Some of the Formspring stats include:

• iOS app users average 1.5 hour session times
• iOS is well reviewed with 5 stars in the app store
• 28 million users total in just over 2 years, with nearly half a million sign-ups in December alone
• 25 million monthly unique visitors
• Over 4 billion responses clocked to date

What I wanted to illustrate is just how Formspring is popular these days and why you should join too, if you still haven’t.

In related news, Formspring has also unveiled its homepage facelift. The new design is said to show Formspring as a “place where members can not only ask their friends questions, but also discover new people around their interests, interact with favorite celebrities, musicians and publications and participate in a global conversation around a single question”…

Formspring (FREE) [Android Market link]

The second device is the Sony Xperia S (not the ion) and it’s not officially announced by AT&T. However, the version of the phone FCC got to play with sings along the carrier’s 3G network, boasting a quad-band UMTS radio that works on 850, 900, 1900 and 2100 MHz frequency bands. In other words, this could easily be the international Xperia S that may or may not be added to AT&T’s portfolio considering the Xperia ion is there to satisfy users’ needs for Sony-branded products. We’ll see… and in the meantime, you can check out FCC’s listing for the two devices from here and here.

[Via: Engadget]

If it was to pay a corporate tax on its massive cash reserves of $97.7 billion, that money could buy an iPad for every person in Canada and Greece. However, 2/3 of that reserve is stored offshore. Moreover, Apple’s cash reserve is enough to pay off the total public debt of 8 EU countries, including Slovakia, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Cyprus, Estonia and Malta.

In the last three months, Apple brought in 4x more profit than Walmart, the world’s largest retailer… And here’s how it all comes together in an infographic prepared by MBAonline.com.

• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – February 1st ($4.99)
• BulletAsylum – February 8th ($2.99) (Exclusive to Windows Phone)
• Chickens Can’t Fly – February 15th ($2.99)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction – February 22nd ($4.99)
• Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp – February 29th ($2.99)

So what do you say, are you looking forward to try out these games? Maybe the following demo video will convince you why they are worth waiting. Here comes…

[Via: WindowsTeamBlog]

The benefits are pretty clear to me, but just if you don’t get it, here’s what you should know:

• Travel coordinators easily add trip plans by forwarding confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and accessing employees’ travel plans in one place.
• Travelers can access their travel plans in one place using a smartphone or tablet, in a calendar and online.
• Employees get to see when and where colleagues are traveling.
• Managers and business owners get real-time access to office travel spending.

It’s a win-win for all parties included… You can get more information from this page at TripIt’s website.

On the other side of the equation, smartphone users seek tighter control of their finances given uncertain economic conditions to which some financial institutions responded with dedicated smartphone and tablet apps. However, the report cautions that the most successful deployments adopt a triple-play solution utilizing not only apps, but SMS and Browser-based delivery channels.

Some other findings from the report include:

• MNOs and banks have a mutually beneficial opportunity to collaborate to improve customer acquisition and retention, whilst reducing operational costs;
• Transactional mBanking usage will reflect similarly aggressive growth rates to SMS with over 550 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2016;
• The developed markets of North America, Western Europe and the Far East & China will have the highest penetration of users in 2016.

And you can get additional information from this page at Juniper’s website.

Now you could hope that the upcoming version of the tablet turned notebook, Transformer Prime TF700T, will get 3G radio alongside that more powerful 1920×1200 pixels display, but that’s just a speculation at this point.

Personally I don’t mind Wi-Fi only tablets — as a matter of fact I prefer them — but I know some folks who *must* be connected at all times. Don’t get me wrong (I’m one of those geeks), but I rely on my portable hotspot device to have a working hotspot around me at all times…

So what do you say? Do you need a 3G-enabled tablet or not?

[Via: Unwired View]

The new software version comes with some improvements under the hood that improve the battery life and the overall security of the device. Moreover, there’s the updated Peep client (to align with Twitter).

By the time you’re reading this, you may’ve been already prompted to update. If not – don’t worry, Sprint said every Evo 3D owner will get the new firmware in the next 5 days.

To check manually whether a new software version is ready for you, tap Settings -> System Update -> HTC Software Update and finally Check Now. As usual, make sure you phone’s battery is fully charged and that you’re connected on a fast network before proceeding. Good luck!

[Via: AndroidPolice]

Unfortunately we’ve no clue whether these babies will ever be launched. We do hope to see more competition in the tablet space, though I’m not sure the screen size is that crucial. Rather Toshiba (and other tablet makers for that matter) are better off focusing on some additional gizmos to make their products more appealing to the general public. Asus figured this out hence the original Transformer is one of the most successful Android tablets released thus far.

In any case, we look forward to more options and will be watching for any press material Toshiba pushes through the wires. Stay tuned…

And while I doubt their Thrive and Excite tablets sell in volumes — no matter how fancy they may seem — the Japanese company must be thinking this is just a start and that sales will come later (this year?).

Aside from tablets, Toshiba also had its laptops and TVs at display, as you’re about to see from our gallery. Enjoy!

• Sprint’s Galaxy Nexus
• T-Mobile’s Galaxy S Blaze 4G
• Verizon’s Galaxy Tab 7.7
• AT&T’s Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD
• MetroPCS’ Galaxy Attain 4G

In other words, Sammy has all of the major carriers covered and we’re pretty confident they’ll reach the goal to emerge as the world’s largest cellphone maker by the end of this year. And here’s how their booth looks like…