sufficient to keep the former industry leader ahead of the competition. In fact, the Taloussanomat report out of Helsinki is the loudest singing canary in the global coalmine – a drop in Nokia brand popularity from 76% to 31% in a short 12 month period.  Discover the vast selection of unlocked phones in particular the Nokia smartphone phones .

The major change agent in this scenario?  In an inability to independently weather the unknown market climes and customer inclinations, Nokia partnered with Microsoft and released the Nokia Lumia800 (worth comparing to other unlocked phone options). Despite an aggressive marketing campaign, consumers are still undecided on their verdict.   View the innovative protective solutions and premium electronic accessories from the industry’s most leading brands

Nokia was an industry leader when there wasn’t a truly global mobile device market and an accompanying level of global competition.  Joining forces with Microsoft in February was a move intended to preserve its status in the mobile device industry.  It currently seems to have inherently altered the flavor of the company and, in due course, its product and image.  Even when taking the newest products out of consideration, this pairing appears to have alienated Nokia’s customer base.  This perception could potentially be altered with an addition of tablets.

Efforts to appease those customers  have a hollow resonance when compared to the Nokia of old. Even worse, with Stephen Elop’s statements regarding the Lumia800 being “the first real Windows Phone device,” the management of the co-branding is likely to alienate other Windows OS smart phone manufacturers like HTC, LG Mobile and Samsung.    A conflict in culture, vision, and management are looking to be greater conflicts than the mediocre mobile devices launched by the Microsoft-Nokia conglomerate. Fortunately, online retailers like PureMobile afford consumers an array of unlocked smart phones and the latest fashion setting superior protective accessories to customize mobile devices.

In fact, since the Microsoft partnership Samsung has significantly jumped in Finnish market share (3% to 25%) followed by a 26% increase by Apple and more pieces of the pie gobbles up by Sony Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE. This may indicate a marked augmentation in Finnish inclination to peruse the unlocked mobile device market to meet their smart phone needs.

With all of these unfavorable markers the casual observer may infer the fall of a mobile dynasty, but this writer’s belief is that the partnership with Microsoft was a necessity to remain competitive in the growing global market. If Nokia can be as innovative and inventive in its mobile device accessories they will have an even greater chance of survival.

By Megan Fleet

In an era where patents are sold and bought  like commodities in lieu of protecting intellectual rights;  and where mall innovators are snapped up for their technological visions and execution, – HTC is a wonder to behold.  The rising star of the smartphone world has « arrived. »

Ten years ago HTC couldn’t even be considered a boutique cell phone to set yourself apart from the mundane crowd of Motorolas and Nokias. It was, however, a company earning its chops manufacturing hardware for Windows Mobile-powered devices for household names like Compaq and XDA.  Now HTC is manufacturing the Raider, Amaze and Desire line of cell phones coupled with a plethora a innovative protective solutions and premium electronic accessories

HTC’s big break came in 2008 : with the Android. The Dream and G1, which launched the brand into the periphery of the ever growing smart phone consumer market.  Its years as a technological innovator for Windows helped carve a niche and secure a market notoriety for cell phone and mobile accessories.

The following video provides an excellent account of The Quietly Brilliant Story of HTC

Throughout the years there has been escalating competition in particular from Samsung cell phones.   But as any good capitalist knows, a competitive environment spurs creativity and innovation. And, as any informed consumer knows, also keeps costs competitive thanks to vendor agnostic retailers such as puremobile.com where the buffet of unlocked cell phone and mobile devices can be sampled, reviewed, and easily paired with practical yet fun wireless accessories.

HTC is an underdog with elegant and smart technology that marries performance and beauty into something intuitive and tangible for a memorable end user experience. Translation? HTC is a rising star .  They may have lost the dominant Android market share to Samsung but the recent performance and successes of Sensation and EVO 3D will pair with upcoming jewels like the Ville and sharp music accessory bundles (without the proprietary encumbrance of Apple’s iTunes) for a bright 2012.

Accessories make great stocking stuffers for the tech savvy Android aficionado in your life, take a gander at some great holiday accessory deals at puremobile.com!

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PureMobile has an accessory solution for every lifestyle…. This is personal. This is you. This is  Shopping Simplified.

Written by: Aldo Panessidi

It’s the most explosive development in the tablet market since the release of the original iPad and the latest apple tablet the iPad2. The launch of the Amazon Kindle Fire represents a major shot across the bow at Apple, according to a new ChangeWave survey which primarily targeted North American consumers.

According to ChangeWave demand for tablets this holiday season is three (3) times higher than for the same period last year.

It seems that today, shoppers have broadened their tablet interest from to include the Kindle Fire from Amazon… you can view more in this consumer demand survey

The more interesting stat, perhaps, is that more than a quarter of respondents in ChangeWave’s survey who confirmed an imminent Kindle Fire purchase said they would buy the Amazon tablet in place of an iPad.

“Tablet providers (Iconia, Xoom, Flyer, Galaxy Tab, PlayBook, etc) have failed to gain appreciable traction against iPad’s 67% market share, and iPad 2 should be a popular holiday purchase,” indicated officials at ChangeWave. “However, strong early Fire uptake seems likely, raising speculation Apple now faces a real tablet contender. Survey data says 26% of likely Fire buyers (i.e. of the 5%) say they will delay/put on hold iPad buying. Sustained Fire uptake and ‘buzz’ will depend on consumer/reviewer reactions to Fire’s user experience.”

Moreover, when asked if they intended to purchase a tablet in the next 90 days, 14% of the 3,043 North American consumers surveyed by ChangeWave said yes. Only 6% said they intended to purchase a tablet in a similar survey conducted in August, and just 4% intended to purchase a tablet in November last year. ChangeWave’s new survey also found that 65% of respondents intended to purchase Apple’s iPad 2, while 22% were eying the Kindle Fire. Only 4% of respondents intended to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and no other tablet vendor garnered more than 1% of interest among those polled.  We expect consumers that want protect and personalize their devices to  invest in most fashionable and trendy tablet accessories with the latest technology to enhance functionality

“The launch of the Amazon Kindle Fire is turning out be a real competitive threat to Apple, who until now has almost completely dominated the tablet space,” ChangeWave said. “But the most immediate impact of the Amazon device is on the rest of the competition, where the survey shows it wreaking a devastating blow to a range of second tier tablet manufacturers, including Motorola, RIM, Dell, HTC, H-P and Toshiba.”

Amazon’s tablet may end up helping Apple in the long run. “The ChangeWave survey shows the Amazon Kindle Fire is going to leapfrog the competition and become the number two product in the tablet market, as long as it can provide a quality user experience,” ChangeWave said.

If you are a current subscriber to T-Mobile’s 5GB webConnect data plan the recent announcement made by the wireless network may be some good news or bad news depending on how you look at it.  T-Mobile recently announced that the carrier will no longer be charging its $.20 per megabyte overage fee for any data used beyond the 5GB limit.  Instead of these overage fees the wireless network will be implementing bandwidth throttling on any data used on top of the standard 5GB.  While T-Mobile did not say exactly how much they will slow things down this latest announcement effectively makes the 5GB webConnect data plan an unlimited plan. 

This new data structure will also affect those customers who are on the 200MB monthly plan for their iPhone or other devices.  While these customers will not see any bandwidth throttling they will see their overage charges cut in half from $.20 to $.10 per megabyte.  Both changes are effective immediately.

While it will depend on how much data you consume via your mobile device for how you view this latest announcement I would take it as a positive addition to their 5GB data plan by T-Mobile.  No longer will you have to incur those nasty overage fees when you use more than your allotted 5GB of data.  Instead now you will just have your data throttled which will mean slower loading times.  Of course if the loading time is so slow that you can not even use the data feature of your device it will be worthless but I do not see T-Mobile making the web that slow.  I know I will welcome the ability to use as much data as I want on my HTC Android device without fears of having an astronomical phone bill.