Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC failed to meet analysts’ estimates during the fourth quarter of 2012, posting an operating income that of just NT$600 million ($21 million). The average estimate from 20 industry analysts was NT$1.11 billion, according to Bloomberg — that’s almost double the figure HTC actually achieved.

Apple’s App Store has been the undisputed revenue king since its inception, however, its once enormous lead is now quickly shrinking. That leading edge over Android is an argument that’s becoming moot as the Play’s revenue continues to grow at a ravenous rate. According to App Annie, an industry leader in app store analytics and marketing, Google Play’s revenues have skyrocketed 311% in the last year, compared to the App Store’s more conservative 12.9%.

Google has released its Q1 2012 revenue earnings — and business is good! Revenue for Q1 2012 came in at $10.65 billion, up 24% from Q1 2011. Overall, the majority of revenue avenues saw growth despite Google’s willingness to explore risky projects. Google ended up with a hefty $49.3 billion cash on hand and looks to continue growing that stockpile as they move forward in the year. In the earnings call today, Larry Page talked mostly about their dedication to the long-term and points out how many of their projects don’t reach critical mass for quite a few years. For example, Larry points out that he’s been working on Android for 6 years and it wasn’t until the past 3 years that Android has begun to really explode.