Google's Android system has grabbed more than 50 per cent of the US smartphone market, while Samsung cemented its leadership as the top device maker, a survey showed.

Samsung is set to launch the Galaxy Note in Australia next Tuesday, March 13.

The Optimus 4X HD is LG's first quad-core Android smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G is Australia's first 4G-capable tablet, joining the 4G USB modem and the HTC Velocity 4G smartphone as the first products to work on Telstra's 4G network.

The One X is HTC's flagship Android phone for 2012. It has a 4.7in HD display and is powered by a quad-core processor.

Google's Android operating system is riding a wave of popularity that has rapidly eclipsed Apple's iOS, and by the end of 2010 it's expected to overtake RIM's BlackBerry as the world's leading smartphone platform. However, despite the relative openness and flexibility of the OS, your Android phone still isn't as powerful and customizable as it could be. To unlock all of your phone's potential, you'll need to root it.

Smartphones are meant to make our lives easier--or at least more connected to people we want to communicate with--so why does typing on them sometimes seem on a par with performing root canal surgery?

Apple's iPad 2 is clearly the market leader, but Samsung has ruffled a few feathers with its upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet -- so much so that Apple has blocked it from going on sale in Australia, and forced Samsung to postpone the launch event

Motorola's Xoom tablet runs version 3.0 of Google's Android operating system — dubbed Honeycomb. Honeycomb is the first version of Android to be designed for use with tablets; previous versions were optimised for the smaller screens of smartphones.

Honeycomb is a whole different beast from the Android we've come to know. While previous versions of Google's mobile operating system were built for smartphones, Honeycomb -- also known as Android 3.0 -- is the first to be designed specifically for tablet-size devices. And seeing it in action, it certainly shows.

As Mobile World Congress 2011 draws to a close, it's time to take stock of the plethora of smartphones and tablet PCs we saw for the first time. Tomorrow, we'll bring you the best tablet PCs of MWC 2011, but here, in no particular order, are smartphones that stood out at MWC 2011. Sadly, they didn't include a Facebook phone or an iPhone nano - but when and if such things exist, you'll read it here first.

There are a lot of things about Google's Android operating system that appeal to geeks. It's open source, it offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to customising your handset, and, despite not yet matching the iPhone when it comes to the number of apps available, the Android Market continues to grow.