New numbers are in from comScore’s Q4 2012 report, ranking the top five U.S. marketshare contenders. In terms of operating systems, Android is still sitting on the throne with 53.4%, growing from last year’s 52.5%. Following Android is Apple’s iOS at 36.3%, which is quite respectable, considering BlackBerry and Windows make up just a little over 9% when combined. 

According to a report out of Strategy Analytics, Android Q4 marketshare showed a 38% growth over last year’s, totaling at a 70.1% worldwide domination. Last year, during this same time, Android held a respectable 51.3%, followed by Apple’s iOS at just 23.6%. Now, Apple has dropped just a hair to 22% evenly, while Android grows by leaps and bounds, shipped on roughly 152.1 million devices in three months. 

Twitter just announced a new video sharing service called Vine. Vine, a company they acquired a few months back, focuses on recording 6-second clips of life events that run on an infinite loop which can be shared easily. The videos record sound as well. 

In the past few months it has become abundantly clear that Google intends to support three platforms: the web, Android, and iOS. Google’s support for the web and Android should not come as a surprise; Google has always been a web company and Google bought Android to fight Microsoft in the mobile space. Even Google’s support of iOS is not all that surprising since the iPhone was essentially the Google phone before the G1. What is surprising, however, is that Google isn’t just making apps for iOS; they’re making really good apps for iOS.

In a recent report, it looks like Apple’s iPhone 5 is losing its grip on the everyday consumer. According to Consumer Reports, the iPhone 5 is now listed as the lowest rated top 3 smartphone on each carrier, minus T-Mobile who haven’t had the device on their network. Topping the lists are the Samsung Galaxy S3 for T-Mobile, the LG Optimus G for AT&T and Sprint, and the RAZR HD’s for Verizon. Crazy enough, the iPhone didn’t even make it onto Big Red’s list, which is actually quite surprising. 

We haven’t mentioned many of these reports from marketing firms like comScore over the last few months because they have all painted the same picture for 2 years now. We’re talking smartphone operating share in the U.S., something that Android has had a stranglehold over for quite some time. After surging to the front of the pack back in 2010 and 2011, Android has yet to give up any of its share to Apple’s iOS or any of the other competing smartphone operating systems. 

Back in 2009, Google filed a patent for Android’s “notification bar,” a feature that Apple wouldn’t figure out how to implement into iOS for another couple of years. Here we are almost four years after that patent was filed and Apple has decided that its “notification center” is worthy of its own. 

For the past week I’ve been spending a lot of time with the HTC 8X on Verizon. The 8X is considered a signature Windows Phone, sporting a 4.3″ 720×1280 display, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, NFC, dual band WiFi, LTE, Beats Audio, and an 8 MP 1080p shooter in back with a wide-angle 2.1 MP front camera. In short, Windows Phone has reached parity with Android and iOS in terms of specs.

When I last looked at Windows Phone I argued that while the operating system looks good and is certainly an improvement over Windows Mobile, the lack of apps, disappointing multi-tasking, and poor notification system kept Windows Phone from reaching feature parity with iOS and Android. Since then Android and iOS have propelled smartphone ownership to unprecedented levels while Windows Phone has remained a niche product in terms of market share. Read on to find out how Microsoft has changed Windows Phone for the better, what has stayed the same, and what Microsoft still needs to do to make Windows Phone succeed.