Nokia recently hinted its investors might be preparing to say goodbye to its past. The insiders speculate that the Finnish mobile phone giant is planning to switch to Android. Really? Yes, on a conference call following the company’s fourth-quarter report, Stephen Elop – new Chief Executive, Nokia, discussed about the company’s need to adapt to the rapidly changing market place, and considering “multiple ecosystem patterns”.

If the rumour is correct, we may see Nokia shaking hands with Google on their Android OS. It would be the end of the company’s vision of manufacturing its own smartphone around its homemade platforms– Symbian and MeeGo.

The switch to Android seems very likely if we consider the booming figures.

Google’s smartphone platform with global smartphone vendors like HTC, Motorola and Samsung, has acquired 26% share of the global market in the third quarter of 2010.

On the contrary, Nokia’s Symbian fell to a 37% market share in that quarter, as handset vendors Sony Ericsson and Samsung concentrated on Android as their new OS platform. 

HighNote is the new kid on the block in the mobile messaging market. This new app is available for Android and iOS users. HighNote depends on mobile data to keep the conversation going, akin to textPlus or Kik Messenger.

HighNote goes way beyond simple text messages, supporting other content types like maps, music, video, photos, greetings and customized formatting. These features are on board to capture the best of SMS and the richness of social networking apps without their limitations.

Messaging between HighNote users is Free whether the users are Android fans or use iOS-powered devices. For non-HighNote members, a web link is sent to their phone or email that enables them to view the message via a Web browser.

HighNote’s future plans include supporting other platforms like BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Phone 7.

Facebook for Android has been particularly slow to release updates and features in general. The Deals feature that became available on iOS since early November, 2010 has reached Android almost 3 months later. It is the only addition to the app, so let’s take a look at how exactly are you going to find the deals functionality.

Upon updating and starting Facebook, Deals button is nowhere to be found. Worried? Don’t be you will Deals are built into Places and show themselves using little post-it note looking icons in the check-in list. Click Places, then Check In, and look around. If you don’t see a yellow icon, search for something like “Starbucks” which should produce a long list of nearby places.

What you will notice is 2 types of deals – % or $ off (in yellow) and donations to charity (in green). If you are nearby the place you’re trying to check into, just hit Check In, and you’re done – the deal should now be redeemable.

Buckle up Facebook, we are waiting for the missing core features.

MobileFun has recently launched another unique gadget! A BeeWi Mini Cooper S Bluetooth Controlled Car. It is powered by 3 AAA batteries and costs $64 (£39.95). You can control a 1:20 replica of the Mini Cooper S straight from your Android or Symbian Phone

The Specs include:

• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Serial Profile
• Up to 3 hours battery life
• Class 2, range 10 meters
• Simple pairing, up to 8 devices in memory
• Size: 18 x 8 x 7.5cm
• Weight: 250g
• 1:20 Scale

Works with Android 2.1 and above (also with Symbian S60 3rd edition, 5th edition and above)

Enjoy the video below. I’m sure you’ll be as tempted to purchase it, as I did today!

In Taipei Metro system an unannounced HTC phone has been spotted, today. The first real-world glimpses of recently uncovered devices from the HTC, ahead of their MWC debut was witnessed.  A fast acting passenger noticed a fellow rider using a phone that is currently unavailable in the market.

The pictures confirm the newer HTC style earpiece and front-facing camera.  Now all we need are specs, launch date, and carrier availability. Keep tune as we will lay our hands on that information in a few weeks as well! 

With all these amazing things happening to Android OS and phones, you will think it can’t get any better, it just did. Sony just announced a cross-platform software framework called PlayStation Suite. The name didn’t really do justice to how great this could be but is simply a PlayStation Store filled with games for your Android tablets and cellphones. Sony’s starting with an emulator for existing PSOne titles and is promising an Android game store later this year. The company is hoping for a hardware-neutral development framework.

Given that Sony’s PlayStation controls the lion share of console gaming, iPhone control of mobile/portable gaming days may soon be over. I think Sony is about to push Android gaming experience to the next level.

[Source: Engadget]