Monday Brief: Droid DNA review, RIM's media blitz, a WP8 showdown, and more!

This week: The HTC Droid DNA reviewed, an HTC 8X versus Nokia Lumia 920 showdown, the
iMore gift guide and more! This is the Mobile Nations Monday Brief!
TITLE GRAPHIC
Greetings mobile delegates, I'm Ashley Esqueda, and you're tuned into the Mobile Nations
Monday Brief. First off, a HUGE thank you to our visitors, as we cracked 10 million
visitors in a month across the Mobile Nations network in October. We hope to continue to
grow and serve you into 2013 and beyond, Nations, so thanks for the support! Now, let's jump
into the news. One of the biggest questions windows phone fans have been asking recently
is, "Should I go with the HTC 8X or the Nokia Lumia 920?" It's a tough choice
for anyone looking to pick up a new Windows Phone, but Jay over at WPCentral breaks it
down between the two mega devices, offering a more personal look at both phones and what
they bring to the table. While the 8X offers Beats audio and a sleeker profile, the Lumia
920 offers great exclusive apps and more storage. They're both amazing phones, though, so
head over to WPCentral dot com for the full head-to-head comparison.
Android Central has been a hotbed of debate recently over the newly announced HTC Droid
DNA, the very first 1080p smartphone. Some people were really excited about the prospect,
while others expressed concern about the phone's potential battery life and performance. Fortunately
for us, Phil put the DNA through its paces and reported back last week, offering a detailed
look at the phone's range of abilities. So what's the verdict? Well, your mileage
will vary on battery life, but Android Central's real-world testing indicates the DNA is a
beautifully designed phone with a lot of raw power, a gorgeous display, and excellent multimedia
capabilities. The one big drawback is the limited storage space -- it's tough to keep
both your music collection and a lot of 1080p movies on board, so it's something to consider
when shopping for a new Verizon phone. If you want the full story, just hit up Android
Central dot com.
Crackberry talked about RIM CEO Thorsten Heins' newest media blitz this past week, where Thor
talked BB10 to various outlets. He admitted RIM made mistakes, they've worked diligently
to correct those mistakes, and also talked a lot about where he'd like to see RIM after
BB10 launches. It's a great sign for RIM that their CEO is enthusiastic and open about
BB10's development process, and with just about 10 weeks until the official global reveal,
it looks like investors are also anticipating BB10's launch, as RIM stock has been inching
upward as of late. Obviously, Crackberry will be bringing you every bit of news as the next
generation of BlackBerry gets closer and closer to your favorite carrier, and I'll be keeping
a close watch on Kevin's hair. Speaking of which, BB10 seems to get more powerful
the longer Kevin's hair gets. Maybe it's bad luck for Kevin to EVER cut it, AMIRITE?
Every since the webOS global business unit was spun off into separate company Gram, WebOS
Nation's toned down their business coverage of the Hewlett Packard side of things. Sometimes,
though, a story is just too big and raises too many "what ifs" to ignore, and last
week was one of those times. HP announced a write-down loss of 8 point 8 BILLION dollars
over the acquirement of a company called Autonomy. Basically, a company called Autonomy was purchased
while former HP CEO Leo Apotheker was presiding over HP, and now, HP is claiming "improprieties"
during the valuation process. In plain speak, HP's accusing Autonomy of lying and exaggerating
their worth at the time of purchase. While that's a pretty big no-no in general, webOS
Nation is left wondering what might have happened if that kind of money had been injected into
webOS hardware and development. While it's depressing to think about, considering the
last year webOS has been through, Derek's right in that we can't cry over what could
have been. It's still a big debacle for HP, though, and now they're looking at a
year with over 12 billion dollars in losses. Some call that bad business... I'm calling
it karma for treating a great OS so poorly. Thanks, Leo! (I'm bitter.)
For those of you out there considering giving the gift of Apple this holiday season, iMore
has all your bases covered with their 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. It's filled with everything
Apple, and touches on the pros and cons of every major Apple product out there. Personally,
I wish someone would use an iDelorean, go back in time, and buy me some original Apple
STOCK for Christmas, but I guess this list will have to do, since we haven't figured
out that pesky time travel business yet. Hit up iMore dot com if you want to figure out
which Apple product is the best gift to give to your favorite loved one this season.
Lastly, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm rocking the heck out of my Movember
moustache this week, and it's the LAST WEEK to donate to the Movember cause, so make SURE
you hit up the link in the show notes to donate to the Mobile Nations team. We've raised
over eleven thousand bucks for the Movember cause, and we'd love to see a final push
for donations. And if you can't donate, that's okay. Just share it with anyone who
might be able to!
That's it for your Mobile Nations Monday Brief. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel
at youtube.com/mobilenations, check out our dazzling and informative podcasts at mobilenations.com/shows,
and you can follow me on Twitter @ashleyesqueda. Nations, you have been briefed!