South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. regained its spot as No. In the U.S. handset market last month for the first time in a year on Brisk sales of its latest smartphones, a research firm said Sunday.

According to Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research, mobile phones by LG Electronics recorded a share of 13 percent in December in the United States, beating Apple Inc. with 12 percent. The No. 1 player was retained by Samsung Electronics Co. with 33 percent.  Please note, it's "mobile" phones, not just smartphones.

LG Electronics had maintained the runner-up position until the third-quarter of 2011 but fell to third place after Apple's iPhone 4S hit the market.

Market Insiders attributed LG Electronics' sales growth to the popularity of its latest Optimus G handset , with over 1 million units sold across North America.

Source: Yonhap

Paul Semenza, an analyst at DisplaySearch, has surmised in an interview that to beat the iPad Mini to the market, the second generation Nexus 7 may be unveiled even before Apple's higher-resolution device will be launched.

The iPad Mini Retina will possibly be introduced on the third or fourth quarter and will have similar resolution as the iPad 3 and 4. The present iPad is not as smooth as other contemporaries in the market. The Retina technology will double the iPad Mini's pixel density and will really improve the quality of display.

Semenza also mentions potential suppliers for the iPad Mini's display. He didn't mention any for the Nexus 7 but the device will similarly feature a richer display than the last generation. It might also feature HD technology as smaller tablets are somehow going in the same direction as the bigger tablets' display were improved markedly.

Source: cnet