Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich Now Powering 23.7% of All Android Devices

According to the latest report from Android Developers, Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich is now running on 23.7% of all Android devices.

Android 2.3 or Gingerbread is still very dominant with a 55.5%, while 12.9% of Androids are powered by the now ancient 2.2 or Froyo. The latest and greatest of Android versions, 4.1 or Jelly Bean, is present on only 1.8% of devices.

HTC Launches HTC One X+, Promises …
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More About: android, apple, features, first to know series, htc, iPhone 5, mashable, samsung

2K Sports is extending the gaming experience of the upcoming NBA 2K13 into both the mobile and social worlds, giving players ways to interact with the game even when they're away from their console.

Gamers can access three different games that compliment the NBA 2K13 experience: MyNBA2K, a NBA 2K13 simulator and NBA 2K: MyLIFE for Facebook. Both MyNBA2K and the simulator are available for tablets and mobile devices. MyNBA2K and NBA 2K: MyLIFE each tie back into the console experience, allowing players to earn virtual currency and upgrades for their player and team on the console.

MyNBA2K: Mobile Mini-Games

MyNBA2K is a free app for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire tablets which incl…
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More About: 2k games, NBA, facebook games, features

HTC launched a new flagship Android device, the HTC One X+, on Tuesday. The smartphone is basically a refresh (albeit quite a thorough one) of the Taiwan-based company's One X device.

When Mashable reviewed the HTC One X in May, we called it one of the best Android devices out there; and though Samsung's Galaxy S III has stolen a big chunk of its spotlight, the One X is still a very powerful beast.

So, what did HTC do to top that device? Try a 1.7 GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 64GB of internal storage and a 2,100 mAh battery. This monster combo, together with Android 4.1, should make the HTC One X+ up to 67% faster than its predecessor, along with giving it up to si…
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More About: HTC One X, android, htc, trending

The CW Television Network is promoting its fall lineup with a first-of-its kind print insert in the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly. The insert contains a small LCD screen that features looping video and the six latest tweets from @CW_Network beneath the words, "Follow Us Now." It appears in 1,000 copies distributed across New York and Los Angeles.

"We're always trying to look at things that are first to market, that are really going to let people know that we are a digital network and that digital media is part of our DNA," Rick Haskins, executive vice president of marketing and digital programs at the CW, said in a phone interview. The…
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More About: Advertising, Entertainment, Media, Twitter, entertainment weekly, print, the cw, trending

Remember that undesirable purple haze (or flare, if you will) that pops up in some iPhone 5 photos? Well, Apple Support claims that it's "normal behavior" for the smartphone's camera.

In response to Gizmodo reader Matt Van Gastel, Apple Support says, "Our engineering team just gave me this information and we recommend that you angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures. The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5's camera."

The problem with this response, aside from being reminiscent of Steve Jobs's legendary ""Just avoid holding it in that way" response to the iPhone 4's reception issues, is that the haze doesn'…
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More About: Purple Haze, apple, iPhone 5, trending

Samsung is suing Apple over claims that the iPhone 5 infringed on its patents.

More About: Galaxy Tab 10.1, apple, iPhone 5, samsung, trending

Pre-Internet, the motto for shopping could've been "try and buy." Nowadays, social media and mobile devices add a new dimension to the retail experience.

Online tools such as review sites, social networks and smartphones produce data for merchants that, if analyzed properly "in real time," can transform the way consumers shop, according to a new infographic by custom development firm Symphony Teleca. This, in turn, would equal big bucks for business owners.

"By mining the mountain of internal and external data they're compiling, retailers can provide targeted, relevant and timely offers to their customers, simultaneously improving the customer shopping experience and the company's bott…
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More About: Social Media, online shopping, shopping, smartphones, social shopping, social software, trending

Digital music service Rdio has long stood in the shadow of its cooler older sibling Spotify. But it may just have found its way out of that shadow -- by being the first major music service to pay artists for their social media fan base.

"There is no art without artists," said Rdio's founder Janus Friis, who was also one of the co-founders of Skype and of Kazaa. "As part of this industry, we know a business that doesn't reward its most important contributors is a business that has to change."

Going forward, the company will pay musicians $10 every time they turn a fan into an Rdio subscriber via some form of social media.

It's called the Artist Program -- and for Rdio, which…
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More About: rdio, snoop dogg, trending

The recipient of the most polite cease-and-desist-letter ever, author Patrick Wensink, is starting a new chapter.

After ceding to the genteel request of Jack Daniel's, which feared the book, Broken Piano for President, looked too much like the brand's trademark design, Wensink has replaced the old cover. The new one is inspired by another booze bottle design, Bull Run Distilling's Temperance Trader bourbon. This time, however, Wensink contacted the company beforehand. Bull Run gets a shout out on the cover of his book.

Nevertheless, Jack Daniel's original rejection letter didn't leave a bad taste. The brand's magnanimous response -- it even offered to contribute a "reasonable amou…
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More About: trending

Ask any college student and they'll tell you a typical textbook costs far more than $30 -- even used. But online learning site BenchPrep recently announced a $30 per month subscription-based service that lets users access a wide variety of courses and content.

The subscription unlocks prep courses from the site's library, which you can access on your iPhone, Android, iPad or laptop. So for super ambitious learners, you can pay per month rather than per course and get more value for your dollar (with the exception of some courses, like the BAR and CFA that require payment per course). BenchPrep's library also includes professional certification and civil service preparation courses,…
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More About: BenchPrep, education, online learning

Catches the Ball, and Your Eye.

Via reddit, ConMan2

Click here to view this gallery.

Brandon Lloyd is a wide receiver with a mile-wide grin.

A lucky photographer on Reddit managed to snap a photo of the New England Patriots football player, as he soared across the end zone to score his first touchdown of the 2012 season.

SEE MORE: Ridiculously Photogenic Guy Answers Questions on Reddit

In the middle of his leap, Lloyd has a shining grin on his face, and seems to be posing for the camera. It is a photo strikingly similar to the one taken of Zeddie Little -- better known as Ridiculously Photogenic Guy -- in April 2012.

Thus, a meme was born.

Hungry Hungry Herd

Based on Hungry Hungry Hippo, Hungy Hungry Herd is a game for up to four players wit the goal of gobbling up as many marbles, or "food" as you possibly can.

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Zynga is making the move from your digital life to your living room with a new line of real-world board games based on popular Zynga franchises.

The product of a partnership with game giant Hasbro, the collection will include real-world versions of Words With Friends, Draw Something, CityVille and FarmVille. Priced between $9.99 and $39.99, depending on the game, each title also comes packaged with a little something –- such as $50 in Farm Cash –- that you can use in the digital version of the game.

We were able to get an early preview of some of the games, set to hit store shelves this month, this past week in our San Francisco office.

Draw Something

Of the bunch, Draw S…
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More About: Zynga, cityville, farmville, trending

Did you ever make fortune tellers or create origami animals?

If so, you should give your paper folding skills a challenge by making a Hexaflexagon.

A hexaflexagon is a geometric figure that can be folded in different ways to create what seems like a logic-defying amount of sides.

SEE ALSO: Learn the Surprising Reason Why the Sky Goes Dark at Night [VIDEO]

In case you were wondering, the hexaflexagon was invented in 1939 by Princeton graduate student Arthur H. Stone. The British scholar studying in the States had to trim down his American-sized paper to fit inside his English notebook. He folded up the leftover strips of paper, and tah-dah, the first hexaflexagon was born.…
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More About: Watercooler, physics, viral videos

So you scraped your pennies together and you're ready to buy the cheapest iPhone 5 there is: the 16 GB model with a 2-year contract. A pretty good deal, right? $199 for the best smartphone on the planet?

Not so fast. Consider your voice and data plan, which is going to cost you at least $1,440 over two years -- and that's for the absolute rock-bottom plan on AT&T, the cheapest iPhone carrier in the U.S., with pay-as-you-go texting. (AT&T is also the most expensive carrier; its unlimited plan will set you back more than $5,500 over two years.)

All this and other potential costs are broken down in this infographic, created by content marketing firm Avalaunch Media (and partly based on th…
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More About: Mobile, Tech, infographics, iphone, smartphone, trending

Eleanor Day, 79, doesn't have a Twitter account, but after her live-tweeted cochlear implant surgery Tuesday morning, she has a chance at becoming a trending topic. Perhaps more significantly, she'll be able to hear again after five years of living entirely without hearing.

The world's first live-tweeted and live-instagrammed hearing restoration surgery will take place Oct. 2 at 7 a.m. PT at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. Dr. Douglas Backous, head of Center for Hearing and Skull Base Surgery, will be operating on Day while her entire experience will be documented on Instagram and Twitter by Drew Symonds, a supporting member of the medical center's communication team.

"I…
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More About: health, instagram, lifestyle, medicine, surgery

ABC's fantasy drama Once Upon a Time sparked the most activity ever for a broadcast premiere on social entertainment platform GetGlue. Sunday's season two premiere generated more than 93,000 check-ins, comments and likes, marking a 253% growth spurt compared with GetGlue activity for last year's premiere.

ABC has been working closely with GetGlue to leverage the platform -- whose website just underwent a major redesign to become personalized viewing guide -- GetGlue spokeswoman Claire Gendel tells Mashable.

Some 59,000 check-ins account for most of Sunday's activity. The show has 1.41 million check-ins now.

SEE ALSO: 6 CW Shows to Watch | 6 Fox Shows to Watch | 6 NBC Shows to Wa…
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More About: Entertainment, Social Media, TV, abc, getglue, social tv

Inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center -- the same prison in the Philippines where inmates' dance cover of "Thriller" went viral in 2007 -- have put their spin on Psy's "Gangnam Style."

Soaked from rain, the orange-clad inmates performed an elaborate choreographed dance routine set to the infectious Korean pop song over the weekend. Some wore black, while all had the letter "P" on their tops.

SEE ALSO: 'Gangnam Style' Web Sensation Signs Onto Same Label as Carly Rae Jepsen

After first going viral in 2007 with the Michael Jackson dance number, inmates put on performances each month for tourists. Prison officials halted the dance shows in March because…
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More About: Music, Viral, YouTube, gangnam style, psy, viral videos

Yahoo is working to increase voter engagement in this year's presidential election with their launch of the election dashboard for the IntoNow app.

One of many news organizations bringing mobile and digital into the election, Yahoo's dashboard, launching today, allows the electorate to interact with political news, coverage and debates in realtime. The app syncs with TV election programs and lets viewers be more "active" in their intake of information.

The dashboard features a Twitter hub, a discussion section, and direct links to candidates' finances and websites. Clips of the candidates' campaign ads will also be available on the dashboard. Users can rate each ad with a "trust…
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More About: IntoNow, Yahoo, apps, election 2012

A 16-year-old girl who mysteriously disappeared after tweeting that someone was in her house is now being accused of faking her own kidnapping.

Kara Alongi urgently asked her Twitter
followers on Sunday night to call 911, saying "there is someone in my house [sic]." It didn't take long for the Internet to rally around her message. Not only did #HelpFindKara trend worldwide on Twitter, nearly 34,000 people retweeted her call for help to raise awareness about the incident. She also gained about 95,000 followers by Monday morning and the local police department received more than 6,000 calls after her tweet went viral.

But now, police are saying that that the tweet was actually a ho…
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More About: Twitter, Viral

1. Super Metroid (SNES)

There's a lot to love about Super Metroid: the expansive levels, the layered story, the awesome graphics, not to mention the challenging and awesome gameplay. But it's also one of the best Nintendo games to get the Wii-U treatment. The Wii-U would be a fabulous map add-on -- a given considering the importance of direction in the game and the Wii-U's affinity for separate screen management tools. But one of the coolest things would be a special use of one of Samus' later tools, the X-Ray Scope. One of the most valuable tools in the game, the X-Ray Scope helps players see when walls can be broken or where secret items are hiding. One catch: it can be really unwieldy. Thanks to the Wii-U, a quick scan of the screen with the gamepad would be a seamless way to look for faulty walls and find sweet loot. Plus, it would make the scanning sequence way more badass. Image courtesy of ~KeR-

Click here to view this gallery.

As anticipation for Nintendo's next-generation console, the Wii-U, continues to mount, there's plenty to wonder about its new functionality and how new gestures and playing experiences will change gameplay. And, since the new Wii-U gamepad comes fully equipped with stylus functionality, an orienting gyroscope and touch capabilities, there are many enriching ways to enjoy your Mario session.

Of course, there are some classic games in Nintendo's archives that could also really benefit from the Wii-U's new tricks. And, given the extensive library of old games Nintendo has brought back through the Wii console, perhaps it isn't too farfetched to dream about a reboot.

SEE ALSO: Wha…
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More About: Entertainment, Gaming, Nintendo, contributor, features

YouTube has quietly rolled out what looks like major update to its YouTube Leanback program, making it easier for users to watch and control videos on a big screen.

The new mode, accessible via YouTube.com/TV, allows users to more easily control the YouTube experience from a TV or large monitor.

You control the interface with your keyboard -- using the arrow keys to navigate and certain letter keys to access various functions. For example, the "G" key acts as home and "S" acts as search.

The whole experience looks beautiful on a big screen because the videos are the focal point. Users aren't distracted by boxes or menus, it's just pure content.

Control From a Portable D…
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More About: YouTube, trending, youtube tv

The sky is dark at night. That's something we take for granted with no questions asked. But why is the sky dark at night? Hint: It's not because the sun is down.

In a really simple and fun video, Henry Reich, a researcher at the Perimeter Institute in Canada, explains why the light in the sky fades at night. We don't want to spoil it for you, but it involves the ever-expanding universe and physics. But worry not, you don't need to be a science genius to understand the concept.

The video is part of a series of educational videos called Minute Physics, which aim to explain science in an elementary way. The videos have been so successful that Reich has received an offer to join th…
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More About: Science, Watercooler, viral videos

Most pundits believe Apple's 7-inch tablet, the iPad Mini, will see light of day on Oct 17. Now with the date fast approaching, they've switched gears to guessing when the event invites will go out (most think Oct. 10th).

I have some iPad Mini predictions of my own, but not the ones you may think.

The tiny tablet -- which Apple has never officially acknowledged -- will be less of everything. It will be the iPad Retina's stunted little brother.

It will offer less screen real estate than the 9.7-inch iPad and fewer overall pixels (though it is sure to be another retina-resolution display).

It will be a consumption device. The full-sized iPad has always been both consumption…
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More About: apple, ipad, ipad mini, tablets, trending

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons stars in a new digital short for "Battle For Your Ballot," a non-partisan grassroots movement raising awareness about voter suppression.

The video is the first in a series of PSA-style YouTube clips from The BRPR Group. The movement's website, BattleForYourBallot.com, will house the videos, inform viewers about their voting rights and let people report voter irregularities by submitting audio, videos or photos.

"We want to utilize the followings of celebrities and high-profile individuals with fans who are most effected by voter suppression tactics -- younger voters and minority voters," BRPR Group's agency director Christopher Renz tells Mashable. He…
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More About: 2012 presidential campaign, Politics, US, russell simmons

Thirty years ago today, Sony released the first consumer compact disc player. Before we could fit our entire music collection in our pockets, we had trays, towers, cases and car seats. Although MP3s have since rendered them practically archaic, CDs were themselves just one more step in the evolution of music. The launch of the CD signaled the decline of cassette and vinyl and a revolution in the world of recording.

But for most of us, music represents more than the technology through which we consume it. The first CD you bought is probably a snapshot of a moment in time. It represented the independence that came with buying your own music and picking out the artist that spoke to you.…
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More About: music monday, spotify

Can you put together a song with old computer parts? Apparently, yes.

You just need an HP Scanjet 3C to perform the vocals, an Amiga Bass 600 to provide your bass and guitar sounds and two hard drives as drummer and cymbal. Wait, you don't believe us? Watch the video above to see -- and hear -- for yourself.

SEE ALSO: Jam to Brilliant Lego-ified Version of Foster the People [VIDEO]

YouTube user bd594 put together this old-school computer band and directed them in a performance of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know." The result is one of the nerdiest, albeit awesome, covers of a popular song we've ever seen.

More About: Watercooler, music videos, youtube videos

"It's very hard to keep up with the consumer," Denise Warren, general manager of NYTimes.com, observed on stage at an Advertising Week event on Monday in New York. "Their needs are insatiable."

Warren spoke about how The New York Times has evolved to accommodate the demands of consumers who want and expect to be able to access news on their growing collection of Internet-connected devices. The Times has embraced a strategy called "NYT Everywhere," which is designed to bring NYT content to subscribers on the platforms they want at any time. That has required the development of a slew of platform-specific and browser-based apps for PC, smartphone and tablet devices, along with partn…
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More About: Flipboard, Media, Mobile, News, new york times

For the third week in a row, The X Factor topped the chart as the most watched weekly broadcast, but this time it was followed by the Ryder Cup golf tournament and fellow music competition show The Voice.

The TV event with the most positive sentiment (61%) last week was the series premiere of How I Met Your Mother. Twitter and Facebook ignited when fans reacted to "the moment" when Ted and "the mother" were within a stone's throw of each other.

SEE ALSO: Fall TV Goes Social: 6 Fox Shows to Watch

Even though this could be the final season of HIMYM, it's comforting to know that shows such as Grey's Anatomy, which generated 502,117 social impressions, can still capture viewer attention…
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More About: Social Media, TV, Trendrr, infographics, social tv, social tv charts

1. "Sarah Silverman – Let My People Vote/ Get Nana A Gun" (Jewish Council For Education And Research Super-Pac)

Filled with plenty of F-words and other expletives, Sarah Silverman calls for a range of people to get to the polls in November by getting the proper identification.

Click here to view this gallery.

September television and online commcercials are typically filled with back-to-school deals and fall previews, but YouTube sets a new norm.

The gallery above features the 10 most shared advertisements last month from political campaigns to musical samplings.

We wish there were more shirtless men and less politicians — but we're fine with politicians keeping their clothes on.

Thanks to our friends at Unruly for compiling this list.

More About: YouTube, ads, top ads

The media has evolved from pamphlets to podcasts in order to deliver news to customers. In rare instances, some of the best minds in media and advertising come together and share where media is going next. One of these opportunities will occur on Nov. 2, 2012 at the Mashable Media Summit.

The Mashable Media Summit is a one-day conference that explores how new forms of technology are redefining media. Industry leaders will speak at the TimesCenter in New York City to explore the latest innovations in the space and the future of journalism.

Tickets include all conference sessions, breakfast, lunch and a networking reception. Get your tickets now before they sell out.

Or bett…
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More About: Events, Media, mashable media summit