Well it's March, and we all know what that means - St. Patrick's Day will soon be upon us. As luck would have it, the day falls on Sunday, March 17 this year, and in New York City the big parade takes place a day prior. And we're sure a great many folks - Irish and otherwise - will start the celebration Friday evening, March 15!
No matter what or where, it turns out that there are plenty of mobile apps to help you figure out how you can celebrate, and this week's Apps on Tap column has you covered. Check them out; they’re all guaranteed to make your celebration a great one.
In some countries, the idea of a smartphone being locked so that it only operates on a specific carrier is a totally foreign concept. Unlike here in the United States, where most carriers lock the devices you buy from them so that they can only be used on that carrier's network, other countries allow users to buy their phones and take them to whatever carrier they want to use. But not in the U.S. Well, that may be about to change. No sooner did the Library of Congress, of all places, decide it was illegal to unlock your smartphone than the FCC got into the picture, as did as the rest of Washington DC with exactly the opposite belief - that the time to unlock your phone legally has arrived - but with one caveat.
As all of you Android phone lovers prepare to unlock your phones, it appears to be the case that Android is operating in a Dickensian "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." world. There are many more words in that line, which is of course from A Tale of Two Cities, but it will suffice - Android will account for 58 percent of total smartphone app downloads in 2013, followed by Apple's iOS with 33 percent.
Microsoft's Windows Phone will beat out BlackBerry to account for just under 4 percent of downloads, with BlackBerry close behind at 3 percent. That's the "best of times" side of it. The worst of times side? Android remains malware infested by nothing less than a huge margin relative to all other platforms, as a recent F-Secure report highlights.
The latest data gathered by the comScore MobiLens service was recently released, providing a view into the state of the U.S. smartphone industry over a three-month period ending in January. While Android's vast collection of smartphones across many market segments remains strong, Apple, with its measly little collection of devices, continues to dominate in its own way.
There were no major upsets as Android and iOS solidified their spots at the top, though Android saw its market share slip from October to January.
Samsung is expected to release its new Galaxy S IV - which will measure just a hair short of 5 diagonal inches in size - on March 14, 2013. It will be powered by the latest version of Android of course, but that is to be expected. What many are not likely to expect is that Samsung, in an effort to deliver some interesting level of innovation, will be adding the ability to monitor your eye's movement and scroll the screen for you. Samsung has filed for trademarks in Europe and the U.S. for “Eye Scroll,” “Samsung Eye Scroll” and “Eye Pause” - it’s a safe bet we'll see at least one of these terms pop up on launch day.
While you wait on that next Samsung smartphone, you may want to consider taking yourself over to Sprint if you are a subscriber. Why? Because Sprint is taking the initiative to ingratiate itself to its customers in March by offering an open enrollment to its device protection program. This particular program allows a customer to get free repairs to or replacements for their phone, should they be damaged or stop working through no fault of the customer. If you aren't a subscriber, Sprint would love for you to become one.
Have a great weekend - and don't forget the clocks "spring ahead" early Sunday morning.
QUICK LINKS 
