With MWC drawing ever closer, new handset leaks are hitting the wires hard and fast. Today alone we’ve seen the Galaxy Mini 2 break cover and new images of the LG Miracle Windows Phone emerge, and now HTC’s latest LTE-friendly Android phone has been caught on film.

As PhoneArena notes, this mysterious handset sports the same sort of curvaceous back that gave devices like Verizon’s HTC Incredible and Rezound a bit of extra visual flair. That, coupled with the appearance of Verizon’s own 4G LTE logo and what looks like the Verizon Wave wallpaper means that we could be looking at an early version of a Big Red-bound Incredible 3.

With the announcement of their renewed focus on “hero” devices still fresh in my mind, I can’t help but think that this handset doesn’t seem like much of a standout. Ice Cream Sandwich and the Sense 4.0 UI notwithstanding, the device’s 1.2 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8-megapixel camera aren’t much of a bump over previous Incredible models. Audiophiles — or at least, audiophiles who don’t mind listening to compressed mp3s on their smartphone — may also be tickled by the inclusion of Beats Audio support, and it’s a safe bet that the Beats headphones should ship with it.

Strangely,HTC opted to go for four hardware buttons rather than the three on-screen keys that are baked into Ice Cream Sandwich. A leaked demo video of the forthcoming HTC Ville clearly shows that the Taiwanese company has adopted the three key layout, though The Verge points out the possibility of this device launching with Gingerbread first before receiving the 4.0 update. Considering that HTC plans to push ICS to certain devices as early as this March though, the thought of HTC launching a handset without the latest software is more than a little puzzling.

At long last, HTC fans can finally stop holding their collective breath. After months of relative quiet, the Taiwanese company has taken to their Facebook page to spread the word: the Ice Cream Sandwich is coming, and it’s coming soon. For owners of certain HTC devices, the long-awaited Android 4.0 update will begin hitting handsets next month.

HTC originally promised that Ice Cream Sandwich would be hitting most of their top-tier devices in “early 2012,” but that doesn’t seem to the case anymore unless you own one of their numerous Sensation devices. If anything, it should make owners of T-Mobile USA’s Sensation 4G feel a little better about their phone being stripped of flagship status in just a few months. The international-spec Sensation will be updated as well, along with the flashier special edition XE and XL models.

Some of HTC’s U.S. devices will be getting the update not long afterward, although their note on Facebook lept understandably mum when it came to specific dates. That said, owners of the following devices can rest easy knowing that HTC is still slaving away on ICS updates meant for their handsets:

• Rezound (Verizon)
• Vivid (AT&T)
• Amaze 4G (T-Mobile)
• EVO 3D (Sprint)
• EVO Design 4G (Sprint)
• Incredible S
• Desire S
• Desire HD

Meanwhile, other hardware vendors have taken up different approaches to keeping their users abreast of the update situation. To wit: LG offered up a list of devices getting the update along with a tentative timeline, while companies like Sony and Motorola have been a bit less forthcoming when it comes to forecasting an update schedule.

Smartphones and tablets maker HTC this morning said it foresees a huge drop in revenue (PDF) in the first quarter, citing “short-term difficulties” as it gears up to – reportedly – launch four new phone models at the Mobile World Congress later this month.

The Taiwanese company sees revenue dropping as much as 36 percent in Q1, to between NT$65 billion and NT$70 billion (roughly $2.2 and $2.4 billion) due to this “product transition”.

In PR speak, that sound something like this:

Despite short-term difficulties, momentum will resume in the upcoming product cycle driven by HTC’s brand strength, innovation, and design/engineering capabilities

The smartphone maker also said it expected gross margin to come in at around 25 percent, and operating margin at 7.5 percent, which is down from 27.1 percent and 12.7 percent in the previous quarter. Again, HTC says it expects these margins to “normalize” after the debut of the new phones.

In other words, HTC has a heck of a lot riding on these new smartphones selling like hotcakes, as it feels the pressure from Apple’s overwhelming iPhone success and an increasing number of manufacturers churning out and selling competing Android-powered devices by the millions.

Also read:

It’s About Time: HTC To Refocus Smartphone Efforts Around “Hero” Devices

Is HTC’s 20% Revenue Dip Last Month A Sign Of Things To Come?

News of HTC’s forthcoming Ice Cream Sandwich-powered Ville has been making the rounds since last November, but now with Mobile World Congress less than a month away, we’re finally getting our first real look at it.

HTC-Hub has managed to get their hands on a pretty extensive hands-on video, and it looks like the Ville is shaping up to a pretty impressive mid-range device.

The video tour confirms most of the specs that BGR leaked last year, from the 1.5 GHz dual-core processor to the 4.3-inch qHD display. A (possibly backlight-illuminated) 8-megapixel camera sits high on the device’s back, while a VGA front-facing camera rounds out the package up front.

The Ville looks mighty slim in the video — the rumor mill pegs it as being under 8mm thick, which could put it in competition with devices like the Droid RAZR for being the world’s thinnest smartphone. Interestingly, the Ville still leans on three discrete hardware buttons rather than placing them directly on the screen a la the Galaxy Nexus.

In light of some recent handset releases, the Ville’s spec sheet doesn’t seem quite as impressive as it once did. Still, it’s got at least two things going for it — some frankly impressive industrial design and HTC’s Sense 4.0 overlay.

I’ve never been a huge fan of manufacturer-specific Android tweaks, but if Sense 4.0 is as fleshed-out as a recent report from PocketNow makes it out to be, I may soon be singing a different tune. Though the Ville seems to have its share of snazzy animations, the promise of deep Dropbox integration and the thoughtful inclusion of a guest mode may be the real crowd-pleasers once the Ville (and its big brother the Edge) start trickling out of Taiwan.

Update: The original video went private, but here’s a replacement. Let’s see how long this one lasts.

HTC has gotten to be remarkably good at churning out phone after phone these days, but it’s gotten to feel like each new release is too little too soon. Thankfully, the godfather of Android hardware has come to its senses, as revealed by Mobile Today.

According to HTC UK head Phil Roberson, 2012 is going to be all about giving their customers “something special.” To that end, HTC plans to focus on a smaller number of “hero” smartphones and dial back their presence in the tablet market.

“We have to get back to focusing on what made us great – amazing hardware and a great customer experience,” Roberson said. “We ended 2011 with far more products than we started out with. We tried to do too much.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. HTC’s philosophy as of late seems to have been about continually chasing the bleeding edge by pushing out new hardware before its predecessors have gotten the chance to breathe. It’s refreshing to hear (err, read) that someone at HTC feels the same way, because the glut of options ultimately becomes a big problem for consumers.

Chris Ziegler at The Verge noted that the here in the States, T-Mobile’s high-end HTC Amaze 4G debuted only 120 days after the carrier’s previous flagship Android phone hit sales channels. It’s no secret that technological advances come at a blistering pace, but to push out a new flagship device in four months could easily come as a kick in the gut for customers who splurged on the previous model in an attempt to future-proof themselves a bit.

Being on the bleeding edge is great, except for when your customers are the ones who get hurt. HTC isn’t exactly alone when it comes to this sort of behavior — Samsung’s LTE-packing Skyrocket overshadowed their original Galaxy S II model, and Motorola’s Droid RAZR Maxx trades a few millimeters for some outstanding battery life while leaving original Droid RAZR owners lamenting their luck. Still, while Samsung’s market saturating plans are doing them well, Motorola has already announced their intention to trim down their smartphone offerings for 2012.

Meanwhile, the revelation of their tablet plans (or lack thereof) doesn’t come as a huge shock. The Taiwanese company released two actual tablets in 2011, with a handful of carrier-specific variants thrown in for good measure. Alas, the tablet market has become an ever tougher nut to crack, and while HTC won’t be abandoning it completely, they’ll be spending more time and resources on their main moneymaker: smartphones.

HTC has been on shakier financial ground than it’s used to recently, and at the time they cited “increased competition” in the mobile space as one of the reasons their most recent quarterly earnings ended their six-quarter growth streak. This new move is a drastic one, but it’s worth a shot considering that their once-solid approach doesn’t seem so solid anymore. With Mobile World Congress right around the corner it shouldn’t be long before we get a better glimpse at HTC’s new strategy, though whether it actually works is another story entirely.

Most of the furor surrounding the Carrier IQ diagnostic software has wound down by now, but that doesn’t mean that the companies involved have already forgotten. HTC has confirmed to The Verge that they were working with Sprint to push out maintenance updates that would remove the Carrier IQ software from affected devices.

The rollout already seems to have begun, albeit slowly — a recent update for the Evo 3D has indeed removed Carrier IQ, along with packing some battery and performance fixes. There’s no word yet on when other devices will soon experience life without Carrier IQ, though I imagine it’ll take some time to bake up an update for each particular handset.

Samsung couldn’t be reached for comment at time of writing, but hopefully they’re working on something similar as more than a few of their Android handsets have been revealed to run the Carrier IQ software.

Sprint has been in something of a holding pattern recently where Carrier IQ was concerned. Back in December, representatives from the country’s third-largest wireless carrier confirmed that Sprint would no longer be “tasking” devices for diagnostic data, although they made no mention of any efforts to remove the software. Well, no public mention anyway.

Geek.com reported at the time that Sprint had entered into back-room talks with several of their hardware partners (HTC included) in which they stressed the importance of removing the Carrier IQ software from affected devices on the network as soon as possible. Not a surprising move considering the kerfuffle they and other companies were embroiled in thanks to Carrier IQ’s initial PR blunders, but announcing that they were taking steps to remedy the issue via software update could have scored Sprint some serious brownie points.

If I had to guess, it all came down to an issue of timing — if Sprint made it publicly known that they and their hardware partners were working on a fix with no ETA, they would open themselves up to scores of emails, forum posts and blog entries about why the company has yet to deliver. Rather than risk another PR headache, Sprint (perhaps wisely) kept their collective head down until things blew over, and are now working to make things right.

HTC released their unaudited Q4 financials earlier this morning, and as expected, they indicate a disappointing decline for the Taiwanese hardware vendor.

The company’s net operating income was down to NT$12.9 billion ($426 million), a nearly $22 percent decline from their position this time last year. HTC’s revenues were similarly impacted — they only managed to pull in NT$101 billion ($3.35 billion), which represents a 2.49% year-over-year dip, and a nearly 25% decrease from their impressive Q3 figures.

HTC tried to downplay expectations for their Q4 performance in November by slashing their revenue forecasts by 20%, but the drop still must have stung. At the time, the company cited increased competition in the smartphone market as one of the key factors for their sinking financials, and they weren’t kidding. Samsung today posted some remarkable figures (even for Samsung), which makes HTC’s path going forward even rockier.

HTC may be temporarily down, but they’re not going out without a fight. HTC has hinted at big things to come in 2012, with one of the latest rumors du jour being the appearance of their first quad-core smartphone at MWC. I still think HTC’s best chance is to throw their considerable weight behind developing a flagship phone with some staying power as opposed to replacing new hardware with even newer hardware at a blistering pace. 2012 is still young — HTC has plenty of time to bounce back, but they’re going to have to work for it.

Though they had until April of next year to figure out a fix for their patent-infringing UI feature, HTC CEO Peter Chou has reaffirmed to the media that the company has already has a solution ready to go at a joint press conference with Google’s Mobile SVP Andy Rubin.

As Jordan mentioned yesterday, the patent in question deals with the ability to tap a phone number or an address within an email to bring up the corresponding application. Chou pledged that the offending UI flourish would be removed from all of their mobile devices “soon,” and Reuters reports that the company is testing their new devices for compliance with the ITC’s ruling.

Rubin also chimed in on the matter, stating that the feature that supposedly infringed Apple’s patents isn’t a core part of how Android works, but rather a “user interface feature” that has been baked into an application. Hopefully this means that Google will be able to work around it as quickly as HTC has, unless they want their other hardware partners to undergo the same legal scrutiny.

For now it looks like things are quieting down on this front, but somehow I don’t expect things to stay that way. Andy Rubin would probably agree: looking forward, Rubin says he is optimistic about the scores of mobile patent squabbles eventually giving way to a “patent peace on the overall platform,” but he expects these sorts of intellectual property battles to drag on for a few more years.

Meanwhile, HTC’s Chou seems a bit more miffed by the goings-on in the mobile space, and by Apple’s legal maneuvers in particular.

“This industry should not allow one company use its powerful weapon to stop other innovation and take it all… this is not fair,” he said.

Apple has been duking it out with Android manufacturers for the past couple years, and very few are safe. Samsung has already suffered some big losses with the banning of its Galaxy Tab in Germany and Australia. HTC, however, has remained mostly safe from Apple’s wrath.

In July the Taiwanese manufacturer had a close call, as Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski ruled that HTC was infringing two of Apple’s proposed 10 patents. Of course, before any serious action could be taken the ITC needed to have a look, which is exactly what’s happened.

Luckily for HTC, most of the infringement “charges” have been dropped, save for two claims in one patent, ruled the ITC. The patent HTC is apparently infringing is U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647, specifically claims 1 and 8. Unfortunately for HTC and all other Android manufacturers, those claims cover a few different features that are baked right into Android, including the ability to push-to-talk on a phone number within an email.

As far as HTC is concerned, this is a rather small win for Apple. Reuters reports that the infringing products won’t be allowed into the country if HTC can’t alter them. According to the official paperwork, the limited exclusion order will begin on April 19, 2012. But there’s an exception:

In addition, the Commission has determined, based on consideration of the effect of exclusion on United States consumers, that until December 19, 2013, HTC may import refurbished handsets to be provided to consumers as replacements under warranty or an insurance contract (whether the warranty or contract is offered by HTC, a carrier, or by a third party).

HTC has seemingly already figured a solution to the problem, offering the following statement to BGR.

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.

While HTC asserts that the claims only cover a UI experience, supposedly HTC’s Sense UI, the Galaxy Nexus which runs pure Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich also allows for push-to-call within an email. So, this likely presents a greater problem for Android makers in general. A feature as simple as push-to-talk within an email is something we’ve all grown accustomed to. Who knows how many more simple, but wonderful, features within Android are also infringing Apple patents?

It’s been Apple’s mission to destroy Android, and HTC is but a mere stepping stone.

Senator Al Franken pressed AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, and HTC over two weeks ago for answers about their use of Carrier IQ, the controversial monitoring software that sparked fears that our personal data was being tracked without consent. Now that the deadline has come and gone, Senator Franken had a chance to review their statements and publish them in full on his website.

After reviewing each company’s official responses to his questions, Senator Franken noted that he’s still “very troubled” by the situation at hand:

“People have a fundamental right to control their private information,” he said. “After reading the companies’ responses, I’m still concerned that this right is not being respected. The average user of any device equipped with Carrier IQ software has no way of knowing that this software is running, what information it is getting, and who it is giving it to-and that’s a problem.”

Everything began with Carrier IQ, who was the first party Senator Franken asked for more information. Their response [PDF] was one of those published on the Senator’s website, but given how transparent they have been after their initial attempt to contest Trevor Eckhart’s findings backfired, there isn’t much new material to cover.

In short, they state that Carrier IQ’s data collection consists of carrier-specified metrics, doesn’t track the content of emails or text messages, doesn’t happen in real-time, and is encrypted. They also fess up to a recently-discovered bug in which SMS messages may inadvertently be sent to Carrier IQ along with other diagnostic data, but they’re apparently hard at work on a fix.

Not bad, but some of the really juicy stuff comes from everyone else Franken wanted answers from. Let’s take a look:

AT&T:

AT&T notes that out of all of their wireless customers, only around 1% of them use devices that have Carrier IQ installed on them. This figure translates into roughly 900,000 customers — not a number to sneeze at, but one that pales in comparison to Sprint.

The company goes on to outline different types of Carrier IQ-enabled devices. The following devices are said to have the CIQ software “integrated and active”: the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Pantech Pursuit II, Pantech Breeze 3, Pantech Link 2, Sierra Wireless Shockwave, LG Thrill, ZTE Avail, ZTE Z331, Motorola Atrix 2, and the Motorola Bravo. Furthermore, the software is present (but not active) on the HTC Vivid, LG Nitro, and Samsung’s Galaxy S II Skyrocket.

Carrier IQ is also present in the BlackBerry and Android versions of AT&T’s Mark the Spot app, which allows users to mark their particular location if they experience call drops or network issues. The app originally debuted on the iPhone in late 2009, albeit without the CIQ software as part of it. AT&T also notes that the diagnostic data is erased from their CIQ servers after 60 days have gone by.

Sprint:

It should come as no surprise at this point that Sprint is one of Carrier IQ’s most prominent carrier partners: the two companies have been working together since 2006, and with nearly 26 million (!) Sprint devices currently have the diagnostic monitoring software.

That doesn’t mean, however, that 26 million devices get pinged at the same time; rather, only 1.3 million of those devices can send information at once. Much like AT&T though, Sprint repeatedly mentions that none of the data that Carrier IQ collects is human-readable, or is shared with other parties. Sprint also mentions that Carrier IQ stores user data on Sprint’s behalf for between 30 and 45 days, and Sprint stores Carrier IQ’s raw data for up to six months.

Sprint doesn’t list every device of theirs that has Carrier IQ installed, probably for the sake of brevity. They do however give up a list of device vendors on whose wares Carrier IQ runs, and it’s quite a doozy: Audiovox, Franklin, Huawei, Kyocera, LG, Motorola, Novatel, Palmone, Sanyo, and Sierra Wireless

HTC:

According the company’s best estimates, around 6.3 million HTC devices in the United States have Carrier IQ installed on them. They mention that in none of those cases did HTC install Carrier IQ of their volition; rather, they did so at the request of individual carrier partners. The company repeatedly states that they aren’t an “intended recipient” of Carrier IQ’s diagnostic data, and therefore have no access to it, but that doesn’t mean some of the data isn’t being stored anyway.

As noted by Trevor Eckhart in his tests with an Evo 3D, some data (think key inputs, locations, etc.) are in fact being stored in a log file on the device, which Carrier IQ has stated should not be happening. HTC doesn’t mention as much in their response, probably because it’s outside the scope of the senator’s line of questioning, but hopefully they address the situation soon. While we wait for further clarification from HTC on why that data is being stored in a log file on their devices, here are the all the devices that currently run Carrier IQ:

• Sprint: Hero, Snap, Touch Pro 2, Evo 4G, Evo Shift 4G, Evo 3D, Evo Design
• T-Mobile: HTC Amaze 4G
• AT&T: HTC Vivid

That’s not all though — HTC also mentions that “components of Carrier IQ” exist on the Merge, Acquire, Desire, Wildfire, Flyer and an unnamed variant of Hero.

Samsung:

Like HTC, Samsung has installed Carrier IQ on their devices at the request of the carriers, and they number of affected devices is pretty impressive. Samsung pegs the number of devices they have sold in the U.S. with Carrier IQ installed at nearly 23 million, all of which run the gamut as far as price, operating system and carrier.

If you’ve been paying attention to the Carrier IQ situation, then you may remember that Carrier IQ was discovered to be running on Samsung smartphones very early on. Now, thanks to their response to Sen. Franken’s inquiry, here’s the full list of Samsung devices that have Carrier IQ installed (in one form or another).

• Sprint: SPH-Z400, SPH-M220, SPH-M320, SPH-M240, SPH-M330, SPH-M360, Instinct, Instinct S30, Instinct HD, Rant, Highnote, Exclaim, Reclaim, Intrepid, Moment, Seek, Restore, Epic 4G, Epic 4G Touch, Intercept, Transform, Galaxy Tab 7.0, Factor, Trender, Galaxy Prevail, Replenish, Conquer 4G, and Transform Ultra.
• Cricket: Hue, Messager Touch, Chrono, Freeform III
• T-Mobile: Galaxy S II, Exhibit 4G
• AT&T: Galaxy S II Skyrocket

Like HTC, it also appears that some Samsung devices contain “dormant” CIQ, which could trigger false positives when run through one of the many Carrier IQ detection apps. Samsung hasn’t disclosed with devices have this dormant code, but I imagine devs and enthusiasts will have a pretty comprehensive list worked up before long.

Even though HTC has just come off of a record-breaking third quarter, it seems like some of the company’s mobile momentum is evaporating. The Taiwanese company recently cut their Q4 sales forecasts by more than 20%, and thanks to HTC’s unaudited November financials, it’s clear that the move was a wise one.

The financial report reveals a considerable drop in revenue when compared to HTC’s performance this time in 2010. Last month HTC had revenues of NT$30.9 billion (or $1.02 billion), while last year they managed to pull in nearly NT$38.5 billion ($1.27 billion). That’s almost a 20% dip in revenues year-over-year, which could put an end to HTC’s continuous growth streak.

Before this rough patch, HTC enjoyed six consecutive quarters of growth. It’s an impressive feat, considering competitors like LG’s mobile division has spent that same amount of time in a free fall.

So what gives? Was it just a bad month, or is it a sign of bigger, more dire days to come? It’s tough to say: when HTC slashed their sales forecast, they pegged it partially on the “global macroeconomic downturn,” but they also admitted that increased market competition made their forecast inaccurate. I sincerely doubt that increasing market competition is going to diminish any time soon, and that leaves HTC in something of a tough spot.

Apple has tremendous brand power and Samsung has design and production expertise. What does HTC have to lean on? Sense? Beats Audio? These are potentially great additions to a device, but it’s been a while since HTC has designed an entire package that took someone’s breath away.

Though I went through a phase of spec-geek lust for the HTC Rezound, nothing that HTC has put out in recent months seems terribly new or groundbreaking. That in and of itself isn’t a bad thing — they’ve found a formula for touchscreen smartphones that has clearly been working for them — but maybe it’s time for HTC to mix things up a bit. Giving Sense the boot would be a welcome change, if I may be be so bold. I’m sure it has its fans, but all of Sense’s eye-candy always made whatever HTC device I was using feel just slow enough to be unsettling.

Really, what I think HTC needs is a flagship device a la the Galaxy S II: something the represents the pinnacle of HTC’s design and technical abilities. If they could design, produce, and throw their weight behind a device like that, HTC could potentially get back on the growth track.

Depressing though the November results may be, HTC can still take solace in the fact that they took the mantle of number one smartphone vendor in the United States, just barely pulling ahead of Apple in Q3. Still, it’s going to take some bold moves from HTC in coming months if they want to keep their mobile mojo intact. With any luck, their 2012 portfolio will further cement HTC’s position in the major leagues.

To say that Carrier IQ has been going through a lot is a bit of an understatement, and it looks like things are only getting worse. PaidContent reports that two class action lawsuits — one from Missouri and the other from Illinois — have been filed against the Mountain View-based company for supposedly violating the Federal Wiretap Act.

They’re not the only ones either: handset manufacturers HTC and Samsung have also been named as defendants in one lawsuit each.

For those that have missed the drama until now, Carrier IQ is a “mobile intelligence” firm that provides logging software for carriers and devices OEMs for use in their devices. Carrier IQ claims that they deliver information “on the performance of mobile devices and networks to help the Operators provide optimal service efficiency,” but Android security researcher Trevor Eckhart discovered that CarrierIQ was capable of tracking data that’s more fine-grained than what would be expected for simple diagnostic feedback.

The lawsuits allege that the defendants “intercepted, recorded and collected information concerning the substance, purport, or meaning of the electronic communications transmitted without the authorization of the parties to those communications.” Carrier IQ (obviously) doesn’t agree with this statement; they issued an updated statement last night that states the software “does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio or video.”

And what is it that the plaintiffs of these class action suits want? Cold hard cash for all users who have Carrier IQ’s logging software installed on their devices. The text of the Missouri suits filing calls for Carrier IQ and HTC to pay statutory and punitive damages that would reach into the millions.

Meanwhile, Carrier IQ continues to deny that they have violated any laws — according to the company’s updated media release, “Carrier IQ is aware of various commentators alleging Carrier IQ has violated wiretap laws and we vigorously disagree with these assertions.”

To wit, one of those commentators was Senator Al Franken (D-MN), who yesterday called on Carrier IQ to answer a number of questions regarding what they are and aren’t able to monitor on users’ devices. It seems like Carrier IQ’s claims of being beholden to the whims of the carriers has struck a chord with the senator, as he also issued the same set of questions to AT&T, Sprint, HTC, and Samsung. Senator Franken has given each company in question until December 14 to issue a response, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Strangely, none of the carriers involved were named in either of the lawsuits, though I expect that will soon change. If you want to find out if you your device has Carrier IQ installed on it, check out our article on how to find it and what to do with it.

Yandex, the Russian online search and advertising giant, has teamed up with Microsoft, Nokia, HTC and Samsung to become the default search engine on the latest – and upcoming – Windows Phone smartphones in Russia.

Yandex’s search engine is currently installed on Samsung’s Оmnia W, which is already on sale in Russia, as well as on Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 smartphones, which will hit stores in December.

Following the launch of Windows Phone-based Titan, Mozart and Radar smartphones last autumn, HTC is also planning an update release with Yandex as the default search engine on its handsets.

The news comes on the heels of the announcement last month that Yandex became the main search provider on bada-powered smartphones available in Russia and the CIS.

Yandex points out it has already developed some apps for Windows Phone, including mapping service Yandex.Maps and online marketplace Yandex.Market, and that it will build more applications for the platform and other mobile operating systems in the future.

According to LiveInternet data, Yandex’s share of the Russian search market averaged 62.7 percent in Q3 2011, trumping Google by a margin. The company, which raised over $1.4 billion in a NASDAQ IPO earlier this year, recently reported revenues of RUR 5.2 billion ($161.9 million) for the third quarter of this year, up 65 percent compared with Q3 2010.

Aside from Russia, Yandex also operates in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Turkey.

While smartphone adoption continues to pick up steam here in the U.S., new research from Strategy Analytics shows that China is hungrier for smartphones than we are. For the first time ever, China has pulled ahead of the United States in terms of the number of smartphones shipped.

Those expecting a huge blowout may be a bit disappointed by the results: while 23 million smartphones were shipped in the United States during Q3 2011, China squeeked by with nearly 24 million units sold. With that, China has become the world’s largest smartphone market by volume. Given that China has the most cell phone users in the world, it may not come as a huge shock, but companies looking to break into the mobile space have yet another reason to consider China carefully.

Strategy Analytics also took a look at the manufacturer break down, and for the most part the winners are who you would expect. The two top vendors in the United States are HTC and Apple, who together account for almost half of all smartphones sold in the country during Q3. Meanwhile in China, Nokia and Samsung take the top two spots, with each company accounting for 28.5% and 17.6% of the market respectively.

Nokia in particular had a good quarter in China, as they shipped more units (6.8 million) than anyone else. The big question for Nokia is whether or not that momentum will continue once they complete their transition to Windows Phone. Microsoft has been eyeing the Chinese market for a while now, and their forthcoming Tango version of Windows Phone is reportedly meant to break into China and other emerging markets.

China’s smartphone boom also helps explain why their app downloads have gone through the roof; recent data from Flurry indicates that China is also experiencing a huge uptick in the number of apps downloaded, although the existence of multiple independent app stores certainly doesn’t hurt.

Manufacturer market share is great, but what I’d really like to see is a breakdown of mobile OS usage. Strategy Analytics Director Tom Kang notes that the Chinese smartphone surge is thanks in large part to “the aggressive subsidizing by operators of high-end models like the Apple iPhone, and an emerging wave of low-cost Android models from local Chinese brands such as ZTE.” I would imagine that those low-end Android devices are beginning to supplant the feature phone as the device of choice for first-time users, but Apple’s smartphones enjoys considerable popularity (even if many of them are being used unofficially).

With the HTC Vivid garnering mixed reviews, it looks like the device’s name may be the most interesting thing about it. At least one company thinks so, anyway: the porn peddlers at Vivid Entertainment have filed a cease and desist notice against the company for use of the “Vivid” name.

According to TMZ, Vivid’s legal counsel filed the notice because they are afraid consumers will think the LTE-capable smartphone is somehow connected to Vivid’s adult video empire. Yes, really. Just let that sink in for a moment.

While this all looks like a big joke, Vivid Entertainment seems awfully serious about protecting their brand. If HTC doesn’t agree to a name change by next Monday, Vivid claims that they’re ready to take their case to court. Let’s be honest here: I don’t doubt that Vivid’s got some legal muscle, but HTC’s team of lawyers has surely fought tougher battles over the years.

Whether or not Vivid has any legal standing here is sure to be debated by scores of armchair jurists, but their claims of potential customer confusion seem a tad spurious to me. While I’d love nothing more than to take a gander at to HTC’s official reply, the company has said they “won’t have any further comment” until the issue gets straightened out.

UPDATE: Vivid Entertainment has just issued a release that explains their side of the story. Here are the relevant bits:

[Vivid's attorney Mark Hoffman] said HTC America’s use of the Vivid trademarks “creates the false impression that your company and your company’s products are affiliated, connected, or associated with and or sanctioned by Vivid Entertainment.” He added, “We believe it is possible that your company is not unaware of this conflict.”

Mr. Hoffman gave HTC America until Monday, November 21 to respond to his letter and cease using the Vivid trademark or “our client will have no alternative but to pursue all legal remedies.”

“For the past 27 years Vivid has worked hard to protect and build its brand. We believe this is a clear infringement and will use all legal remedies available to protect our trademark,” said Steven Hirsch, founder/co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment.

It looks like someone over at HTC just can’t keep their mouth shut. Not that I’m complaining, mind you: the newly-leaked HTC Ville looks like a device after my own heart.

The Boy Genius himself reports that the Ville has a 4.3-inch qHD (that’s 960×540) Super AMOLED display, with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor under the hood. Sorry quad-core fans: you’ll have to look elsewhere for your fix. The Ville manages to make up for it with an HSPA+ radio and a remarkably svelte metal chassis that comes in at under 8mm thick. Oh, and who could forget the inclusion of Beats Audio support?

If the lack of hardware buttons wasn’t enough of a tip-off, the Ville will sport Ice Cream Sandwich out of the gate. For better or worse though, Matias Duarte’s stylistic choices may be painted over: the Ville is said to run Sense 4.0 on top of it.

The jury’s still out on whether or not the Ville is actually real, but BGR claims that it will soon make its first appearance alongside the HTC Edge at the 2012 Mobile World Congress. Interestingly, a sizable list of HTC device code names made the rounds yesterday and a similar-sounding device called the “Villa” was included among them.

Considering that other entries included the Ruby (now the Amaze 4G), the Holiday (now the Vivid), and the Vigor (now the Rezound), the Ville may indeed see the light of day soon. Still, it’s equally possible that this is a crafty hoax meant whipped together with a name pulled from the list to give it some credence. I suppose we’ll just have to wait for MWC to see for sure, but considering the string of HTC leaks, new details may surface even sooner than that.

Dual-core processors? How passé. If the story surrounding this leaked render holds true, then HTC is already hard at work on their first quad-core powerhouse of a smartphone: the Edge.

At first glance, it doesn’t look much different than any other device HTC has put out in recent memory. The Edge reportedly sports a 4.7-inch 720p display and 1GB of RAM, which is great but let’s face it — that’s not why you’re here.

The big draw here is the 1.5GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset it’s got under the hood, making it one of the world’s first quad-core smartphones. Its release window is set for early next year, which makes the inclusion of Ice Cream Sandwich a tantalizing possibility since PocketNow’s sources don’t mention a particular Android build.

Sadly, there isn’t much detail when it comes to connectivity. The Edge is said to have support for 21Mbps HSDPA but no LTE radio, though PocketNow admits it’s possible that certain carriers may get LTE-tweaked variants.

Add a 10mm thick chassis, 32GB of internal storage, and HTC’s full suite of media apps (HTC Watch, HTC Play, etc.), and suddenly we’re looking at a device that seems too good to be true. While I always make it a point to have a grain of salt at the ready when these sorts of things pop up, the Edge is a compelling enough package that I find myself hoping against hope that it’s real.

With leaks galore and this afternoon’s announcement, there’s not much reason to rehash HTC Rezound deets. So I’ll just cut to the chase and hit you guys with some first impressions.

As you must already know, the Rezound touts a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and was snappy enough to prove it. Combined with 1GB of RAM and Verizon’s 4G LTE network, that speedy little processor offered up one of the smoothest experiences I’ve had with Gingerbread. And even better, the Rezound will ship Ice Cream Sandwich-ready, with an update to be released “early next year.”

I never experienced any hiccups, though there was a very slight slow down with a handful of apps running at once. HTC’s Sense UI happens to be one of my favorites (if forced to choose between manufacturer skins), but many of you may still want to ditch HTC’s UI for something a little more vanilla.

The 4.3-inch 720p display is just the right size, as HTC clearly isn’t concerned with the “giant screen” trend we’re seeing from its competitors. But that’s good news. If resolution and pixel density is up to snuff, there’s no real reason for a 4.5-inch screen, unless of course you’re a hardcore gamer. In that case, you may need a tad more screen real estate than the Rezound offers.

Speaking of ignored trends, the HTC Rezound is much heftier than some of the smartphones it’ll be lined up against in-store, including the world’s thinnest smartphone, the Droid RAZR. That said, it’s still a pretty slick phone, especially for those who lean toward the HTC design style. Super similar to the HTC Droid Incredible 2 in design, the phone sports a nice soft touch back panel, with a little textured patch in the middle for a better grip. Just like the HTC Rhyme sports a female-friendly purple casing, the Rezound seems to aim itself at the male demographic with a hefty helping of red on black.

As far as the camera is concerned, the Rezound’s 8-megapixel shooter can get the job done, whatever that job is. We shot a little 1080p video and snapped a few shots with one of the tester units at HTC’s media event in New York City, and quality was right on par with what the specs promise. Sense also brings some fun into the camera app, offering up Action Burst, Instant Capture, and Panorama options, along with other cool effects and photo editing tools. In fact, you can even shoot video or pictures with the effect already applied in the view finder, just to make sure you don’t miss that special moment by applying the wrong effect. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, the Rezound’s camera can play back 1080p video in slow motion.

Thanks to the deal between HTC and Beats by Dre audio, the Rezound packs Beats audio support which includes a pair of Beats earbuds and a special Beats profile that boosts bass and volume when toggled on. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical over whether or not Beats would make a big difference, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Rezound and its audio quality. I was really able to hear those low notes in a way that’s lacking on my iPhone and other phones I’ve tested, and anyone who’s all about the tunes will surely appreciate Beats integration.

The HTC Rezound will be available on November 14 with an on-contract price of $299.99.

The HTC Rezound (formerly the Vigor) has been on our radar for what seems like forever now, but we’re here in New York City for HTC’s big event, and they have just officially pulled back the curtains on their next Gingerbread-powered smartphone. Fear not though, Ice Cream Sandwich fans: the Rezound will ship ready for Ice Cream Sandwich, and HTC and Verizon are aiming to push it to the Rezound early next year.

One of the first things you notice about the Rezound that it bucks the recent trend of super-slim smartphones. It’s not terribly thick, but it easily makes devices like the Droid Razr and the Galaxy Nexus look downright skeletal in comparison.

Fortunately, the Rezound’s edges taper pretty dramatically, so it feels much less bulky than it looks. It takes more than few design cues from the Droid Incredible family too, right down to the red accents and the translucent red body under the battery cover.

To make up for the heftier body, HTC saw fit to fill the Rezound to the brim with some impressive innards. The Rezound is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, which should be plenty for power users to enjoy. It comes with 16GB of internal storage, and the truly media hungry can take solace in the fact that it can also comes with a preloaded 16GB microSD card.

As expected, the Rezound also sports a sizable (but not overly so) 4.3-inch 720p display. Just above the screen is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and around the back (just above the funky textured finish) there sits an 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 lens and a dual LED flash. HTC has tried to address some of the flaky camera issues that have appeared in early HTC devices, and added new functionality like panorama support and action burst modes. The camera is also capable of shooting video in 1080p, so mobile cinematographers should have a little bit of fun with it.

Like the Thunderbolt before it, the Rezound is a Verizon LTE device, so people lucky enough to live within Verizon’s 4G coverage area should be able to enjoy some pretty snappy network performance. Fortunately, after having seen how lackluster their first LTE phone’s battery was, HTC has outfitted the Rezound with a 1,620 mAh battery for a little extra longevity.

Since we’re talking about HTC here, the Rezound also features the latest version of the Sense UI over Android 2.3. We’ve seen it before on devices like the Sensation and the Rhyme, and while it adds a pretty layer of paint to the UI, ardent Android fans may still swap it out in favor of a more basic approach.

If you happened to miss the Beats logo on the device’s backside, the Rezound is the first HTC device in the U.S. to feature Beats Audio. HTC’s Beats Audio functionality consists of two major components: a pair of included Beats earbuds, and a special audio profile on the phone. Once the headphones are plugged in, the Beats audio profile automatically kicks in, and plays with the sound output to give it some extra oomph over the pack-in cans.

All things considered, HTC may have a holiday winner here. It’s not the slimmest, sleekest device you’ll ever see, but it packs plenty of horsepower and enough nifty frills that it will probably top many a geek’s wishlist. You’ll be able to pick up a Rezound from Verizon Wireless or Best Buy on November 14, with a $299 pricetag.

By now it’s no secret that HTC’s Verizon-bound Rezound will debut shortly, but the stars seem to have aligned recently, because we’re absolutely swimming in Rezound-related news. Most notably, a video demoing the Rezound in action has begun to make the rounds, and it gives us our best glimpse yet at Verizon’s next holiday heavyweight.

The video doesn’t probe very far, but it does confirm that the Rezound packs a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 4.3-inch display running at 720p. It comes with 16GB of internal storage out of the box, but since it’s a Sense 3.0 device, it can also take advantage of Dropbox’s 5GB of cloud storage.

We’re also afforded a quick look under the battery cover, and I’m happy to report that HTC’s trend of making their device’s innards look as good as the outside continues.

Verizon seems to be just as excited for the Rezound as HTC fans are, as the company has begun to push out signage that features the much-anticipated device front and center. It probably wasn’t supposed to go up yet, but that didn’t stop some over-eager employees by putting it up for all to see. The sign also trots out the Rezound’s Beats-friendly earbuds, not to mention some love for the middle Jonas brother.

Sadly, there’s still no word on a release date — Droid-Life cites a tipster’s claim that the phone will launch on November 14, but there have been so many claims that it’s hard to keep track at this point. The Rezound is almost sure to take the stage this Thursday at HTC’s big New York event, but with any luck some juicy details will leak ahead of the show.