The latest study from NPD DisplaySearch , the 'Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report', reveals that Apple shipped 17.2 million mobile PCs in the first quarter of this year. Apple managed to reach a 118% cent year-over-year growth. The study shows that 80% of Apple's mobile PC shipments were iPads, of which the company sold 13.6 million in the first quarter, which comes to a 162% growth.

According to a new study by IHS, the number of social networking gamers has dropped from almost 300 million in the beginning of 2011, to 220 million at the beginning of 2012. "Facebook rocketed to prominence as a gaming platform in 2009 and 2010," said Steve Bailey, senior analyst for games at IHS. "However, with equal speed, the market then settled into a state of maturity in 2011, with conditions becoming markedly more challenging for game operators. While Facebook remains a worthwhile opportunity for companies able to meet these challenges, the tone of the market in 2012 will be somewhat muted compared to the optimistic outlook of the past few years."

Google could soon be launching its Android OS for desktop and notebook computers. Speculations of a launch started when PatentlyApple learned of a new patent filed by the company that focused on similar technologies to Apple's Magic Trackpad and Multi-Touch Trackpad. Google first made its entry into the notebook and desktop OS market with the launch of its cloud based ChromeOS.

According to a report by Highbeam Research, Twitter has become more popular than Facebook in terms of media coverage. According to the report, Twitter was featured in 50% of media reports related to social networking platforms in 2011, while Facebook was only featured in 45% of them. Facebook has the largest user base, with more than 800 million users around the world. However, Twitter has become a favorite among media houses, celebrities and other organisations.

According to a study carried out by Distimo, Apple's App Store is generating six times the revenue earned by rival Google's Android market.According to the study, Microsoft's mobile download portal has surpassed Nokia's OVI Store as well as Research In Motion's BlackBerry App World. The Windows Phone Marketplace has also enjoyed 400% growth during 2011, and has therefore reduced the gaps between itself and other rivals in the market such as the Apple App Store and the Android Market.

According to a new study by StatCounter, Chrome's market share in the global browser market rose to 24% in the last weeks of November and in the first week of December. Meanwhile Microsoft's Internet Explorer share was at 22.9%. This is a significant accomplishment for Google, as Microsoft usually maintains the majority share.

Samsung has announced that it has sold over 300 million of its mobile phones in the first eleven months of 2011. Samsung's Galaxy S series has been doing exceptionally well in the market and is one of the most successful mobile device series to be manufactured by Samsung. "We are incredibly proud of this record-breaking sales milestone and have exceeded the annual target announced early this year, which is testament to the enduring appeal of Samsung phones with consumers around the world," said Shin Jong-kyun, president and head of Samsung's mobile communications business. Samsung is the second-largest maker of smartphones worldwide.

Apple is expected to sell up to 30 million iPhones in the last quarter of 2011. The phone has exceeded all fourth quarter sale expectations, and has already broken a number of past sale records. Apple is expected to have its best smartphone quarter ever due to the impressive number of sales. As a result, analysts at investment banks are being forced to revise their sales estimates for the iPhone because of the phone's increased sales projection.

Some international reports state that the Syrian government has banned the use of iPhones, as part of an effort to prevent protesters from communicating and reporting on any incidents of violence. Activists are said to have received a notice from the Syrian Finance Ministry's Customs Department which warned against using the iPhones inside the country. According to reports, any person can be held accountable for the use of the phone, including phone sellers, tourists and journalists.

Research in Motion has announced that it will charge itself up to $485 million to make up for the Playbook's dissapointing sales. RIM's tablet sold 150,000 units in the third quarter, down from 500,000 in the first quarter and 250,000 in the second quarter. The Canadian company announced that it would charge itself an additional $50 million to make up for the three-day BlackBerry network outage in October.