Samsung has shipped its 1 millionth Galaxy Note II handset in South Korea, just over three months after the flagship “phablet” made its debut on the electronics giant’s home turf. The news comes just over a month after Samsung announced that the Galaxy Note II had surpassed 5 million channel sales worldwide.

MetroPCS has added another affordable smartphone to its 4G lineup this morning in the form of the ZTE Avid 4G. The device runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and sports a “crystal-clear” 4-inch display — all for just $149 with no annual contract.

If you’ve been itching to get your hands on an Android “phablet” with a large display, but you don’t like the look of the hefty price tags demanded by handsets like the Samsung Galaxy Note II, then ZTE may have something special up its sleeve for you. The U887 is a new smartphone that’s been leaked by China’s TENAA, and according to reports, it’s hoping to give budget-minded Android users the chance to own a larger smartphone without paying larger prices.

Do your children ask you every day when Santa’s going to arrive? Now you can show them, thanks to Google’s new Santa Tracker app for Android smartphones and tablets. Built by “Santa’s developer elves,” the new app features a countdown to Christmas Eve, then allows you to track jolly old Saint Nicholas on his journey to children all over the world.

HTC looks to be preparing a new flagship Android smartphone for 2013, and leaked specifications for the device suggest it’s well worth getting excited about. It’s codenamed the HTC M7, and it boasts a plethora of cutting-edge components — some of which haven’t been introduced to a smartphone before, such as its 4.7-inch 1080p display, which boasts a pixel density 40% greater than that of the iPhone 5.