Author: Dan Graziano

U.S. Cellular (USM), the eighth largest wireless provider in the U.S., on Thursday announced additional markets to its 4G LTE portfolio. The company plans expands its LTE coverage to more than 3,800 new cities and towns in 2013. U.S. Cellular currently covers 61% of its user base with its high-speed network and hopes to increase that number to 87% by the end of the year.

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Google (GOOG) on Wednesday updated its Google Search application for devices running Android 4.1 and higher to include several new features. The application now offers a home screen and lock screen widget for Google Now, the company’s award-winning personal assistant, and also includes access to movie passes from Fandango, ratings and reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, real estate listings from Zillow, a new music button and support for U.S. college sports. The Google Search app is available for free from Google Play.

After its failed acquisition of Palm and abandonment of webOS, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will now reportedly look towards Android to power its next-generation of mobile devices. Sources speaking to ReadWrite claim that the company is planning to release a high-end tablet that will be equipped with NVIDIA’s new Tegra 4 processor and powered by Google’s (GOOG) mobile operating system. It was also reported that HP may launch an Android-powered smartphone, however earlier comments from CEO Meg Whitman indicated that a new handset won’t be released in 2013. The news of HP’s migration to Android comes shortly after the company launched a new computer based on Google’s Chrome OS. HP’s high-end Android tablet will reportedly be announced soon.

LG (066570) on Wednesday confirmed the much-rumored Optimus G Pro smartphone. The company revealed that the handset, which looks awfully similar to Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy Note II, will be equipped with a 5.5-inch full HD 1080p display and a quad-core processor. LG also highlighted the use of curved class on the phone, which it said gives the handset a “2.5D” effect. Earlier rumors suggested that the device may also include a 3,140 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity, 32GB of internal storage, a microSD card and a 13-megapixel rear camera. LG said that the Optimus G Pro is will launch in some markets by the end of February.

Earlier rumors suggested Samsung (005930) would ditch its traditional home button and navigation keys on the Galaxy S IV, and that it may also include an integrated S Pen stylus. According to a new report from Korean publication Digital Daily, this will not be the case. The company is said to have decided to keep the home button in a last-minute decision and also ruled that the S Pen stylus will remain unique to the Galaxy Note line of devices.

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J.D. Power and Associates announced that for the fourth consecutive year Verizon (VZ) is the top national wireless provider when it comes to customer care. Verizon took the lead from T-Mobile in 2010 and hasn’t looked back since. The firm found that the carrier’s automated phone service and representatives are superior to its competitors. Verizon scored 766 points out of a possible 1,000, ahead of AT&T (T), Sprint (S), and T-Mobile who scored 759, 746, and 715 points, respectively. The study also found that MetroPCS (PCS) had the highest overall wireless customer care satisfaction among non-contract carriers, with an overall score of 733. J.D. Power and Associates’ report is based on a survey of 7,332 wireless customers during a period from July through December 2012.

Strangely, Nokia (NOK) has yet to offer a top-line Windows Phone device on Verizon Wireless (VZ) even though it’s the largest carrier in the United States. The company’s high-end Lumia 920 smartphone is only available on AT&T (T), while Verizon have been stuck with the mid-range Lumia 822. This may be about to change, however. According to The Verge, Nokia is preparing a flagship device for Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The handset, codenamed Laser, is said to feature similar specs to the Lumia 920 and will be heavily backed by Microsoft (MSFT).

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Research firm IDC released the latest numbers from its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker this week and found that a total of 482.5 million mobile phones were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012, an increase from 473.4 million in 2011. Smartphones accounted for nearly half, or 45.5%, of all mobile phone shipments, the highest percentage ever. Samsung (005930) and Apple (AAPL) remained the two top vendors with market shares of 29% and 21.8% respectively. The report did include some surprises, however.

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