Mobile advertising firm Millennial Media this morning released its ‘Mobile Mix’ report covering its findings for the first quarter of this year. The report looks at trends in ad impressions across mobile devices and operating systems.

The mobile advertising company found that tablets – or ‘non-phone mobile devices’ – accounted for 20 percent of all 45 billion monthly ad impressions on its platform during Q1 2012, up from 15 percent in the same period last year.

The report also found that Android remained the top overall OS on the platform in the first quarter of this year, with a 49 percent share of impressions.

Furthermore, Millennial says Android made up 14 of the ‘top 20′ mobile phones.

Apple remained king of the hill when looking at individual mobile device makers thanks to its iPhone, however, with Samsung in second place with 4 of the top 20 mobile phones. Surprise: the BlackBerry Curve is ranked in second place.

Millenial says Apple represented 28 percent of the top manufacturers’ impression share, with the iPhone accounting for 15 percent of mobile ad impressions.

The Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Amazon Kindle Fire were the top tablets in Q1 2012, and all three were among the top 20 mobile devices.

Also read: New iPad overtakes original iPad in the US after only 2 months: Report

According to reports by Marketwatch and Musically, Samsung is in the final stages of acquiring cloud-based music service mSpot for somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.8M.

(We’ve confirmed these reports with Samsung, see our update below)

The service could be what’s powering Samsung’s Music Hub service, announced along with the new Galaxy S III phone. The service will cost consumers $9.99 monthly for one device and $12.99 monthly for up to four devices.

Local Korean news organization Mael Business reports that the deal is all but done:

South Korea’s tech behemoth Samsung Electronics is at final stages of talks concerning the acquisition of US-based software venture Mspot a year since it started working level discussions. This deal will mark Samsung’s very first takeover of a software firm, and is estimated to cost roughly 10 billion won ($8.84 million)”

A Samsung official confirmed that the company was currently at the final stages of a possible buyout talk, but refrained from commenting further.

mSpot recently launched a radio feature to go along with its on-demand music and movie streaming service, which makes the acquisition all the more powerful. The Palo Alto based company raised $2.33M in 2005 from Trinity Ventures.

What’s interesting to me is that Samsung, as a hardware manufacturer, simply didn’t hammer out a deal with a company like Spotify, Rdio, or mSpot itself instead of acquiring the assets. However, by baking in its own streaming service, the company has an opportunity to make more money once the handsets leave the warehouse.

We’ve reached out to both Samsung and mSpot for confirmation, but have yet to hear back. We’ll let you know when we do.

UPDATE: We’ve just heard back from Samsung, and the news is confirmed. Check out the press release below:

Palo Alto, Calif. – May 9, 2012 – Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced today it is acquiring mSpot, Inc., a leading mobile cloud-based content service provider based in Palo Alto, California.

The acquisition will provide a cloud-based entertainment experience of music, video and radio services for users of Samsung devices, while extending mSpot’s cloud and streaming solutions to a broader base of global entertainment fans. The combination will extend mSpot’s top class cloud and streaming services while further enhancing Samsung’s mobile and tablet device entertainment offerings. mSpot’s entertainment services will be a key integrated offering on newly announced Samsung mobile devices.

“mSpot shares our vision to bring a best-in-class cloud and streaming entertainment experience to consumers, and they’ve backed it up with innovative technical solutions from a great engineering team,” said TJ Kang, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Media Solution Center.

“Samsung is unparalleled in terms of global reach and cutting edge devices; with our combined resources, we are looking forward to redefining media consumption across the mobile universe with cloud services,” said mSpot Chief Executive Officer Daren Tsui.

The acquisition will include the full scope of technology, assets and human resources under mSpot. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Our very own Matt Brian was on the ground in London as Samsung unveiled its brand new Galaxy S III, and I have to say that it’s quite beautiful.

The phone sounds like a powerhouse, as expected, with some impressive specs:

The phone features a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen, measures 136mm x 70mm and has a 1280×720 HD display, all powered by a 1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor.

Matt went hands-on with the latest device from Samsung, which should hit stores by the end of summer. Until then, feast your eyes on these (click the images to see the larger version):

JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communication Division at Samsung had this to say about the new phone:

With the GALAXY S III, Samsung has maximized the consumer benefits by integrating superior hardware with enhanced smartphone usability. Designed to be both effortlessly smart and intuitively simple, the GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind. What makes me most proud is that it enables one of the most seamless, natural and human-centric mobile experiences, opening up a new horizon that allows you to live a life extraordinary.

Will you be lining up to get the latest Samsung Galaxy device? Let us know in the comments.

According to a survey out today from YouGov, people in Britain are not quite ready for connected TV viewing. The research shows that 50% of the UK residents polled are mostly buying new televisions for a more up-to-date model rather than thinking about connecting it to the Internet.

96% of SmartTV owners said that the picture quality was the most important feature followed by 93% focussing on screen size and 89% looking for better sound quality.

Slightly more worrying, only half of the respondents (53%) correctly identified a SmartTV as a set that directly connects to the Internet without requiring another device and one in four SmartTV owners have never used it to connect at all.

Quite why consumers are not taking advantage of this neat new technology could be related to a number of factors, lack of awareness or instruction or even traditional user habits. These results appear to point to the idea that television is still a passive medium that does not require interaction from viewers, let alone being a portal to an in Internet experience.

Getting the smart part

Dan Brilot, YouGov’s Media Consulting Director says that the adoption of SmartTVs, is similar to other domestic media gadgets.

“The ‘smart’ part of a Smart TV is not yet the main reason people are buying them; it’s more about future-proofing their TV set in the same way that lots of people bought HD TVs even before HD channels were available. I think many early adopters of Smart TV are buying them for the sake of owning the latest gadget. We see the profile (in terms of tech adoption) as very similar between iPad and Smart TV owners at the moment. These are the kind of people who are willing to make a big ticket purchase without quite realising what they’ve bought.”

Brilot also notes that there might be some confusion when technologies are presented all together and there is not enough in the way of  description for the possible opportunities for a device.

“You wouldn’t imagine that a quarter of people on any other Internet-led device hadn’t used it to go online – especially at this stage of the adoption curve. Manufacturers need to understand what the USP of a Smart TV is, either understanding a current need or creating one – as Apple do so well – rather than bundling together different technologies without the necessary thought as to how they might be used together.”

Battle of the brands

According to the research, Sony could be overtaken very soon by Samsung as the consumer choice for SmartTVs. Among existing owners, 36% have a Sony, 33% have a Sony and Panasonic trails behind with 16% of the market. That said, almost two thirds of people planning to buy a SmartTV in the next 12 months are considering a Samsung, followed by Sony at 48% and Panasonic at 40%.

Apple is already making an impact on the market without even launching a smartTV. Over a quarter of respondents in this survey say they plan to buy an Apple TV. It’s no bad thing when consumers are hoping to buy an item that doesn’t yet exist.

Brilot says that getting a high profile campaign to create awareness in the smartTV arena is helping Samsung take a big bite out of the market.

“Sony is seen as the quality or premium brand favoured by the early tech adopters – late twenty- or thirty-something men – but Samsung is the brand working the hardest and most successfully to bring Smart TV to the masses through its advertising campaigns as well as leading the way in the availability of apps on the sets.

Although nine in ten Smart TV owners are satisfied with them, one thing all manufacturers need to focus on is the user interface. This feature has the biggest disparity between importance and performance.”

YouGov’s research says that 14% of UK households are set to own a SmartTV in the next year which is bound to see a change in viewer habits.

Already through the use of video-on-demand services like Channel 4′s 4oD on Youtube or the BBC’s iPlayer, audiences are prepared for watching programs as and when they like rather than being constrained by linear schedules.

A large portion of the younger market for SmartTVs is already adopting non-linear viewing. 53% of 18-24 year olds with a SmartTV say the majority of programmming they watch is ‘on-demand’ and parents with pre-school children also seem to be taking advantage of the flexibility of watching what they want, when they want.

Considering Brilot’s observation on user experience, it seems that manufacturers will have no problem getting their TV sets into homes, but they really need to work on making the internet experience more appealing and simple to use if they are to offer the best possible service to consumers.

As viewers already seem comfortable with two-screen viewing with a tablet or mobile device to enhance a viewing experience, it should not be such a push to encourage them to take up the added features on a connected TV.

Samsung is tipped to post record profit once again when it announces figures for business during the first quarter of the year, which are expected next month, according to a Korea Times report.

Citibank expects that the Korean firm will post “historically high” results as it continues to grow impressively. January saw Samsung post record figures for the final quarter of 2011 — during which operating profit hit 5.3 trillion won ($4.72 billion) — and JP Morgan expects that operating revenue over the last three months will surpass that.

While Samsung’s phones are performing well across the world, with its Android-based smartphones amongst the most popular devices in the US and China, the success of arch-rival Apple is also a key contributor to its profits.

The Cupertino-based firm is one of the customers that Samsung provides parts for smartphones, tablet and other devices. For example, the Korea company supplies the Retina display and A5X processor for Apple’s new iPad, as a recent product teardown revealed.

As Apple has increased its production, in line with growing demand, so Samsung has seen its own business benefit. However, it may face new competition after Hon Hai (the parent company of Foxconn) invested in Sharp as part of a deal to “to launch cost competitive components and products.”

The duo plan to use each others components to help drive down cost and attract new business, and it remains to be seen if the boost will see Sharp cut into Samsung’s business and customer base.

Samsung’s most recent filing did not break out smartphone figures but, at the start of the year, its sales are estimated to have reached 35 million units, more than tripling sales of HTC devices in the same period.

Sales of the Galaxy S II handset have helped the company dominate the Android smartphone market. Its newer Galaxy Note is also performing well, and the company yesterday confirmed that it passed 5 million shipments of the device, having seen 1 million sales within two months of launch.

A group of 14 Russian record labels and music publishing firms are claiming that phone manufacturers Nokia and Samsung, among others, have been breaking their country’s laws since 2010, prompting them to threaten the boycotting of the companies and taking the matter to court.

The copyright holders, backed by their union, allege that Nokia and Samsung alone owe them up to 1.2 billion rubles, just south of $41 million.

From what we can gather, with the help of some accommodating Russian speakers, the copyright owners assert that consumer electronics makers need to pay certain fees when their devices allow consumers to play and download music.

The group of copyright owners – including EMI affiliate Gala Records and Melodiya – estimate that they’ve ‘lost out’ on 1.2 billion rubles so far, and plan to boycott Nokia and Samsung by no longer giving them permission to use ‘their content’.

According to a manifesto sent to certain Russian media, the copyright holders have failed to establish a conversation with Nokia and Samsung about their griefs.

As a result, they’re also planning to sue Nokia and Samsung, along with 18 unnamed other companies, in order to force them to pay due fees to the Russian Copyright Owners’ Union. The union is the organization that would subsequently distribute the monies to member music distribution firms and record labels.

Nokia and Samsung have reportedly declined to comment, but we’ve contacted them to see if they can give us a formal response to the accusations.

Well no, not really. But he came close.

During Apple’s iPad event today, while CEO Tim Cook was talking about the new beautiful Retina display graphics on the new iPad, he flashed up a slide showing the Twitter app on a Samsung Tablet:

It kind of looks like a blown-up smartphone app, because that’s exactly what it is. Compare that to Twitter on iPad.

That’s quite a jab. Cook didn’t stop there and took a look at Yelp’s Android app on a Samsung tablet:

Look at Yelp. Lots of white space. Tiny text, hard to read. Compare that to the iPad. This is a reason that momentum on the iPad continues to build.

Apple’s feisty CEO was building up momentum to the announcement of its new tablet, which we now know has dropped the number after the name. Luckily, it wasn’t called the iPad HD either:

Everyone’s been wondering who will come out with a tablet that is better than the iPad 2? Everyone’s been wondering this.

Well, stop wondering. We are.

Two weeks ago, we reported that Kodak was looking into filing for bankruptcy if it couldn’t sell off enough of its patents. Kodak licenses some these to companies like LG, Motorola, and Nokia. A week after that report, Kodak sued both Apple and HTC for infringing on some of those patents.

Today, the company is adding Samsung to the list of those being sued for patent infringement. The lawsuit singles out Samsung tablets specifically for using some of its technology without asking. The patents that Kodak says Samsung is using without permission center around the automatic handling of photos, such as sending them through email. Here are the five in question:

U.S. Patent No. 6,292,218 – “Electronic Camera For Initiating Capture of Still Images While Previewing Motion Images”
U.S. Patent No. 7,210,161 – “Automatically Transmitting Images from an Electronic Camera to a Service Provider Using a Network Configuration File”
U.S. Patent No. 7,742,084 – “Network Configuration File for Automatically Transmitting Images from an Electronic Still Camera”
U.S. Patent No. 7,453,605 – “Capturing Digital Images to be Transferred to an E-Mail Address”
U.S. Patent No. 7,936,391 – “Digital Camera with Communications Interface for Selectively Transmitting Images over a Cellular Phone Network and a Wireless LAN Network to a Destination”

It appears that these patents involving the transmission of photos are the same ones the company is suing Apple and HTC over. Before it sells off its patents or files for bankruptcy, the company must defend its assets, and the company certainly isn’t being quiet about it. As our own Brad McCarty points out, Kodak has become a dinosaur in digital photography, since it hasn’t executed on its own social offerings:

Kodak has been touting its social sharing functions for the past couple of years and the idea behind them is good. However, the implementation is simply incomplete. Instead of having a one-touch share button that allowed you to directly upload to Facebook, that button allows you to flag a picture. Then you have to hook up your camera to your computer, use Kodak’s software and finally upload it to the service of your choice.

If Kodak is going down, it certainly isn’t going down quietly. However, it looks like most of the damage to the company was self-inflicted.

Yesterday, we told you about one of the coolest items at this year’s CES conference in Las Vegas, the Samsung Smart Window. The company has posted an official video demo of the product and we learned another juicy tidbit about it; it’s partially powered by the sun. The thing only requires 10% of normal power consumption.

Makes complete sense, since the gorgeous transparent device is a geeky replacement for a window. Not only is this thing “Minority Report” cool, it’s eco-friendly. Unsurprisingly, the Smart Window won a well-deserved CES 2012 Innovation award. If the other wasn’t enough to make you want to get one of these things, this one just might:

The only thing missing is a release date and price for the Transparent Smart Window from Samsung. The video suggests putting it in the kitchen, so maybe it won’t be overly pricy. Who am I kidding? They could put any price tag on this baby and I’d at least contemplate picking one up.

Even though the conference is over, you can go back in time and catch up on all of our CES 2012 coverage!

Very rarely do I get excited about TV-related technology, probably because I don’t watch much TV. This beautiful creation from Samsung is an exception though.

This transparent screen will fit any window up to 46 inches at a resolution of 1366 x 768. The thing is completely see-through, but what you’re viewing on the screen is completely private from those outside. It’s fully controlled by your touch, and reminds us of a scene right out of Minority Report or Mission: Impossible.

Check out this quick demo, which shows a cool option to pull down blinds when you’re tired of looking outside:

There’s no word on when these will become available yet or how much they’ll cost, but the rumor is that they may go into production within the next month.

The Smart Window has installed widgets and will let you watch regular TV and movies on it, so it’s not just for show. Can you imagine putting one of these in every room of your house?

Check out all of our CES coverage here.