Another month, another shift in smartphone rankings. Android took back the lead at 49.4% of U.S. sales between November and January, according to the latest findings from Kantar Worldpanel. Of course, “Most U.S. smartphone market share estimates last fall saw Apple retake the lead as it rode a wave of iPhone 5 sales,” Engadget recalls.   

Confirming earlier reports, HP says it is building an entire portfolio of tablets, both Android and Windows, The Verge reports. "HP is the No. 1 PC manufacturer in the world, and we want to be the No. 1 computer vendor in the world,” Alberto Torres, head of the HP Mobility business unit, tells The Verge. “That means we need to be in the tablet space."

Netflix didn’t take any chances with the success of its debut series “House of Cards.” Along with bringing in David Fincher to direct, and Kevin Spacey to lead a first-rate cast, the budding media company relied on user data to guarantee a hit. “Big bets are now being informed by Big Data, and no one knows more about audiences than Netflix,” The New York Times reports. 

Mobile browser maker Opera is consolidating its mobile ad businesses into one unit, which will henceforth be called Opera Mediaworks. “The business amalgamates a number of the publishing and advertising services that Opera has bought in recent times, in addition to a new real-time targeting service for mobile ads that has launched today,” The Next Web reports. 

As a broad release slowly approaches for Google Glass, Forbes suggests that no one is more excited for that day than Marc Zuckerberg. Judging by an informal meeting between Facebook’s CEO and Sergey Brin -- Google Google’s cofounder and special projects head -- “Facebook [is] ready to develop for Glass,” Forbes writes. “Facebook has a team of three engineers … waiting for the product to be shipped to them so they can start building applications.” 

Google is reportedly readying a broader rollout of its Offer Extensions service, which pairs ad in search result pages with Groupon-like deals and special discounts. With Offer Extensions, available in limited testing until now, “advertisers can add a coupon-like discount offer to their AdWords ads, either for immediate redemption online or for printing and in-store use,” VentureBeat reports. 

As of Thursday evening, NBC Universal said NBC.com was safe for visitors following a security warning, Reuters reports. The issue was prompted by reports that the site had been infected with malicious software designed for banking fraud and cyber espionage. “Earlier on Thursday, several security experts had advised Internet users to avoid the site altogether, saying it had been compromised by malicious software.” 

NBCUniversal spent $195 million to buy back the 50% of MSNBC.com that was owned by Microsoft, TV Newser reports, citing Comcast’s latest 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “The purchase price means that Microsoft and NBCU valued MSNBC.com at around $500 million.” The deal, which was signed this past summer, saw NBCU take control of the site, and redirect visitors to a new site called NBCNews.com.  

In the second half of 2012, Google Shopping sent 120% more traffic to merchants than Amazon Product Ads, reports Search Engine Land, citing a new report from CPC Strategy. “In fact, Google Shopping more than doubled the amount of traffic it sent to merchants compared to 2011,” Search Engine Land notes. 

Aware of Project Glass’s aesthetic challenges, Google is going to great lengths to make its high-tech gadget easier on the eyes. For starters, the company has enlisted the trendy eyeglass makers at Warby Parker to help design more stylish frames, The New York Times reports, citing sources. These sources also say that Google plans to start selling its Glass gadgets to the broader public, this year.