There's no shaking Google's Android and Apple's iOS from first and second place respectively at the top of the smartphone user number rankings charts, but the battle for third place is a corker. The latest stats have just come in from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, covering Q1 2013, seeing Windows Phone overtake BlackBerry for third place.

Microsoft's mobile OS now sits at 3.2% of the smartphone market share, up from 2.0% last year, with BlackBerry dropping down to 2.9%, a considerable fall from their 6.4% share a year earlier in Q1 2012.

While that's a 133.3% growth for Windows Phone, BlackBerry's share has shrunk by 35.1%. This is despite a gigantic new hardware and software push from the Canadian company, launching new handsets like the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10, as well as the well-considered BlackBerry 10 OS. While the Nokia and Microsoft partnership across the Lumia line-up is finally making headway it seems, leading the Windows Phone charge, it must be very worrying times over at Blackberry HQ.

"Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

"Given the relatively low volume generated, the Windows Phone camp will need to show further gains to solidify its status as an alterative to Android or iOS."

As expected, Google's Android OS retains the top spot with 75% of the market share (that's 79.5% year-on-year growth), with Apple's iPhone line taking a 17.3% share in second place.

For more from the report, click here.

It's been a long old wait, but the BBC iPlayer catch-up TV app is now available on Windows Phone 8 devices.

Rather than a ground-up build of the service, the Windows Phone 8 version of the app is actually a shortcut to the mobile optimised version of the website, alongside a live tile and the included BBC Media Player app needed to power playback.

The app is free and is available form the Windows Phone app store now.

However, despite months of preparatory development work, the BBC have been unable to put together a version for users of Windows Phone 7.5 handsets.

"Following our previous blog post some of you will be wondering what about Windows Phone 7.5?," said Dave Price, Head of BBC iPlayer, Programmes and On Demand, BBC Future Media, in a BBC blog post.

"Over the last few months we have been working with Microsoft to launch iPlayer on both Windows Phone 8 and 7.5.

"Unfortunately, platform limitations with Windows Phone 7.5 have meant we've been unable to provide the same quality playback experience as on Windows Phone 8. This led to the joint decision not to make BBC iPlayer available on Windows Phone 7.5.

"Although this is disappointing, Windows Phone 8 currently make up the majority of all Windows Phones on the market and this number is expected to grow. I therefore hope more of you will get to enjoy BBC programmes on the go with iPlayer with Windows Phone 8 devices."

In March this year 30% of all BBC iPlayer streaming requests came from mobiles or tablets (with 81 million requests in total), showing that on-the-go TV viewing is on the rise.

Are you a Windows Phone 7.5 user? Feel a bit shortchanged by Microsoft's swift ditching of the OS and drop off in developer interest, or perfectly happy with the operating system and its app offerings? Fire off in the comments section below.

Nokia have officially revealed the Nokia Lumia 925 handset, a new flagship Windows Phone from the Finnish mobile giants that aims at a more premium build quality than the company's current offerings.

Built with a mixture of aluminium and polycarbonate (polycarbonate covering on the back, aluminium around the edges), it's a push towards the high-end designs of the iPhone and the HTC One. Measuring just 8.5mm thick and 139 grams, it's far more svelte than the Lumia 920 (that handset sits at 10.7mm thick and 185 grams). The handset retains a little bump around the camera that pushes the thickness a tad wider at that point, but the curved-edged design is attractive nonetheless.

Under the hood, specs stay very similar to the Lumia 920. A 1.5GHz dual-core processor powers the phone, backed by 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (less than the 32GB present in the 920), with 4G connectivity onboard.

The screen is a 4.5-inch OLED with a 1280 x 768 resolution, while the company's PureView camera system is paired with an 8.7MP rear sensor and 1.2MP front facing snapper. Optical image stabilisation and a dual-LED flash are also present. A new Smart Camera shooting mode will also be added, using a new UI that allows for motion focus features and the ability to blur, alter or remove altogether background elements from photos.

A tie-in with the upcoming Man of Steel Superman flick will also see Lumia 925 owners get exclusive content relating to the movie pre-loaded on the handset. Man of Steel / aluminium body, get it?

Unlike the rest of the Lumia line, the Lumia 925 comes in just two subdued colours - grey and black. If you want a more vibrant look you'll have to grab an additional sleeve that clips onto the back of the device, coming in red, yellow black and white shades. They also add wireless charging capabilities to the handset.

Though exact worldwide pricing hasn't been revealed, from the 469 Euro asking price given for European territories, we'd put the Nokia Lumia 925 at around the £400 when it hits UK stores. Expect to see it filling mobile retailers shelves from June, with sales starting in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and China before rolling out to further territories.

As for carriers, Vodafone have announced as that they'll be exclusively carrying a 32GB variant of the handset at launch.

Nokia have officially revealed the Nokia Lumia 928, their new flagship Windows Phone handset. And with it comes the first hands-on clip with smartphone, courtesy of the official Nokia Conversations channel. Hit the clip above to check it out.

Set to be an exclusive for the Verizon network in the US, it sees Nokia focussing their energies on the onboard camera system, with the phone carrying PureView branding and a a Carl Zeiss f/2.0 wide angle lens. An 8.7MP sensor features, with Nokia promising top-notch photos thanks to optical image stabilisation, even if you're capturing a busy action shot. The inclusion of a Xenon flash too will make low-light, indoor shooting far improved too.As well as still image quality being touted, Nokia are pushing video capture quality too, with full HD video captured sharply alongside distortion-free audio capture and playback.

In terms of size and screen specs, the Nokia Lumia 928 rocks a 4.5-inch AMOLED display at a 1280 x 768 resolution (15:9 aspect ratio), with a pixel density of 334ppi.

Under the hood sits a 1.5GHz Qualcomm dual-core chipset, with 1GB of RAM to aid multitasking. 32GB of storage space is included alongside 7GB of SkyDrive cloud storage space, though there's no storage expansion through microSD. A 2000 mAh battery is also in there too, as is 4G connectivity."Verizon Wireless customers, we heard you and the wait is over - we're excited to offer a Nokia flagship smartphone, specially designed and optimised for the nation's largest 4G LTE network," said Matt Rothschild, vice-president, Nokia North America.

Verizon are putting the Nokia Lumia 928 on their 4G network from 16 May for $99 (£65) following a $50 rebate on a new two-year contract. Black and white versions of the handset will both be available.

Which leaves one question: what's Nokia got planned for May 14, the date they've had tech journalists the world over pencilling into their diaries? Safe money is on it being news of the Nokia Lumia 925, a worldwide variation on the Lumia 928. We'll keep you posted on what the eventual reveal proves to be.

Nokia are said to be working on a new Lumia smartphone to rival the Samsung Galaxy Note in terms of size.

Sources "with knowledge of the company's plans" have spoken to the Financial Times, who are reporting that the Finnish phone manufacturer is putting together a "phablet" device with a screen around the same 5.5-inch size as the Galaxy Note, but packing in "more advanced specifications" under the hood.

Nokia will also be launching a high-end camera phone with a massive 40MP sensor in July, using the same camera tech that was found in the unusual Symbian-based 808 PureView phone from last year. It seems this summer's phone is the rumoured EOS PureView device.

The new phones will be added to the quickly-growing range of Windows Phone 8 devices offered by Nokia, including the Lumia 520, 720, 820 and 920. With little more than size and camera setting all the devices apart considering how well the Windows Phone platform scales to less powerful hardware, these new rumoured handsets could prove interesting additions to the Lumia line up.

They'd effectively give Nokia three flagship devices; the all-rounder in the shape of the 920, the camera focussed EOS PureView and the tablet-like 5.5-inch device. With Samsung's Galaxy line saturating the Android market with more configurations than could possibly be needed, and Apple playing it safe with just the one new iPhone each year (forgetting the rumoured "cheap iPhone", of course), Nokia's range would seem to be covering a sensible number of bases and user requirements.

The BBC iPlayer app will soon be available to Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5 users.

The app will act as shortcut application available through the Windows Phone Store, making iPlayer available as a Live Tile, wrapping both the iPlayer website and dedicated Media Player software needed to run it together.

Windows Phone users will still be missing out on features available to Apple's iOS devices however. Not only have iOS users had a dedicated iPlayer app since 2011, they now also have the option of saving shows for offline playback - something that will be missing from the Windows Phone versions upon release.

"We will be releasing a shortcut to BBC iPlayer in the near future which will be available in the Windows Phone Store, enabling the BBC iPlayer website to work on Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 via a live tile," said Cyrus Saihan, head of Business Development, BBC Future Media.

"Working with the industry in ways like this helps our digital services reach more of the UK's online population and gives our audiences ever increasing ways to access BBC services."

The move will bring the number of devices that the BBC iPlayer app is available to to well over 650.

Microsoft have dropped a few more hints on their long-term plans for the Windows 8 ecosystem following last week's Windows Blue info. Over on their job board, it seems that Windows Phones are the next in line to get a major update, with a listing suggesting a new update will land by the end of the year.

In the posting for a software engineer, it states:

"This is a great time to join as we're completing our current release are getting ready for our next release targeting the holiday of this year and we're chartered with keeping the momentum for Windows Phone by bringing new killer devices and delightful user experiences. There are enormous growth opportunities in this role and organisation."

Though there's no information on what the new release will be called, let alone entail, it's a safe bet to guess it will be part of the wider Windows Blue update that will spread across all forms of the Windows 8OS (Phone, RT, Pro).

The first Windows Blue updates for desktop are expected to land in the summer, and will likely accommodate further integration with Windows Phone 8 devices in time for the Christmas update.

Nokia have used Mobile World Congress 2013 to show off two new mid-range Windows Phone 8 handsets, the Nokia Lumia 720 and Nokia Lumia 520.

The 720, pictured above, sits just below Nokia's Lumia 820 in the specs stakes, packing in a 4.3-inch WVGA screen and 1GHz dual-core processor. 512MB RAM is also included, as well as 8GB of storage that can be supplemented with microSD cards.

No PureView camera smarts on offer from the 720, instead getting a 6.7-megapixels with an f2.0 aperture snapper on the rear, and a 1.3-megapixels front-facing camera.

NFC is also slotted into the 9mm thin phone, which also can be paired with a wireless charging cover.Moving on to the Lumia 520, it's a 4-inch device with a screen so sensitive it'll even work with gloves on.

Again, a 1GHz dual-core processor is onboard alongside 8GB of storage that can be expanded with microSD cards. A 5MP camera sits on the rear.

Windows Phone 8 is the OS for both devices.

In terms of pricing, you're looking at 249 EURO (£218) for the Lumia 720 and 139 EURO (£122) for the 520.

Looking for a bargain smartphone deal today? Look no further than O2's stores - for one day only, they're offering UK customers the chance to bag the brand-spanking-new Nokia Lumia 620 at the low, low price of just £119.99.

With the deal only running today (13 February 2013), that's £30 off the usual asking price, with O2 even throwing in a free case redeemable from Nokia. They come in shades of green, blue, white and two O2 exclusive colours, orange or yellow.

Act fast, the deal is only running whilst stocks last.

Nokia's Lumia 620 runs Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system. Housing a 3.8-inch display with an 800x600 resolution, the phone uses 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. MicroSD expansion by up to 64GB is also supported.

Measuring 115.4 x 61.1 x 11 mm and weighing 127g, the phone also features an 8MP rear-facing camera with 720p video recording capabilities and a VGA camera on the front.

For more on the deal, click here.

Huawei have revealed their first Windows Phone 8 handset, and while we'd hoped for a high-spec Windows Phone showcase as the company's first entry into Microsoft's flock, the Ascend W1 has ended up being more than a little underwhelming.

A 4-inch handset with a lowly WVGA IPS LCD 480 x 800 touchscreen, it's running off a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, putting it firmly in the low-to-mid end of the market.

512MB of RAM is onboard, along with just 4GB of built-in storage space, though microSD expansion softens that particular blow somewhat.

A 5MP camera sits on the rear, again hardly anything to write home about, while only the inclusion of NFC technology gives even a whiff of excitement here.

Landing on the O2 network in the UK in Q1 2013, here's hoping it lands with a wallet-friendly price if it doesn't want drown in the sea of post MWC handsets due later this year.

Click here for more news from CES 2013

Microsoft are claiming that Google are preventing YouTube from putting together a fully-fledged Windows Phone YouTube app.

Currently, users of Microsoft's Windows Phone OS have a limited YouTube app that is little better than the lowly mobile web service that YouTube already offer, while Android and iOS both have bespoke, feature-rich apps for accessing the wealth of video content hosted by YouTube.

Microsoft believe that the team at YouTube are willing to go all out and make a solid Windows Phone app, but are being held back by owners Google who will not allow the platform access to the full YouTube API.

"Microsoft has continued to engage with YouTube personnel over the past two years to remedy this problem for consumers," said Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner.

"As you might expect, it appears that YouTube itself would like all customers - on Windows Phone as on any other device - to have a great YouTube experience. But just last month we learned from YouTube that senior executives at Google told them not to enable a first-class YouTube experience on Windows Phones."

Heiner falls just short of calling the whole thing an anti-Microsoft conspiracy on Google's behalf. But that wouldn't explain why Google allowed a strong YouTube app to be available on the Xbox 360. The reality is probably that, while Google indeed don't want to bolster a platform that rivals their own Android operating system, Windows Phone has yet to reach a large enough audience to justify allocating the YouTube team's resources to in any significant way.

Though Heiner's public statement may speed up matters, there's still no word yet from YouTube as to when a revamped app for Windows Phone users will become available.

Via: AllThingsD

CES 2013 is almost upon us, and the product leaks are now rolling in thick and fast. Huawei are the latest company to have their show surprises spoiled, with Unwired View uncovering a trio of high-end handsets all set to be showcased.

First up is the Huawei Ascend Mate which (paired with the fact it's a "monster" 6-inches in size) sounds unfortunately close to the name of a sex toy.

Indeed, the Android-running Ascend Mate's rumoured spec sheet looks set to get you hot and bothered, with the 6-inch device sporting a 720p resolution, powered by a speedy 1.8GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a sizable 3,800mAh battery, all squeezed into a 9.9mm chassis.

Next is the Huawei Ascend D2, another oversized handset at 5-inches, with an even more impressive 1080p display taking top billing on its spec sheet. It looks set to go head to head with the Sony Xperia Z, also rumoured to be sporting a full HD display.Last of all is the Huawei W1, the company's first stab at a Windows Phone 8 handset. It's expected to land with a 4-inch display, 1.2GHz dual core processor and 2,000mAh battery, putting it more or less on a par with the HTC 8S and Nokia Lumia 820. It'll be available in a range of colours, with at at least the four pictured above expected.

CES 2013 kicks off on January 8, so with just under a week to go it wont be long until we see precisely what Huawei have in store for us.

Looking to try out a Windows 8 smartphone from Nokia, but haven't found one to match your modest wallet yet? Enter the newly-unveiled Nokia Lumia 620, described by the Finnish company as "most affordable in its range of Windows Phone 8 smartphones."

Priced at $249 (around £155), the Lumia 620 has a 3.8 inch LCD ClearBlack capacitive touchscreen, running at an 800 x 480 resolution, powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Very much a mid-range device then, but our experience with Windows 8 phones so far suggests that the operating system is able to eke quite a bit out of even less powerful hardware, so the experience with the Lumia 620 shouldn't be underwhelming.

512MB of RAM is also onboard, with 8GB of built in storage, thankfully expandable through microSD support to 64GB. 7GB of Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage is also offered up for free.

For a budget phone, the Lumia 620 also has a rather high-end feature in the form of NFC connectivity.

Around the back you'll find a 5MP main camera, using Nokia's proprietary Cinemagraph lens, while a 640 x 480 front-facing camera is onboard for Skype calling.

The Lumia 620's also packing in a 1300mAh battery, with Nokia quoting usage as 9.9 hours of 3G talk time (14.6 hours 2G) and standby of 330 hours. 61 hours of music playback can be enjoyed per-charge too.

Hitting Asian territories first in January, a European and Middle Eastern roll-out will follow shortly after. A further roll-out, presumably to the US, is planned, do details remain unannounced. You'll be able to pick the handset up in lime green, orange, magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black shades.

Nokia have once again had to ask eager smartphone fans to take a chill pill, after the internet once again excitedly began to speculate that the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer was about to dive into making Android hardware.

This week's rumour was sparked by a job listing at Nokia "Principal Software Engineer, Embedded Linux Middleware", which Nokia soon made a private listing. Cue conspiracy theorists claiming a Nokia-built Android phone was on the way, despite their high-profile partnership with Microsoft and its Windows Phone OS.

Nokia rolled out Doug Dawson, head of Nokia's media relations, to post a clarifying, dismissive email that stated the role was required merely in order to fulfill the multi-platform needs of Nokia's recent HERE Maps app:

'Hi. Our recently posted job is linked to our HERE Maps support for other platforms, including iOS and Android. Nothing more.'

Move along people, nothing to see here.

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer has laid into his competition in the mobile space, calling Apple's iPhone and iPad ecosystem "highly priced" and "highly controlled", while he considers Android to be "wild" and "uncontrolled".

Speaking to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a boisterous Ballmer called out Android's fragmented app strategy as being problematic. He said that from "an app compatibility perspective, maybe in a way that's not always in the consumers' best interests".

Apple's premium pricing strategy also came under fire:

"Maybe because we live in a country where every phone is subsidised you might forget it. But in Russia last week, you had to pay $1,000 for an iPhone. So in Russia, you're not going to sell many iPhones."

Ballmer also took time to highlight the merits of Microsoft's own Windows Phone 8 operating system, saying that it has "the quality" without being stuck "at the premium price", with a policed app ecosystem that is "controlled, but maybe not as controlled," as Apple's.

Ballmer praised Windows Phone 8 as being "the most personal smartphone", stating that "when you whip out your phone, you really see the things that matter to you. And just moving things back and forth among Windows devices will be appealing to a lot of people,"

Via: TechCrunch

Did you sense a disturbance in the force this morning? That's probably because Angry Birds Star Wars has launched for practically every single mobile platform today.

Hitting the respective app stores for iPads, iPhones, iPod Touch, Android devices, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 tablets and PCs, Apple Macs and Amazon's Kindle Fire, it's the biggest gaming launch in developer Rovio's history, and the most substantial overhaul to the birds vs pigs gameplay since Angry Birds Space.

Playing most similarly to the original Angry Birds game, the Star Wars edition takes in locations from George Lucas's original trilogy, and introduces new birds styled like Star Wars heroes like Obi Wan and Chewbacca for instance, each with their own unique abilities.Obi-Wan for instance has a force push power, while C-3PO can explode with a tap of a finger.

Free updates will land over time, but there's already an in-app purchase called Path of The Jedi, set on Yoda's homeworld of Degobah, which unlocks a further 40 levels.

Also, for every 10 stars you bag in the regular levels, you'll unlock special secret levels starring R2-D2 and C-3PO.

Prices vary depending on platform. iPhone costs 69p, iPad £1.99, Windows Phone 8 79p while the Android version is free and comes with ads.

Microsoft have made the Windows Phone 8 Software Development Kit available to all comers, encouraging budding Windows Phone 8 devs to get to work on apps and games for the new and improved mobile operating system.

The Windows Phone SDK 8.0 can be downloaded directly from Microsoft and offers all the tools and documentation needed to start building apps for the new mobile platform.

Until now, the SDK had only been available to select, core development teams. But by opening up the SDK to everyone, Microsoft will be hoping to replicate the hundreds of thousands of apps available through Google's Play Store for Android and Apple's App Store for iOS devices.

All developers looking to work on Windows Phone 8 apps will, naturally, require Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro to be installed on their computers, enabling the SDK to display apps "under real-world conditions".

Alongside Windows Phone 8 apps, the SDK also lets developers create Windows Phone 7.5 apps, which will also run on phones upgraded to Windows Phone 7.8.

However, there will be no backwards compatibility between Windows Phone 8 apps and older handsets, which has frustrated owners who have seen their recent Windows Phone handset purchases been abruptly made obsolete.

Looking to get hold of one of HTC's newly-announced Windows Phone 8 flagship handsets? Then we've got some freshly revealed official UK pricing for the HTC 8X and HTC 8S just for you!

Unlocked Mobiles have had their pricing schemes for the new handsets confirmed by HTC, seeing them sell the HTC 8X for £398.98 and the budget-freindly HTC 8S priced at £224.98. Both prices are for the handsets unlocked and SIM-free.

The HTC 8X (aka the Windows Phone 8X by HTC to use it's official title) is the top-of-the-line offering, packing in Beats Audio, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 4.3-inch 720p HD Super LCD screen.

The cheaper HTC 8S offers a smaller 4-inch screen, 1GHz dual-core processor and 5MP rear-mounted camera.

Both phones run Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 operating system, tying in nicely with the company's Windows 8 desktop PC OS. Both phone's are expected to hit stores in November.

EE revealed which devices their new super-fast 4G network will come to this morning, but what everyone, everywhere (or just me?) want to know is: Will EE be available on Apple's much anticipated iPhone 5 anytime soon?

EE CEO Olaf Swantee confirmed that EE's 4G network will be available exclusively on the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8, before being rolled out to LTE-enabled versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One XL, Huawei Ascend P1 and the Nokia Lumia 820, as well as two Huawei 4G dongles.

Swantee also mentioned that the 4G network could be available on "other devices" in the near future, which brought out a chuckle among those present at the launch at London's Science Museum this morning. The iPhone 5 is widely expected to be 4G enabled so you'd expect a data plan for Apple's new smartphone to be around the corner.

With London to become the first UK city to be fully covered by the new 4G network, those present at the launch were also treated to a guest appearance by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Speaking about how 4G will allow "information [to] spout in unbelievable and unstoppable quantities", Johnson also remarked that our digital lives will become "faster, better and easier". Boris also managed to plug London - wouldn't expect anything less - with a couple of fascinating facts. Did you know that London has double the amount of bookshops that New York - and quarter the murder rate? Neither did we until this morning.

We're looking forward to test out the 4G network, but in the meantime read more about 4G, what it is and how it will impact your mobile and digital life over on ShinyShiny.tv.

Following this morning's news of the launch of the UK's first 4G service, courtesy of EE, the new name for the Everything Everywhere network, we're now getting news of the first confirmed handsets to land on the super-fast mobile internet service. The Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 smartphone will launch in the UK with LTE onboard as an EE exclusive, the company have just revealed via Twitter:

However, EE, like Nokia, have failed to reveal pricing information for the handset, nor a firm release date before the previously announced "Q4" window.

Nokia's flagship smartphone will be joined on the new 4G network by LTE-enabled versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One XL, Huawei Ascend P1 and the Nokia Lumia 820, as well as two Huawei 4G dongles.

For more on today's EE 4G announcements, click here.