Samsung announces Galaxy Win Pro mid-ranger.

 Having gone unannounced until now, the Samsung Galaxy Win Pro has popped up on the Korean manufacturer's China web portal today.

 The Win Pro retains the midrange pedigree of its predecessor, the Galaxy Win, but to a lesser degree thanks to its 4.5-inch qHD display. This is a marked step up from the 4.7 "WVGA display of the Galaxy Win.

Otherwise, the specifications are for the most part identical between the two devices: a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 5MP camera, and optional dual-SIM support. The battery has been bumped up by 100mAh to 2,100 mAh, and while there's no word on internal storage or RAM size, we assume they'll be in the same 8GB/1GB neighborhood as the Win.

Also, contrary to what the name may lead you to believe, the Galaxy Win Pro will run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

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ASUS December 11 event will make the Padfone mini official.

   ASUS is preparing to officially launch the Padfone mini at a dedicated event in Taiwan on December 11. While the PadFone Infinity boasts a 10.1 "tablet and a 5.0" smartphone, the Padfone mini is rumored to consist of a more compact 4.3 "smartphone that slides into a 7" slate.

   The resolution of the displays won't be as high as one could hope - the 4.3 "display of the smartphone will feature have 960 x 540 pixels, with the tablet's 7" screen rocking 720p resolution. Further rumored specifications include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset and possibly 1GB of RAM.

As far as other specs go, no information is currently available. The Padfone family members have always boasted great displays and battery life. However, with specifications like this, we're inclined to believe ASUS is seeking a lower price point, hoping to entice a wider number of customers.

It seems ASUS is pleased with the sales performance of its unique Padfone line-up and is eager to develop it further. We'll find out if the Padfone mini will be able to stand on its own thanks to some unique features or if it'll get lost in the shadow of its bigger brother.

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iOS 7 runs on 74 percent of all compatible Apple devices.

  The latest App Store statistics released by Apple revealed that 74% of all compatible devices now boot iOS 7. The share of the latest OS version is up 10% since October, thus making iOS 7 the fastest adopted release to date.

  The numbers from Apple also show that iOS 6 runs on the devices of 22% of all App Store users. The remaining 4% goes to devices running older iOS versions.

The main factors behind the quick adoption rate of iOS 7 are yet to be specified by Apple. The well-received, refreshed iPhone and iPad lineups are certain to have contributed to the quick growth of the iOS 7 share.

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ComScore: Android, iOS and WP shares in the US rise.

   The latest ComScore report on the smartphone market in the USA is out. It reveals minor increases of the Android, iOS and Windows Phone shares among the US subscribers, while BlackBerry's share keeps sliding down.

   As of October 52.2% of the US subscribers are using Android OS - that's 0.4 points more than July and makes the Google platform the biggest gainer. Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Windows Phone have also gained popularity - both platform subscribers have increased by 0.2 points since July up to 40.6% (Android) and 3.2% (WP). The troubled BlackBerry took a huge hit though - its total share shrank by 0.7 points down to just 3.6%.

   Surprisingly, the launch of the new iPhones didn't help Apple improve its use base in the US in a meaningful way. The Cupertino company is still responsible for 40.6% of all smartphones used in the country, but the modest gain over July suggests those who bought the iPhone 5s and 5c are mostly upgraders rather than new iOS users.

  Samsung's latest flagship - the Galaxy Note 3 seems to have done a better job, the Korean manufacturer total shipments share rose by 1.3 points up to 25.4%.

Finally, Motorola's shipments also rose a hair, while HTC's and LG's lost some ground. It seems Moto X is helping the Google-owned Motorola regain some share.

Unsurprisingly, the company in biggest trouble is BlackBerry. It is losing subscribers fast and its shipments have become really insignificant in what used to be one of its strongest markets. Let's hope the company find a way to turn its fortunes around quickly or it risks disappearing from the map altogether.

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Motorola to offer Moto X on sale again on Wednesday and Monday.

  Motorola had embarked on a noble plan to offer the unlocked version of the Moto X for $ 349.99 through their MotoMaker website on Cyber ​​Monday. While the plan was good, Motorola was unable to execute it.

  The day the phone went on sale, the site was unable to handle the stress of all the people trying to make concurrent orders, leading to basically no one being able to purchase the phone.

Now to make up for this gaffe, Motorola will be putting the phone back on sale on Wednesday, December 4 on their website, along with next Monday, that is, December 9. The 16GB model will be offered for the same $ 349.99 and the 32GB model for $ 399.99, unlocked.

  If you missed out last time, this is your chance to get the unlocked model for a sizable discount again. Makes sure you get in line early, though, as there is no guarantee the site won't go down again.

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HTC posts $522 million in revenue for November.

  HTC has issued its financial report for November stating a revenue of $ 522 million (NT $ 15.47 billion). That's up 3.2% from the results posted in October, but a decrease 27.1% year-over-year. According to analysts, HTC's reported financials meet market expectations with the Taiwanese looking forward to ship about 5.2 million smartphones in Q4 of 2013.

  However, things aren't looking as bright as HTC would've wanted them to be. For the whole 2013, sans December of course, HTC's revenues amounted to nearly $ 6.45 billion - a 28.6% decrease compared to 2012. According to the company's report revenues are expected to slide from 4.25% to 14.89% sequentially to $ 1.35-$ 1.52 billion in the fourth quarter with a gross margin of 19-20%.

According to analysts, the reason for HTC's financial dismay is the company's sliding market share in the US and Europe. The company hasn't been able to lure any new customers this Holiday season with its new offering being only the HTC One Max.

We'll see if HTC will be able to pull any magic tricks, but it seems the company is done for 2013 as far as any new products are concerned. The Taiwanese look to be focused on the One successor codenamed M8.

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