SMARTPHONE

Samsung's Galaxy S2 Skyrocket debuted Nov. 6 and it's iPhone 4S' biggest challenger yet, at least until Samsung releases the highly-anticipated Galaxy Nexus later this month. Samsung has used the Galaxy line of deluxe smartphones to chip away at Apple's dominance to the point where Samsung is now the world's leading smartphone maker.

Samsung launched its newest high-end smartphones Nov. 6, the Focus S and the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, but they're both very different from the iPhone 4S. That's because they're both 4G capable and running two different software packages

HTC launched the Vivid for AT&T Nov. 6, and the very next day said the new smartphone would be updated to Android's newest version 4.0. Motorola's new Droid Razr will also get the operating system update, but with the added caveat that Droid will be updates six weeks after they system debuts on the Galaxy Nexus.

Samsung's Galaxy S2 has sold millions of devices around the world in 2011, and now the world's number one smartphone manufacturer is set to release two more high end devices this week - the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket.

HTC Corp said on Monday it will put equal investment weight on emerging markets next year as it does in developed ones like the U.S. and Europe, and will dip its toes back into the tablet market with a new model next year.

In an official statement posted on Facebook, Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC revealed the list of phones in line for receiving an Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade.

Google's Galaxy Nexus, the next generation Android-powered device, will be the first smartphone to run the latest software from the search giant, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich. Android 4.0 will debut on Google's self branded Samsung device, and then be pushed out to other high end smartphones on an as yet unpublicized time frame

Best Buy is offering those who are purchasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,which launches Nov. 8, a free HTC smartphone with their gaming purchase.

Samsung's Focus Flash and Focus S are the company's latest smartphone offerings running on the Microsoft system instead of the Google Android system they have done so well with.

IBM, the world’s No. 2 computer services company, has created a security services division to enable enterprises to combat cyber-threats, hackers and penetrations.

Telus Corp, Canada's third-largest wireless provider, reported a 30 percent jump in quarterly net profit as more consumers signed up for smartphones and its new Internet-based television service gained traction.

Apple, which unveiled iPhone 4S on Oct. 4, is getting flying off the shelves despite its battery draining problem for which the Cupertino, California-based company would be issuing a fix in the next few days.

AT&T has recently released two 4G LTE smartphones HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket on its network. Both Vivid and Skyrocket will be available for $199.99 and $249.99, respectively under a two-year contract with AT&T from Nov 6 in stores and online.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Openwave Systems, GTX, Skullcandy, EV Energy Partners, and Arris Group. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Keynote Systems, Entropic Communications, Glu Mobile, and Skyworks Solutions.

Apple's Siri technology from the record-selling iPhone 4S has been only intermittently available today for hundreds of people, and the twitter-verse predictably went a bit crazy. People began tweeting earlier today that the Siri voice recognition would launch, but it would not answer questions or perform its other functions

iPad 3 could launch in early 2012, but the slew of competing tablets released this fall and anything that's already out there are having a tough time competing with the first two iPads

The HTC Rezound, formerly known as the Vigor, was unveiled today at the HTC event in New York. The Rezound is the newest addition to the smartphone family and will be a Verizon exclusive. The most anticipated aspect of the Rezound is that it is the first HTC smartphone in the U.S. to feature Beats Audio. The Rezound has Beats Audio built in, ships with a custom pair of Beats headphones and users have a special audio profile on the phone.

HTC, the Taiwan based smartphone maker, is set to debut three new devices in the next week, the HTC Titan, HTC Vivid and the HTC Rezound. All three have distinctive characteristics and are really meant for three different types of customers, not a bad strategy with the shopping season closing in

A new Nielsen study reveals that Android is still the dominant smartphone operating system in the U.S., followed closely by Apple iOS. Apple, however, retained its crown as the top hardware manufacturer.

Going forward, CEO Antonio Perez said the company needs the sale of a portfolio of 1,100 patents to survive because of the cash that could bring in.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which is the first phone running on Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, is expected to arrive in the United States after Nov. 25, Black Friday. However, some Android smartphone contenders will try their best to spoil the party.