Is 2010 the real Year of the Smartphone? Some had applied that label to 2009 because of the booming demand for high-end devices in the face of an otherwise dismal mobile phone market. But during the first quarter, smartphone growth continued to surge, with worldwide shipments up almost 57% from a year ago, according to new data from market research firm IDC. What’s more, that increase easily outpaced the 38% growth from the fourth quarter, typically the strongest sales period for mobile devices. Apple enjoyed the biggest share gain in the last year, going from a 10.9% …

Nokia said Friday it has filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging Apple iPhone and iPad 3G products infringe five important Nokia patents. The patents cover technologies in speech and data transmission, using positioning data in applications in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices. Nokia, a company that began making rubber, invested roughly EUR 40 billion during the past 20 years in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and IPR product line, with more than …

The Google Buzz Team is recruiting Gmail users to test Buzz features. The group is looking for early feedback on Google Buzz features that are in the works. Similar to a help wanted ad, the post reads "If you’re adventurous and like testing experimental new stuff and providing candid feedback and bug reports, we’d love your help!" If interested, the team suggests you fill out this form, and someone on the team will respond. You will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement with Google, which means no talking while testing. The team warns "your Gmail experience might …

One time magazine audience measurement firm Simmons is getting back into the fray, this time in partnership with Affinity LLC, which has been trying to compete with magazine research giant MRI (Mediamark Research & Intelligence) for the past several years. The companies announced they have formed a strategic alliance to launch a new syndicated print planning tool combining consumer behavior and attitudinal research from Simmons’ National Consumer Study with the magazine audience estimates from Affinity’s American Magazine Study. The companies said they would utilize a “state-of-the-art database integration process” to combine their disparate databases. …

Belle Tire credits a mobile marketing program for increased sales and membership in its loyalty club. Belle Tire recently added a mobile component to its traditional media buys and marketing with local sports teams. The Michigan and Ohio retailer first offered a free set of tires in a text-to-win promotion. All who entered received a $20 off mobile coupon. Participants were then invited to join the Belle Tire “Advantage Clubâ€� -- and 55% opted into the club. In a follow-up campaign, 77% of participants subsequently joined the mobile “Advantage Club." Belle Tire and Bellevue, Wash.-based Hipcricket, which created …

Apple’s iPad might not have been designed to replace netbooks, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at recent sales numbers for the low-cost, low-powered computing devices. Indeed, sales growth of netbooks fell off a proverbial cliff in January, and then shrank again in April, according to new report from Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty. The steep decline is definitely collateral damage from the January introduction and April launch of the iPad, according to Huberty. Sales of netbooks peaked last summer at an astonishing 641% year-over-year growth rate. Yet, “Her timing seems a little off,â€� notes Fortune. “The NPD data …

On Thursday, Net regulator Icann switched on a system that allows full web addresses that contain no Latin characters, reports The BBC. Calling the move “historic,â€� Arab nations including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the first countries to have so-called “country codesâ€� written in Arabic scripts. “The move is the first step to allow web addresses in many scripts including Chinese, Thai and Tamil,â€� according to The BBC. Icann representative Kim Davies said there had previously been concerns that such a move could cause the internet to “split,â€� but that such worries were not credible. …

Fortune just published a must-read excerpt from David Kirkpatrick’s forthcoming book, “The Facebook Effect: the Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World.â€� In one unbelievable anecdote, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his cohorts saw fit to “punkâ€� Sequoia Capital -- despite the fact that the veneral VC firm was prepared to invest perhaps millions in the startup. “Zuckerberg and another partner showed up deliberately late for an 8 a.m. meeting, in their pajamas … Zuckerberg showed a PowerPoint presentation David Letterman-style,â€� Kirkpatrick writes. Who does that?! In those early days, Zuckerberg also had a business card …