Mihăiță Bamburic

If something really matters on Twitter then it's on Trends. The little card displayed to the left of the tweets feed in the browser (or inside a tab in the mobile app) shows ten topics that have managed to come out on top as most relevant to worldwide users.

In order to get even more spooky, Twitter even offers something called "tailored Trends" which delivers a more personal list "based on who you follow and your location". But if you don't want to use the feature, you can get trends only for a specific location, an option which Twitter has expanded to include 160 more places worldwide.

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Nokia has released new software updates for three Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 920, Lumia 820 and Lumia 620. This comes four weeks after the Finnish smartphone maker announced the new firmwares and detailed the included changes.

The software updates will roll out in stages over "the coming weeks" and feature different improvements and bug fixes depending on the device. The Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 get the "1232.5957.1308.00xx" firmware while the Lumia 620 gets the "1030.6407.1308.00xx" update.

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Be prepared to invest in some larger pants. Samsung announced two new smartphones today, part of the company's Android lineup. Both devices bear the Galaxy Mega moniker, but one comes with a fairly generous 6.3-inch display while the other features a smaller 5.8-inch screen.

There are other differences as well. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 (yes, that's its real name) comes with a 6.3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 720 by 1280, while the Galaxy Mega 5.8 sports a 5.8-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 540 by 960. Also, the former is powered by a 1.7 GHz dual-core "AP" processor while the latter is powered by a 1.4 GHz dual-core "AP" processor.

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Enabling two-factor authentication for a Google account is an effective security measure against unauthorized access. It adds an extra layer of protection by requiring users to enter an application-specific password or security code in order to gain access to various Google services. For this second part the company says users will need an Android, BlackBerry or iOS handset. But what about generating security codes on Windows Phone? Surely, there has to be a way.

And there is. Microsoft has released an app called Authenticator which allows Windows Phone users to generate security codes for two-factor authentication. And, because it "implements industry-standard security code generation", the app supports Microsoft as well as Google accounts. The only question is: How to set it up for the latter?

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At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia unveiled its entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset -- the Lumia 520 -- which will run for $185 before any applicable taxes. And today T-Mobile announced that it will carry a branded variant of the smartphone, dubbed the Lumia 521.

Like its international sibling, the Lumia 521 comes with a 4.0-inch display, which T-Mobile says is "super sensitive, a 5MP back-facing camera with auto-focus and 720p video recording and the usual Nokia software add-ons.

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In just two days, T-Mobile customers will be able to purchase the iPhone 5. The fourth-largest carrier in the US offers the smartphone for $99.99 upfront paired with $20 monthly payments over two years, when purchased alongside the Simple Choice Plan. Also, prospective buyers can pre-order the iPhone 5 today, until April 12 when the device officially goes on sale.

In order to boost the adoption and initial sales of the iPhone 5, T-mobile is also offering users the option to trade-in another iPhone to lower the overall cost. "Our message to iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 customers is simple: bring in your device and trade up to iPhone 5 on T-Mobile", says Mike Sievert, chief marketing officer for T-Mobile. So what do you get in return?

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Microsoft has released an app for Windows Phone called Authenticator, which is designed to generate security codes associated with two-factor authentication. Nothing special so far, other than Microsoft's name being associated with the app. What is noteworthy is that, according to the release notes, you can use Authenticator "to help keep your Microsoft account secure". Is Microsoft finally taking the user's security seriously?

At the time of writing this article two-factor authentication is not avilable for my Outlook.com account. But this suggests that, eventually, Microsoft will enable the extra security measure for its cloud services, presumably sometime soon and likely for Outlook.com first of all. Currently users have to rely on the complexity of their passwords in order to insure the safety of their Microsoft accounts, whereas Google users, for example, have had the option to use two-factor authentication for quite some time.

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AdDuplex, which touts itself as the "largest cross-promotion network for Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps", released a new monthly report which shows the Nokia Lumia 920 as the most popular Windows Phone device currently available. The handset holds a 14 percent market share among devices running Microsoft's smartphone operating system.

According to the report, the Lumia 920 dethroned the Lumia 800, "by a very small margin", for the title of the most popular Windows Phone device. The 920 was released worldwide in November 2012. The latter made its way onto the market one year earlier and also holds approximately a 14 percent market share among Windows Phone handsets, albeit slightly lower when it comes down to actual numbers.

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FairSearch, a coalition comprised of 17 global businesses including Expedia, Kayak, Microsoft, Oracle, Nokia and TripAdvisor, has announced that it has filed a complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Google, citing an "anti-competitive strategy" and consolidating "control over consumer Internet data for online advertising" in the mobile space.

FairSearch uses two reports from Strategy Analytics (SA) and eMarketer to base its claims. According to the coalition, Google exerts its dominance in the mobile operating system space with Android, which held a 68.4 percent market share in 2012 per SA, and in mobile search advertising, which eMarketer says Google dominates with a 96 percent market share.

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On Thursday, LG announced that the Optimus G Pro, the company's Android flagship smartphone, is now available at Japanese carrier NTT DOCOMO. In mid-January, NTT DOCOMO was the first to reveal the handset, a number of important specifications and its release date -- April 2013.

Unlike its international sibling which sports a 5.5-inch panel, the NTT DOCOMO variant of the Optimus G Pro comes with a smaller 5.0-inch IPS display. The resolution is the same -- 1080 by 1920 but the density is higher -- 440 ppi (pixels per inch). NTT DOCOMO originally revealed that the Optimus G Pro will ship with a 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, but today LG said that in fact the newer and faster, still Qualcomm-made, 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragn 600 processor is used instead.

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One month after the company updated the Transformer Pad TF300 to Android 4.2, ASUS has announced that the Transformer Pad Infinity is also poised to receive the second Jelly Bean iteration.

On its Facebook page, ASUS posted a picture which lists the Android 4.2 update as coming to the Infinity, with the roll-out started yesterday. So what do you get from the upgrade?

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Microsoft announced the first major update for Exchange Server 2013, the software giant's server for calendars, contacts and email. Called Cumulative Update 1, it brings along a number of new features and improvements as well as a couple of bug fixes.

Cumulative Update 1, build number 15.0.620.29, touts improvements for monitoring and high availability, as one of the most noteworthy changes. The update introduces support for auto-reseed for disks encrypted with Bitlocker and Exchange Server 2013 Management Pack for Systems Center Operations Manager (also known as SCOM), Best Copy Selection algorithm compatibility with MaximumActiveDatabases, a streamlined Get-HealthReport cmdlet and refreshed probes, monitors and respondents.

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Jelly Bean may be the newest sweet in the family, but it is steadily gaining ground against its older brothers. Combined, Android 4.1 and Android 4.2 reached a 25 percent distribution level in the green droid realm, based on the number of devices accessing Google Play during the 14 days ending April 2.

Starting this month, Google has decided to alter how the data is collected. Google says: "Beginning in April, 2013, these charts are now built using data collected from each device when the user visits the Google Play Store. Previously, the data was collected when the device simply checked-in to Google servers". Why? Because the company considers the new collection method to be more accurate and that it best represents "users who are most engaged in the Android and Google Play ecosystem".

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On Tuesday, U.S. mobile operators AT&T and Sprint revealed important details concerning the availability of the HTC One. Starting Thursday, April 4, the device is offered for pre-order on AT&T, while Sprint subscribers have to wait another day. At both carriers sales start April 19.

Pricing is conservative, as on a two-year contract the HTC One in 32GB trim runs for $199.99 at both AT&T and Sprint, similar to the BlackBerry Z10 (on AT&T) or the 16GB Apple iPhone 5 -- both of which come with half the storage capacity. Available colors for the HTC One include black and silver. On AT&T, customers that pre-order the device also get an HTC Media Link HD wireless HDMI adaptor for free.

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When Apple introduced two-step authentication for Apple ID my first thought was "Finally, the fruit company takes security seriously". But, as I've come to learn, that's not entirely accurate for everyone as the new feature is only available for users living in Australia, Ireland, New Zeeland, United Kingdom and United States. What if you're living in Canada or Germany? Well, tough luck, you can't use it. But what can you do?

Wired's Mat Honan is probably the best known Apple user to have fallen prey to Apple ID account hacks. Honan tells an alarming story, about habit and comfort (dare I say oversight) leading to having one's virtual identity shred into pieces. But two-step authentication cannot be forcefully enabled, so what can you do while waiting for Apple to support your region and mobile operator? You can still take some precautions that will secure your Apple ID account.

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