JiWire, the location-based mobile advertising company has just released its Q1 Mobile Audience Insights Report examining trends in location and mobile shopping, connected-device adoption and public Wi-Fi usage.

This interactive map gives a national snapshot of JiWire’s reach with nearly 33 million monthly users in 5700 cities:

Key highlights of the report include:

Connected Device Trends – Almost half of the ‘on-the-go’ audience is connecting to public Wi-Fi from smartphones (31%) or tablets (14%). By contrast, connection from laptops has decreased from 70% last year to 55% currently. Nine out of 10 consumers report the following advantages of public Wi-Fi instead over 3G/4G on smartphones: increased connection speed, avoiding data plan charges (37%), streaming content (17%) or for laptop tethering (7%).Continue reading...

Samsung today released the "The Next Galaxy" — the Galaxy S III, which launches May 29 in Europe — at a press event in London.

The brand's PR team tweeted from the launch about the handset's "experiential features: 3 Hubs (Game, Video, Music), mobile payment & ‘S Health’ personal wellness app to name a few" and tied the launch to its Olympics sponsorship, also tweeting: "Samsung is the worldwide Olympic partner and the #GALAXYSIII will be the hero of the Olympic Games!"

"Outside of the next iPhone, the Galaxy S III is the most highly anticipated phone launch this year," CNET commented on its live-blog. "The Galaxy franchise is one of the main reasons Samsung has been so successful at selling Android phones, avoiding the pitfalls that have tripped up so many of its competitors."Continue reading...

This video shown by RIM CEO Thorsten Heins during the BlackBerry World 2012 keynote general session today offers a first look at the BlackBerry 10 platform, released today to developers and partners at the BlackBerry World conference in Orlando.

Samsung takes a swing at Apple devotees (depicting them as sheep) and hypes "The Next Galaxy" device — "which will almost certainly be a smartphone," reports Wired — in a new teaser promo for the May 3rd unveiling in London.

“Huffington.” is the latest mobile app from AOL, highlighting the best of the Huffington Post – and yes, the period is part of the name, just as AOL rebranded to "Aol." with a period. At the helm of the iPad magazine is Tim O’Brien, Huffpo’s executive editor, lured from the New York Times two years ago to manage the brand’s original journalism.

The news app will be free, at least for now, published weekly, largely based on HuffPo’s blend of original journalism and aggregated news, with some specifically commissioned stories — and, of course, leverage the personal brand of Arianna Huffington and the flagship Huffington Post website she sold to AOL last year.Continue reading...

Google unveiled Google Play today, rebranding its media and app markets into one place as it seeks to unify social and mobile around games, video, music and other content as part of its "One Google" effort. The pitch for Google Play: "Your favorite entertainment is now all in one place, always accessible on the web and across your Android devices." Learn more in the videos below.Continue reading...

Don't call it a smartphone — Samsung is describing its new Galaxy Note handheld as a hybrid device. The new spot above, which aired during the Oscars telecast in the U.S., takes aim at rivals in a bid to make some noise at Mobile World Congress, now getting underway in Barcelona.

Samsung's description for the campaign: "Phone? Tablet? It's the best of both. Visit Facebook.com/SamsungMobileUSA to find out more about our new superphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note, now available at AT&T and Best Buy." As TechCrunch notes, the 10-inch Galaxy Note will replace the first version of the Galaxy Tab.

Watch a "street challenge" of the device by other smartphone users below:Continue reading...

Apple’s smartphones still dominate the smartphone marketplace in the United States with a 48.4 percent share, according to Kantar Worldpanel, but Google’s Android isn’t far behind with 42.6 percent, according to Apple Insider. Microsoft’s smartphone technology is way down at 2 percent with Nokia’s Lumia filling up most of that percentage.

Now, a year after they announced a mobile partnership, Nokia and Microsoft are about to make a move that they’re hoping will help improve those numbers. On Monday, the company is expected to unveil the Lumia 610 and a new version of the Lumia 900 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Reuters reports.

The word is that Nokia “will next week unveil a new, cheaper smartphone using Microsoft's Windows Phone software, targeting a wider market.” Analysts tell Reuters that going cheaper will be a key component to the Finland-based Nokia moving up in market share.  As a result of its partnership, Nokia scrapped its smartphone system lin favor of Windows Phone and has been positioning the Lumia Windows Phone as a competitor to Apple's iPhone.