Join us as we rejoice together: "Finally!" Look, we can't straight up say that Bluetooth headsets don't have their place in this world, but seriously, we've yet to not be freaked out when walking up to someone who's apparently speaking to the ghost we can't see. In a recent survey conducted by the quizzical minds over at Strategy Analytics, they found that only 26 percent of US-based Bluetooth headset owners use their device each and every day. That figure is down from 43 percent in 2008, proving that style may have just notched a minor victory over utility. Of course, the study also found that daily BT headset use was up slightly in Europe, but hey, it takes awhile for these so-called "trends" to float across the pond.

[Image courtesy of eHow, via HotHardware]

Studies just released by RBC Capital and ChangeWave Research polled iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre owners on their respective levels of satisfaction with their devices -- then compared them. In the studies, 200 iPhone 3GS users and 40 Palm Pre owners were polled. Overall, 99 percent of Apple's phone proclaimed themselves to be "satisfied," while 82 percent of that number declared they were "very satisfied." The poll of Pre owners showed that 87 percent are "satisfied," and 42 percent of those owners describe themselves as "very satisfied." Interestingly, the 42 percent of "very satisfied" customers are the highest score ever attained by a Palm device, and it's a number that's only ever been bested by RIM and Apple. When asked about their respective reasons for buying their devices, Palm Pre owners listed the touchscreen interface, ability to multitask, and ease of use in the top three, while iPhone users cite its touchscreen, ease of use and faster web browsing as its biggest draws. So what about drawbacks? iPhone users (a whopping 55 percent of them, in fact) say that AT&T's network is their main gripe with the device, while Pre owners list short battery life and lack of third party apps as the devices biggest drawbacks. All in all, a pretty good showing for both -- though the microscopic sample size (especially for the Palm Pre) makes us wonder about the validity of the findings a bit.

Read - Apple's iPhone 3GS has 99 percent satisfaction rate
Read - iPhone vs. Palm Pre: Satisfaction bakeoff

Thinking that there's only room in this town world for either WiMAX or LTE? Research firm In-Stat would love to disagree, as a new report from it asserts that both will actually live on for at least the next little while. Unsurprisingly, it's expected that mobile WiMAX will "outpace LTE over the next few years due to its head start on deployments," and potentially more importantly, the company believes that WiMAX and LTE will take "very different paths." In fact, it's stated that most WiMAX support will come from fixed network carriers looking to spruce up their existing offerings, while LTE expansion will likely be pushed solely (or mostly, anyway) by mobile operators. To us, it all boils down to support, and it only takes a quick survey of the field to see that LTE has the most of that. For better or worse, it seems the next-gen data war is but beginning, even though we already thought we were nearing the end.

You'd think a company like Nokia could just finance whatever it wanted, but just to be safe, it's signing a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to the tune of €500 million ($623.9 million). Why the sudden need for cash? According to Reuters, the five-year loan will be used in part to "finance software research and development (R&D) projects Nokia is undertaking during 2009-2011 to make Symbian-based smartphones more competitive." More specifically, those R&D activities will "also benefit the work of the Symbian Foundation and its development of open-source software for mobile devices." Sadly, that's absolutely it for details, but we get the idea we'll be hearing more about this soon. We hear you can accomplish some pretty wild goals with a half billion Euros.

As with most other cellphone makers (and companies in general), Nokia managed to lose a bit of cash, market share and dignity in the completely brutal past quarter. That said, it's still doing leaps and bounds better than most, but that glimmer isn't stopping it from shutting down its Jyväskylä site and scaling back at its Salo production facility (pictured). According to Nokia, this is all part of its ongoing plan to "increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the market situation," and with the closings, it'll concentrate mobile devices R&D in Finland at Tampere, Oulu, Salo (though to a lesser extent) and the Helsinki metropolitan area. It's expected that all of the 320 employees at Jyväskylä will be sent packing by the end of this year, while temporary layoffs will be issued on a "rotational basis" (sounds thrilling, no?) at Salo. More details are stored away in the read link, but we'd avoid the depression that's lurking unless your day has just been entirely too awesome.

Look out, world -- Apple's on the hunt for that number one spot in worldwide mobile market share! Of course, it's got like a bazillion miles to go before it gets there, but achieving that magical 1 percent is always a day worth tearing up about. According to data in a recent ABI Research study, iPhones now make up 1.1 percent of all cellphones, which is a pretty nice bump from the 0.3 percent share the original iPhone held in 2007. As expected, Nokia's still making everyone else look bad with 38.6 percent, while Samsung (16.2 percent) notched the silver and Motorola / LG tied for third with 8.3 percent apiece. Number lovers can dive into the links below for more where this came from, and feel free to dispute the facts 'til your heart's content down in comments.

[Via Electronista]

We can't say we've ever toyed with a mobile that was so difficult to setup that we'd rather move our bank account from one institution to another just to experience something easier, but apparently we're in a quaint minority. According to research gathered by Mformation, some 85 percent of those polled were "frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working." Out of the 4,000 individuals that were surveyed, all but 5 percent said they would "try more new services if phones were easier to set up." In fact, 61 percent admitted that they would simply stop using an application if they couldn't get it working right away, with actions such as web browsing, reading email and sending picture messages being atop the list of "greatest wants." Hear that, carriers? That's the sound of lost revenue from selling phones that people can't operate.

[Via All About Symbian]

A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts -- which undoubtedly included one Kim Jong Il -- found that by 2020, the leading method for accessing the intarwebz will not be highly potent Alienware gaming rigs, but cellphones. Granted, the finding isn't all that shocking considering just how ubiquitous mobiles are in comparison to full-fledged PCs, but it's still a rather astounding hypothesis. Comically enough, these very "leaders" couldn't come to an agreement on whether the widespread access along with other tech advances would "lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives." Ah well, we've only got a dozen years to find out, no need to spin your wheels now.

[Via mocoNews]

Back in November, Apple's iPhone 3G overtook the almighty RAZR as the best-selling handset on US soil, and merely a week later, analysts pinpointed Motorola (and Sony Ericsson, in fairness) as being handset makers that could have a tough time "weathering the storm." Now, a new piece of research from MultiMedia Intelligence has it that Motorola's market share dominance is about to end, and end quickly. If forecasts are accurate, rivals LG and Samsung will surpass Moto in 2009 (in America), and with RIM and Apple selling their fair share as well, it's doubtful Motorola will be able to simply swipe away users of other handsets without something revolutionary on the table. Hear that Moto? Revolutionary? We love to be surprised, you know.

[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of SynergyGroup]

Oftentimes, it's difficult to remember that ASUS is in the handset game at all, and don't think for a second that ASUS isn't well aware of that fact. According to undisclosed sources, said outfit is looking to ramp up its reputation and seriously take on the likes of HTC next year by pumping out no fewer than ten handsets, almost all of which will boast 3G and a touch user interface. There's no definitive word on what operating system(s) will be relied upon, but we'd say it'd do ASUS good to get an Android-based mobile out in the States if it wants to seriously roll with High Tech Computer. Oh, and three cheers for competition.

We've always heard that innovating through recession is the best way to survive, and apparently the suits at Nokia got the same memo. Despite the zany economic situation, the handset maker has established a research hub in the epicenter of media: Hollywood, California. The predictably named Nokia Research Center Hollywood is being planted in order to give Nokia easy access to members of the media / entertainment industry along with nearby universities, and it's hoping to generate a storm of ideas including "mixed reality experiences," fresh user interfaces and the meshing of media in the mobile world. In all honesty, it'll be quite interesting to see what eventually comes out of this, particularly since it already knows that mobile TV and cellphone gaming are far from hot stuff right now.

We're not even going to pretend we fully grasp what's going on here, but the long and short of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences' latest findings are that cellphones can trigger the release of mercury from one's fillings. Yes, seriously. The study asserts that out of 14 test subjects with fillings, those who used mobile phones had a statistically significant increase of mercury from urine tests than those who refrained from yapping. The science behind all of this is far beyond our IQ levels, but we're a little freaked out/not freaked out, regardless.

[Via textually]

News flash: mobile TV is not enticing. Like, at all. The viability of watching TV on one's handset has been questioned for years, and now we've got the numbers to prove that interest is waning. Recent research has found that mobile TV adoption sits at just 1% now, and interest in all types of mobile TV is just over 50% of what it was in 2006. The report places the blame on "patchy network coverage, limited channel lineup, poor video quality, excessive prices and a penchant among high-end phone users for business handsets rather than video phones," and we'd certainly have a tough time disagreeing. That being the case, it was still found that 15% of those surveyed on the topic would actually enjoy watching recorded TV shows later on their phone, suggesting that a little bit of choice when it comes to content may not be a bad idea. Rest assured, players in this space are already looking at ways to make it happen, and for those with SlingPlayer, you know all too well what we're getting at.

Nokia's market share may have slipped ever-so-slightly after a rough Q3, but that's not to say the current champ has been knocked from its throne -- far from it, actually. According to fresh numbers compiled by research firm IDC, Nokia's global market share after Q3 was 39.4%, while Samsung notched the silver with 17.3% and Sony Ericsson the bronze with 8.6%. Trailing the top trio was Motorola and LG with 8.5% and 7.7%, respectively. Each of the five still saw net gains when compared to Q3 2007 save for SE and Moto, which saw their market share slip 0.8% and 31.7%, respectively. Man, a 31.7% slide in twelve months -- is something wrong at Motorola's handset division, or have we just been living under a gigantic boulder for the last calender year?