Comscore: Android's UK market share explodes as Apple overtakes Symbian

Look at the chart above and you'll see two things happening. First, Apple has overtaken Symbian to become the top smartphone platform in the UK (with a 27 percent market share). And secondly, Android has grown 634 percent year-over-year to shoot into second place, with less than half a percentage point keeping it from the top spot (other reports already place it ahead). As you might expect, much of that growth isn't coming from folks switching from one smartphone to the other, but from new smartphone users -- Comscore found that 42 percent of all mobile users in the UK used a smartphone in May of this year, compared to just 27 percent a year ago. Of course, that also means that 58 percent of UK cellphone users are still potential smartphone users (to say nothing of those that still don't have a cellphone at all), so there's certainly still plenty up for grabs for all involved.

Pictures - 2012 Toyota Hilux

Google Maps brings live traffic coverage to 13 European countries

The next time you head out for a leisurely Sunday drive along the autobahn, you might wanna take a minute to consult Google Maps' live traffic feature, now available in Germany and 12 other nations across Europe. Announced earlier this week, the new addition offers regularly updated coverage of all highways and major thoroughfares in countries like Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland, while bringing more detailed street-level data to users in the UK. Europe's road warriors will also be able to use a legend to learn about traffic patterns at specific times or days of the week, making it even easier for you to micro-manage your summer getaway to the Swiss Alps. Learning how to fit all your luggage into the back of a Twingo, however, is another matter altogether.

Huawei Ascend II on sale now, brings off-contract Gingerbread to Cricket for $180

We gotta say -- we dig where this is headed. Between Virgin Mobile's Intercept, Boost Mobile's Prevail and Cricket's Ascend II, it's getting harder and harder to justify a mid-range smartphone on a post-paid carrier. Huawei's latest prepaid smartphone has just landed on Cricket, quite a few months after we first touched it at CTIA. What's wild isn't the predictable design or middle-of-the-road 5 megapixel camera -- it's that $179.99 off-contract price tag coupled with a copy of Android 2.3. Gingerbread is proving tough to find even on the big boys, so having a prepaid option is all the more surprising. You'll also get a 3.5-inch HVGA touchpanel, WiFi, a microSD slot and a 600MHz processor. Granted, you'll likely experience plenty of lag when trying to multitask, but with an all-inclusive $55 / month plan (which includes unlimited talk, text, 411 information, international text, data and video picture messages), what's to kvetch about?

LG Struggles Through First Half Of 2011, Cuts Smartphone Sales Target By 20%

LG has thrown in the towel, as it were, on its original goal to sell 30 million smartphones in 2011.

After having delayed the worldwide launch of it’s beastly Optimus 3D smartphone, and losing its smartphone boss to Apple’s South Korean unit, LG hasn’t exactly been thriving. The new goal for 2011 is 24 million smartphone units sold, and overall handset shipments falling between the 114 to 150 million marks.

Cincinnati Bell rolls out HSPA+ service, speeds past other 4G competition

Regional carriers don't often get to brag about their accomplishments. It's even rarer that their servicesbest a handful of wireless industry titans, but Cincinnati Bell's managed to do both with its recent rollout of 4G service. Available to subscribers in the Greater Cincinnati area, the operator's HSPA+ offers download speeds up to 10Mbps -- that's twice as fast as T-Mobile's similar network, as well as 4G from Sprint and AT&T. If you've got an AWS-capable HSPA+ smartphone lying around -- like the HTC Sensation -- now would be the time to unlock it. And don't worry about having a limited service area, the carrier's inked deals with national wireless operators to ensure you cruise the 4G wave even while you roam. To get you hooked on the speedy new service, Cincinnati Bell's offering a limited time 'buy one, get one' for the Huawei Ascend X 4G (say that three times fast). Sure, the Froyo handset may not be the envy of high-end, dual-core Android purists, but its 1GHz Snapdragon processor will do -- until the operator expands its offerings, that is.

Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS

With nearly 350,000 apps and counting, the iPhone's maximum capacity of 32GB doesn't allow you to even scratch the surface of the App Store's catalog. Throw in an HD movie, some TV episodes, hundreds of tracks and a few thousand photos, and you'll be chewing through those available bytes in no time. Most manufacturers compensate this limitation by including a microSD slot for additional storage, but not Apple -- you're stuck with that original capacity until you're ready to upgrade to a new device. Luckily, for those who need more storage now and don't mind paying for it, AirStash, Seagate's GoFlex Satellite, and now Kingston's ultra-slim Wi-Drive allow you to boost gigs without upgrading, or switching to another platform. None of these pocket servers come without compromise, however -- you'll be spending over $100 for even the most basic option, while adding yet another device to your portable mix.

iPad Accounts For 1% Og Global Web Browsing

The iPad now accounts for 1% of total global web browsing according to new figures from Net Applications NetMarketshare. The report also says that the iPad accounts for 2.1% of the total U.S. browsing traffic. Those are some impressive figures to attribute to just a single device, but they underscore the fact that mobile browsing in general has been seeing steady rises. Indeed mobile devices now account for 5% of global web browsing (meaning that the iPad accounts for 20% of global mobile web browsing!).

iOS devices in total i..e iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches account for a very healthy two thirds of all mobile browsing in the U.S. That leaves Android in second place with 31.6% and BlackBerry brings up the rear with 7%. The other platforms don't really register in the U.S. although with Windows Mobile coming up steadily and Android expanding at a breakneck pace these figures will no doubt change.

Nokia Takes Credit For Rise In Windows Phone Apps

It was recently announced that Windows Phone had amassed 25,000 apps in its app store. A big achievement for the nascent platform to be sure and Microsoft can be justly proud of that. However, someone else is taking the credit for the jump in app numbers ... and that someone is Nokia.

Yes, the manufacturer that doesn't actually have a Windows Phone device for sale, is taking the credit for the upswing in Windows Phone apps. Is it justified though? Well in the words of Marco Argenti, Nokia's senior vice president of developer and marketplace, "After we announced our partnership with Microsoft, the amount of apps coming in to the marketplace has actually gone up quite a bit, has almost tripled".

Certainly the prospect of having Nokia onboard won't be hurting the appeal of Windows Phone in terms of attracting developers and even without a device ready for market Nokia's power in the market must still be seductive for some as Argenti alluded to "So we've seen this inflection point very clearly that even without launching a device because they [developers] see greater opportunities [to] come".

It's also worth pointing out that Nokia have been keen to get their army of Symbian devs moving across to their newly embraced platform. Nokia is telling them that local success can be had with the new platform, but also there is of course this vast global audience that both Microsoft and Nokia can reach out to. Argenti says as much himself "... embrace the Windows [Phone] platform because we're going to bring it to all these markets that we will launch the device in".

EU Plans To Scrap Roaming Fees

The EU is looking at abolishing roaming fees for voice calls by 2015 across the union. It's obviously a great move for consumers (although the networks may not agree), but it's also part of a longer trend in European roaming that has seen the cost of using your mobile abroad steadily fall.

Vivienne Reding, the previous information commissioner set the ball rolling in that regard and since 2007 the cost of voice calls whilst roaming has been falling by 6% every year. That's great, but the real prize for consumers would of course be the elimination of roaming charges all together, after all the EU is supposed to be a common market.

Now you will notice that this proposalonly covers voice calls, not data. That's still a major expense when outside of your home country and it's sad not to see it mentioned in this initiative, but perhaps the scrapping of voice roaming charges might lead the way?