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This week, at the Mobile World Congress event, Acer unveiled their Iconia Smart smartphone, first announced last November.

The Acer Iconia Smart will have a giant 4.8-inch touchscreen display with 1024x480 resolution, run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and feature a 21:9 aspect ratio.

Acer says the smartphone will run on a single 1GHz Snapdragon processor, have full Dolby Surround Sound technology and a special Acer UI dubbed 'Breeze.'

Furthermore, the device will have an 8MP standard camera with LED flash and a 2MP front-side camera.

Finally, the smartphone will have an HDMI port, 6-axis gyrometer and accelerometer, GPS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

Research In Motion (RIM) has announced today that they will release LTE and HSPA+ models of the upcoming PlayBook tablet, joining the WiFi and WiMax 4G models that will go on sale in March.

Each of the models will have Bluetooth tethering, mobile hotspots and BlackBerry Bridge, says PCW, a piece of software that lets BlackBerry owners use BBM (Messenger) on the tablet.

It is unclear what carriers will support the tablet, but it's speculated that it will be available through Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Price has not been confirmed but has been "leaked" as $500 for a base model, in line with the first generation Apple iPad.

RIM's PlayBook will have a 7-inch LCD screen with 1024x600 resolution, a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 5MP standard camera and a 3MP front-facing camera.

Finally, the company is expanding its BlackBerry World app store to Azerbaijan, Botswana Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, French Guyana, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Iceland, Kenya, La Réunion, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Martinique, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Tanzania.

Last night's showing of "Jeopardy!," which featured former champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter taking on IBM's supercomputer Watson, was the highest rated episode of the show since 2007, drawing an 8.7 household rating.

The taping's draw was 24 percent higher than the show's 2010 average, and a similar (or higher) rating is expected for tonight's continuation episode.

After the first day of the three-day event, Watson was tied with Rutter at $5000 each, with Jennings lagging behind at $2000. The winner will receive $1 million. Second place gets $300,000 and third gets $200,000. IBM will donate all their winnings to charity and Jennings and Rutter will donate half.

At the end of day 2 (which just aired) Watson had taken a commanding lead, with $35,734 to Rutter's $10,400 and Jennings' $4,800. However, the machine did make a huge blunder in the 'Final Jeopardy' question which was in the category "U.S. Cities."

The clue was: "Its largest airport was named for a World War II hero; its second for a World War II battle." Watson answered 'Toronto' while both human competitors answered correctly, with 'Chicago.'

Apple has announced the start of a subscription service which will be available to all publishers of content-based apps sold though the iOS App Store.

The service was first introduced with the release of "The Daily," a collaboration between News Corp and Apple available on the iPad.

Publishers can now sell subscriptions to publications weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly.

Apple takes its customary 30 percent from all app and content sales made through iTunes.

Says CEO Steve Jobs (via PR):

Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing. All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has denied the hot rumor that Google and Facebook are looking to acquire the service for $10 billion.

Says Costolo (via ET):

People write that stuff all the time. I don't know where these things come from, it's just a rumor.

The CEO also added that the microblogging service now has 130 million tweets per day, 30 percent higher than December 2010.

Additionally, Costolo says Twitter is now in the black and the company will soon introduce a "new method of making money, to add to its existing roster of promoted tweets, accounts and trends."

Multiple reports today have posted different rumors about the upcoming iPhone 5, which still remains unconfirmed but is expected to launch during the summer, one year after the release of the iPhone 4.

Apple will move the iPhone to a 4-inch screen and use a dual-core A5 processor, likely running at 1.2GHz.

The reports come from Taiwanese component suppliers.

Samsung will provide brand new Super PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching) displays to Apple for the iPhone 5, with Apple having purchased a rumored whopping $7 billion worth of the component for the year.

As compared to the IPS displays seen in the iPad/iPhone 4, the Super PLS screens are brighter, have better viewing angles and are cheaper to produce.

Spanish authorities have arrested a hacker this week who allegedly stole data from 4000 "Nintendo users" and then tried to blackmail the company.

The hacker threatened to contact the country's data protection agency, accusing Nintendo of complete negligence.

When Nintendo ignored his threats, the individual began leaking some of the stolen info online.

Before his arrest, the authorities say the hacker was planning to release all the stolen data.

It remains unclear where the data was stolen from, reports the BBC.

The WSJ is corroborating a Bloomberg report from the weekend which stated that Apple is currently developing a less-expensive version of the iPhone for sale to the mass market.

Furthermore, Apple will overhaul the software services for the devices.

The new report claims the upcoming iPhone will be 50 percent the size of the iPhone 4 and sell for $100, or even less. Current subsidized iPhone 4s sell for as low as $199 with contract.

Apple will look to overhaul the MobileMe online storage service, as well, with the company making the $99 service free, say the sources. By making MobileMe free, Apple will eliminate the need to add a lot of memory to the new, smaller iPhones, keeping costs down.

The company is also looking to add a social network to its cloud service.

Apple will release the smaller iPhones, as well as the revamped MobileMe during the summer although it is unclear where the company will release the phone first.

Adobe has confirmed today that Flash 10.2 will be headed to Android devices very soon, just a few days after it was released for Windows and Mac.

Says Anup Murarka of Adobe (via TR):

We have released source code to all our tier one partners and you will see Flash 10.2 begin to show up for mobile devices in the next few weeks.

Murarka did note that there was no timetable for Flash on Windows Phone 7, although he was optimistic on the operating system after Microsoft's deal with Nokia.

In the desktop version of Flash 10.2, CPU utilization falls to under 15 percent when playing flash video, in HD, full screen.

Says Muraka:

Often when we do everything in software today, we are above 60% and up to even 100% CPU. And that also translates into battery savings and improvement in overall responsiveness. We don’t think you’ll see quite as dramatic improvement on mobile because we already use some of that [technology], but you will see improvements in battery life.

Microsoft has shown off the future of their Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system today at the Mobile World Congress, confirming plans to add Copy/Paste functionality, multitasking, Internet Explorer 9, Office support in the cloud and Twitter integration.

Andy Lees, president of Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business says the new features will hit the operating system in 2011, starting with copy/paste.

That function will be added in March.

For all the rest of the features, Microsoft simply says "in 2011."

Microsoft recently signed a deal with Nokia where Nokia will use the OS on all its upcoming smartphones.

Says Lee (via press release):

This partnership will combine the strengths of our two companies, and fuel our growth as we build the global Windows Phone ecosystem. This is a great win for us, for Nokia, and for our existing and new customers around the world

"...A year ago, we introduced Windows Phone 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We described how we are putting the entire muscle of our company behind our mobile strategy including Windows, Windows Live, Bing, Zune, Xbox LIVE, Office, SharePoint, Exchange, and our developer tools. Our alliance with Nokia creates opportunities for both companies far beyond what we could achieve separately, and offers a compelling alternative to the existing choices for consumers, mobile operators and developers.

Netflix shares have exploded to a new all-time high today at $247, following news that streaming was headed to future Android devices.

Qualcomm announced earlier in the morning that devices running the updated Snapdragon platform with Android will be able to use Netflix's 'Watch Instantly' streaming service.

While that means current Android smartphone/tablet users may still not be able to use Netflix streaming, future devices will be able to right out of the box.

Says Liat Ben-Zur, senior director of software strategy and ecosystems for Qualcomm:

We’re excited about this collaborative effort to help bring the Netflix application to Android devices running on the Snapdragon platform. Qualcomm is in a unique position to help bring the most optimized and advanced Android apps to market through working closely with the strong ecosystem of Snapdragon developers like Netflix.

Netflix has been notably missing from Android devices, especially since Netflix has a working streaming app on iOS and Windows Phone 7.

The press release explains that "Snapdragon processors are designed to deliver dynamic performance and media protection features in a turnkey package, allowing the devices they power to more easily pass through the approval process required for Netflix certification. Additionally, Netflix video decoding is handled by highly efficient dedicated hardware, extending battery life and improving picture quality."

Today at the Mobile World Congress event, Qualcomm will announce the next upgrade to their Snapdragon mobile processor chipset line.

Using the new "Krait" micro-architecture, the APQ8064 chipset will run quad core, at an astounding 2.5GHz.

Additionally, the processor will use even less battery than its predecessors.

Qualcomm promises the processor will be 1200 percent faster than single core Snapdragons, whilst using 75 percent less power.

Furthermore, the chipset will allow for 3D recording right out of the box, include NFC, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM radio built-in and even includes the new quad-core graphics processor, the Adreno 320.

Samples of the processor will begin hitting manufacturers in early 2012.

MeetMeeGo tweeted a teaser picture today, revealing that Intel will show off an Atom-based MeeGo smartphone tomorrow at the Mobile World Congress.

The unknown device will be unveiled alongside a MeeGo tablet, although both are still mostly unknown.

Intel's Atom is its new Medfield processor, which will be smaller and cooler than the current-gen Oak Trail platform.

Medfield is expected to be the first processor that can be used in a smartphone and meet expectations for good battery life.

There is even less info known about the tablet.

We will keep you updated.

(Pic via Tweet)

Following up their top-selling Galaxy S Android smartphone, Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S II today at the Mobile World Congress.

The device is dubbed the "world's thinnest phone" at just 8.49mm, and will feature a large 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus display with 800x480 resolution. The smartphone will ship with Android 2.3.

Samsung has added an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front-side camera, integrated NFC, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, HSPA+ 24mbps connectivity, and four new "entertainment hubs," music, games, e-reading, and social networking.

Says JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business (via TS):

In 2011, we will take Samsung's leadership in Speed, Screen and Content to a whole new level. With the GALAXY S II, Samsung wants to set the new standard of quality viewing on mobile, powerful performance, and slim and modern design. GALAXY S II is a natural and powerful evolution of GALAXY S. Building on the phenomenal success of the original Samsung GALAXY S, we are proud to unveil the ultimate smartphone. Consumers no longer have to contain themselves – the Samsung GALAXY S II allows them to design their own smart lives.

Earlier today at the Mobile World Congress event, Samsung showed off their upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1, a sequel to the popular Galaxy Tab tablet.

The original Tab sold 2 million units in just 3 months.

Featuring Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the Tab 10.1 will have a 10.1" WXGA TFT LCD display with 1280x800 resolution and run on a dual-core 1GHz processor.

Samsung says the device will weigh just 1.24 pounds, and will have a standard 8MP camera with 1080p recording support and a 2MP front-side camera. Available in either 16GB or 32GB, the device will not have any USB or HDMI ports, and use a proprietary charging cable.

Says DJ Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing (via TS):

As a leader in the Android-powered tablet market, Samsung is committed to providing a variety of feature-rich, always-on devices. The Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 is a valuable addition to our expanding portfolio of smart media devices. Sporting a large 10.1 screen and dual surround-sound speakers, it enables users to enjoy multimedia to the maximum extent without having to compromise mobility.