While Sony’s latest crop of Xperia smartphones haven’t exactly been terrible, none of them really stand out up against devices like the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, and the HTC One X and Droid DNA. Despite this, the Japanese company has been able to cement itself in second place when it comes to Android market share — sitting right beneath Samsung.

Rumor has it that Sony’s now looking to take advantage of that position with a new flagship “Xperia 6” handset for 2013. In addition to a 6-inch 1080p display, the device is expected to offer a 13-megapixel camera, 3GB of RAM, and a sizable 3,500 mAh battery. What’s more, it won’t be the only new handset from Sony in early 2013.

Research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed that “smart connected device” shipments — which includes computers, smartphones, and tablets — reached a record high during the third quarter of 2012, largely thanks to Apple and Samsung. The pair’s hugely popular devices helped the market grow 27.1% year-on-year as it reached a record 303.6 million shipments valued at over $140 billion.

Samsung kept us waiting a long, long time for the Galaxy S III. We expected it to arrive at CES 2012 back in January, and when that didn’t happen, we hoped for a release at Mobile World Congress the following month (which Samsung didn’t bother turning up to). As it turns out, the Korean company’s flagship smartphone didn’t get its grand unveiling until May.

We may not be in for the same wait next time around, however. Samsung is already teasing “something new” for CES 2013, sparking speculation that the Galaxy S IV will be arriving as early as next month.

This looks awesome.

HTC announced the J Butterfly, the world’s first smartphone to boast a 1080p display, back in October, and fans have been itching to get their hands on the Taiwanese company’s latest handset. The thing is, the J Butterfly is exclusive to Japan. Those in the U.S. now have an equivalent in the Droid DNA, but what about the rest of the world?

Well, HTC just announced the Butterfly (without the ‘J’) — the international version of its full HD smartphone. It’s very similar to the J Butterfly — both in design and specifications — and it’s going global over the coming weeks and months.

Nik Software, which was acquired by Google back in September, has brought its award-winning photo editing app to Android. Snapseed is available to download now from Google Play, offering all kinds of awesome filters and effects that will transform your otherwise dull photos into a work of art. What’s more, it’ll do it without charging you a penny.