Unlike its local rival Samsung, the Korean handset maker LG (SEO: 066570) has lately had more of a mixed bag when it’s come to Android devices and its mobile growth. Now it’s looking for Mr Right: a partner to help it grow and remain competitive in an ever-crowded market.

This is the third in a series of posts this week that will highlight key people, companies and trends to watch in 2012 in the sectors we cover most, from publishing to legal, and from mobile to advertising. 2012 may be the year when internet TV’s promise becomes a mainstream…

A report out today, taking its cue from the new Timeline feature that is now getting rolled out to Facebook’s 800-million-plus users, alleges that Facebook will be using its new homepage format as a new vehicle for selling advertising. The question, however, is whether this is actually a development beyond…

One superstore step forward for Android in Australia, but another step back for Android-maker Samsung. Today saw what could be Google’s answer to the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) Store retail phenomenon, the unveiling of an Android retail operation, in Melbourne. Meanwhile, Samsung got dealt one more blow in Sydney’s courtrooms, as…

Some heartening news for Android device makers today from the mouth of Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt: Google (NSDQ: GOOG) will continue to back those of them facing legal disputes over patents. But that’s not stopping those device makers from shoring up their patent licensing deals, just in case. The latest…

Ever wondered whether Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has plans to tack more revenue-generating services on to Android? If it does, one of them doesn’t look like it will be a licensing fee. Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google, yesterday reiterated to an audience that Google has no plans to charge for…

Here’s an acquisition that has come unexpectedly, but not surprisingly: BlackBerry and PlayBook maker RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) has bought New Bay, an Ireland-based mobile social networking and cloud-services specialist NewBay for a sum believed to be in the region of $100 million.

Quite a few commentators expressed a sense of deflation when Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) finally announced its newest device yesterday, the iPhone 4S. Now some analysts are weighing in with their prospects on how the new device might sell.

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is making a huge investment in devices and is buying *Motorola* Mobility for $12.5 billion in an all-cash deal.

Some of the mobile industry left MeeGo for dead when Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced it would be focussing the bulk of its software development on integrating Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). But apparently there are some OEMs that could be interested in developing smartphones on the platform. Is…

Smartphone sales could drop by as much as 5 percent this year because the Japanese earthquake in March seriously affected supplies of key parts for a number of suppliers, say industry sources. Among those affected in the £100 ($163.35) billion industry are the world leader Nokia (NYSE: NOK), BlackBerry-maker Research…

Android dominated the buzz for this year’s event. According to some number-crunching from Webtrends, which analysis how much media outlets (from newspapers to microblogs) mention different terms, Android and Android-based devices topped the charts for the most talked-about OS and handsets; and Android also played a major role in making…

One year after making its debut at Mobile World Congress, the Mobile Applications Community—the group formed to encourage operator-led app stores—has finally come up with a commercial product and a list of handset makers who will work to make it happen. Is the market ready and willing for another app…

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may still be shipping more devices than any other mobile phone maker, but worldwide, it’s now losing in the smartphone platform war to Android, according to research from Canalys. In the fourth quarter of 2010, shipments of the Google-backed OS were 32.9 million, compared to Symbian at…

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said the words “mine” and “my” about two dozen times in two minutes when he took the stage this morning to officially unveil the company’s Windows 7 Phone at a press conference in New York. The smartphone operating system was built with two themes…

To the critics that say Nokia (NYSE: NOK) wouldn’t be cleaning house right now if it had adopted Android like so many other handset manufactures, Nokia’s outgoing head of its smartphone division, Anssi Vanjoki, had something clever to say: If Nokia were to adopt Google’s Android it would be like…

—LG/Android: The Korean handset maker LG is launching its first Android-OS phone, the GW620 Intouch Max, aimed at the “lower mid-tier” of the market, with T-Mobile and Virgin in the UK. via MobileNews —Santander: The Spanish banking group is launching a digital game to help with its rebranding of UK…

More developments in the connected-TV space: Orange and LG (SEO: 066570) have signed a three-year deal to offer a content and services portal for LG internet-enabled TVs to be sold in France. The portal will be accessed using a key directly on the remote control. Integrated TV carriage like this…

Anyone who’s read the respective proposals knows that they appear quite different services. But, with the vitriol that Project Kangaroo attracted - from rivals, if not from consumers - during its Competition Commission scrutiny, it was always possible that the BBC’s Project Canvas would attract similar scepticism - Sky’s submission…