This series is brought to you by HTC EVO 4G, America's first 4G phone. Only from Sprint. The "First to Know" series keeps you in the know on what's happening now in the world of social media and technology.
Facebook Places Launches in the UK
One month after its U.S. debut, Facebook's geolocation service, Facebook Places, has begun gradually rolling out to users in the UK.
See our field guide to learn more about how to use Places from your mobile device.
Notebook Sales Now Declining, Thanks to iPad
Although growth of notebook sales has gradually slowed down over the last six months, a report issued by Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty late Thursday revealed that notebook sales actually began declining in August, followed by a similar drop in September.
Huberty says that the iPad is at least partly responsible for the trend [via Fortune].
Samsung Tablet Coming to Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile
Samsung announced Thursday that its forthcoming tablet device -- and the only we've seen thus far that really has a competitive shot against the iPad, in our opinion -- will be made available on all four major U.S. wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile) in time for the holiday season.
The seven-inch Samsung Tab will begin shipping within a few weeks. It will run Android 2.2 (a.k.a. Froyo) and sport a Cortex A8 1 GHz processor, 16GB of onboard memory, a rear-facing, 3-megapixel camera capable of HD video captures, a 1.3-megapixel on the front for video chat, a battery that lasts up to seven hours of continuous video playback, Flash support and more. It also weighs approximately half as much as the iPad.
Samsung has not yet relayed any pricing details, which will vary by carrier.
Verizon, Sprint Will Not Carry Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 at Launch
When Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Phone 7 launches internationally later this year, it will be only made available on GSM networks. The company has decided to delay the CDMA version until the first half of 2011, instead directing its resources towards finishing the rewrite of the phone's OS.
As a result, neither Sprint nor Verizon will be carrying the device when it launches in the U.S.
"We had to make some trade-offs," Senior Product Manager Greg Sullivan told CNET. "Even Microsoft doesn't have unlimited resources."
Further News
At a recent mobile conference, McDonald’s head of social media said the fast food giant was able to increase foot traffic to stores by 33% on Foursquare Day with a promotion that cost the company a mere $1,000.
Foursquare rolled out its Foursquare for Universities program Thursday afternoon, designed to help students, alumni and staff share information about classes, building hours, campus activities and traditions, and other information.
Yahoo announced Thursday that the beta of a cleaner, faster and more social version of Yahoo Mail will debut in the next few weeks.
Disclosure: Samsung is a Mashable sponsor.
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