| Kantar: Windows Phone clawing back share thanks to Nokia, but Android still rules the roost May 16th 2012, 06:31  It's seldom the case that we get to look at world smartphone market share on a national level, but Kantar WorldPanel has given a rare peek that might give Windows Phone fans some good news to crow about. Even though things haven't always gone well for the Microsoft camp, Nokia phones like the Lumia 800 sparked a minor Renaissance in some countries in the three months leading up to mid-April: Windows Phone was up to between three and four percent in France, Italy, the UK and the US. The Metro interface must also be sehr gut for Germans, which nearly doubled Windows Phone's local share to six percent in that short space of time. Kantar is eager to point out that it's still mostly a tale of Android and iOS successes, though. Google took extra ground in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US, while Apple was on a tear both on its native soil and in the UK. HTC's upbeat predictions may have played a significant part in Android's continued rise -- the One X cracked the British top 10 list despite having only been in shops for a few days. About the only underdog story not going well in early spring was RIM's, where the BlackBerry's share of the US was cut to a third of its year-ago glory at three percent. Kantar: Windows Phone clawing back share thanks to Nokia, but Android still rules the roost originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Reuters | | Email this | Comments | | NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan May 16th 2012, 05:12  If you aren't already accustomed to Japan's regular deluge of device announcements, brace yourself: NTT DoCoMo just stepped forward with 17 new phones, as well as a mobile WiFi hotspot and a tablet. Throw a stone at the pile of hardware, and you're likely to strike something running Ice Cream Sandwich -- with the exception of the WiFi hotspot and a single handset designed for kids, every device on the list is running Android 4.0. Among the hodgepodge of handsets, DoCoMo is offering ten dual-core devices with screens ranging from 3.7 to 5-inches, a 10.1-inch 1.2Ghz dual-core slate, camera sensors of all sizes (from 8 megapixels to 13, that is) and a curious "Raku-Raku smartphone" that promises the "sensation of pressing actual keys" to smartphone newbies. The lineup's superstars, however, can all be found in DoCoMo's "NEXT" series of smartphones, bolstering the carrier's Xi LTE service with heavy hitters like the Galaxy S III, the Optimus Vu, Sony's Xperia GX and the Tegra 3 touting Arrows X. Hit the source links to check out the smartphone smorgasbord for yourself, or read on for our list of the never-before-seen ICS devices (they're all waterproof!) as well as DoCoMo's official press release. Continue reading NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 01:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | NTT DoCoMo (1), (2) | Email this | Comments | |