Author: Dan Graziano

T-Mobile on Tuesday announced the upcoming availability of the budget-friendly Nokia (NOK) Lumia 521 smartphone. The low-end device is equipped with a 4-inch 800 x 480-pixel display, a dual-core 1GHz processor and a 5-megapixel rear camera. The handset also includes 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, HSPA+ 21Mbps connectivity and the Windows Phone 8 operating system. The Lumia 521 is scheduled to be released in May and will be available in Walmart (WMT), T-Mobile and Microsoft (MSFT) retail stores. Pricing information was not announced, although Nokia previously said that the device will cost around $180 without carrier subsidies.

The app stores for the four leading mobile operating systems have grown 11% from the fourth quarter in 2012 to the first quarter of this year, according to data from Canalys. Combined downloads from Apple’s (AAPL) App Store, Google Play, the Windows Phone Marketplace and BlackBerry World totaled more than 13.4 billion in Q1 2013, while revenue climbed 9% to reach $2.2 billion. App downloads remained strong in North America and Europe, however some of the strongest growth came from emerging markets such as South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia, which have benefited from a fast adoption rate of smartphones and tablets. Paid apps continue to remain popular in more mature mobile markets, though.

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Vendors such as Samsung (005930), LG (066570) and HTC (2498) offer a variety of smartphones with different screen sizes, but Apple (AAPL) has never felt the need to move into the large screen market. Even the company’s iPhone 5 with a 4-inch display is considered small by today’s standards. A new report suggests that Apple may finally be preparing to offer the iPhone 5S with multiple screen sizes, however, as it moves to counter increased competition from rivals. Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets believes Apple is preparing to launch its next-generation iPhone in “at least” two, or “possibly three,” screen sizes this summer.

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Google (GOOG) on Tuesday took the wraps off its redesigned Play Store for Android smartphones and tablets. In line with earlier rumors, the new marketplace includes brighter colors, larger images and an interface inspired by Google Now. Other changes include auto-update being enabled for all apps by default and the removal of the application download/installation screen. The Google Play redesign is meant to make finding new content through the company’s marketplace easier than ever before, with similar content grouped together and more recommendations. The new Google Play Store will begin rolling out to smartphones and tablets running Android 2.2 and above starting on Tuesday.

Despite increased efforts by companies such as AT&T (T) and others to prevent teenagers from texting while driving, a new statistic showed that the problem has become an epidemic. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association revealed that the number of teens who use a mobile device while driving has doubled since 2010 to two out of every five, ArsTechnica reported. The agency also found that at any given time there are more than 600,000 drivers using a cell phone or some other electronic device, while almost half, or 48.6%, of all drivers in the U.S. have admitted to answering incoming phone calls, and one in four has admitted to placing a call.

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Consumers interested in a Windows Phone device have a few options to choose from. HTC (2498) offers the Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S, while Samsung (005930) has the ATIV S smartphone. None of these devices, however, can match the popularity of Nokia’s (NOK) flagship Lumia line. WPCentral points us to new data from AdDuplex showing that the Lumia 920 has just slightly surpassed the Lumia 800 to become the most popular smartphone running Microsoft’s (MSFT) mobile operating system. In fact, AdDuplex found that Nokia accounts eight of the top 10 most popular Windows Phone devices, with HTC accounting for the remaining two. As for operating system version, Windows Phone 7 was found to account for 57% of worldwide usage, compared to 43% from Windows Phone 8.

Earlier rumors claimed that Google (GOOG) is working on a redesign for its Play Store that would include brighter colors, bigger images and an overall cleaner look. Now, previous reports have seemingly been confirmed as YouTube employee Eileen Rivera posted a screenshot of the redesigned marketplace to her Google+ page on Sunday, Droid-Life reported. The image, which has since been deleted, includes a Google Play logo with a bone and dog dish, suggesting that the company is “dogfooding” the redesign with its employees. In addition to a brighter layout and larger images, the new Google Play Store is rumored to have all applications auto-update by default and will also no longer include an application download/install screen. Google is expected to unveil the redesign at its I/O Developers Conference in May. The leaked image follows below.

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AT&T (T) and Sprint (S) both announced last week that the HTC One will be available on their respective networks on April 19th for $199 with a new two-year agreement. T-Mobile previously confirmed that it would carry HTC’s (2498) latest flagship device for $99 down and $20 per month for 24 months, however it never announced a release date. According to a Best Buy (BBY) listing, the T-Mobile HTC One will available on April 19th for $249 with a two-year agreement, although it is unclear if this is the 32GB or 64GB model. It should be noted that Best Buy offers traditional T-Mobile contract plans and does not follow the company’s “UNcarrier” initiative.

The chief executive of one of Europe’s largest wireless carriers claims the reason sales of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone are slumping is because the price is too high. France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard told Bloomberg that European customers are beginning to focus more on prices and are holding onto their old devices longer than before. He notes that the Apple frenzy isn’t what it use to be and it is becoming more difficult to sell a $600 phone. Richard seemed to suggest that without a low-cost iPhone, the company could continue to lose market share, adding that there “are fewer early adopters, and probably with the next release of the iPhone this will be evident.”

HTC (2498) unveiled its “First” smartphone at Facebook’s (FB) press event in California on Thursday. The mid-range handset, which will be exclusively available from AT&T on April 12th for $99, sports mediocre specs and comes preloaded with Facebook Home, a new software suite for Android smartphones. According to developer and HTC insider LlabTooFeR, the company may release the HTC First to other carriers without the special Facebook Home integration. The Home-less handset, codenamed M4, is reportedly equipped with a 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor and an “Ultrapixel” rear camera. The device also includes 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM and Sense 5 atop Android 4.2.2, rather than the Facebook Home skin. Earlier rumors suggested that the M4 would launch sometime this spring.

Germany’s Federal Patent Court on Thursday ruled that Apple’s (AAPL) “slide to unlock” patent is invalid, marking a significant victory for Android vendors. The company proposed 14 amendments in an effort to salvage the patent, however the court found that the action of “unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image” didn’t meet certain requirements under European patent law and as such was not patentable. According to Florian Mueller of Foss Patents, Thursday’s ruling can be appealed and Apple is expected to do so. The company previously used its slide to unlock patent to have Motorola’s products banned in Germany and filed a similar suit against Samsung.

It looks as if BlackBerry (BBRY) is planning a successor to its entry-level Curve line of smartphones. Earlier this week, it was reported that the company is working on a low-end BlackBerry 10 device, claimed to be part of the “R-Series.” The handset reportedly includes a QWERTY keyboard, along with 8GB of internal storage, an SD card slot, a 1,800 mAh battery and a price tag between $300 and $400. A user over at the BlackBerryOS forums on Thursday posted an image that he claims to be the upcoming BlackBerry 10 R-Series smartphone. The user gave no details on the device, although the latest rumors suggest it will hit the market later this summer or in early fall. The purported R-Series image follows below.

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