Google announced that it is closing several products, features and services as a part of winter cleaning. Starting January 30, 2013, consumers won't be able to set up new devices using Google Sync; however, existing Google Sync connections will continue to function. Google Sync will continue to be fully supported for Google Apps for Business, Government and Education. If you want to use sync feature in future, Google suggest CardDAV protocol instead. Also, Google is discontinuing Google Calendar Sync on December 14, 2012 and Google Sync for Nokia S60 on January 30, 2013.

It's been a day since Google maps application was released for the iPhone and it has already topped Apples's free apps list. The Next Web reports that Google Maps achieved this just seven hours after it was released. The application currently has more than 13,000 reviews and is rated at 4.5 stars. About 11,000 of the reviews carry five star ratings.

Google plans to release its iOS Maps app tonight, according to sources familiar with the matter, AllThingsD reports. Google Maps had been pre-installed on the iPhone since the smartphone first launched, but the app was bounced in September with the debut of iOS 6. This release will certainly be warmly welcomed by people wanting to go to Mildura, Australia.

HTC have introduced the latest series One model, HTC One SV. This phone is based on HTC Sense ™ 4 and Android ICS platforms. "The newest phone in One series is sleek and powerful, and provides high-quality multimedia experience on the go," said Peter Chow, CEO of HTC Corporation. "Today's dynamic way of life requires phone with powerful performance, and HTC SV One delivers just that by combining award-winning cameras and audio experience of HTC One series, with a fast dual core processor." HTC One SV has 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core processor, 5 MP rear camera which supports video recording at 1080p HD, front camera with resolution of 1.6MPa and HTC Beats Audio ™. The screen size is 4.3 inches. They HTC One SV will be available in Europe, Middle East and Africa starting December 2012.

Apple has updated its new maps system after a number of people became lost trying to find the town of Mildura, Australia, The Guardian reports. One man was stranded for 24 hours last week in temperatures of up to 46 degrees Celsius and at least three more have had to be rescued after following the directions given on Apple's new maps, which located the town of 30,000 people among the dusty, sun-baked trails of Murray-Sunset National Park.

The Jelly Bean update for Asus PadFone 2 is rolling out now (OTA update). The update started in Taiwan market, and it is not yet known when it will go global. The build number is JRO03L 10.4.5.33-0, and reportedly, it takes almost 15-30 mins to complete. Also, fonearena reports say that Asus has still preserved the skin which was present in the ICS version, but new notifications and several other jelly bean features are confirmed. When we did the review back in November, we were little bit disappointed that PadFone was originally shipped with ICS, but we've announced that by the end of the year, update to Android 4.1 will be available. It is good to know that Asus have kept the word. 

The new update for Samsung Galaxy S3 is just around the corner, or, if you live in the right side of the corner (reportedly update have started in some European countries), already on your device. This update will bring improvements to the existing Jelly Bean operating system, plus the Premium Suite. 

Amazon today introduced Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, a new service for kids ages 3-8. Prime members will have unlimited access to thousands of titles including exclusive-to-Amazon Android apps and games—all curated for age-appropriateness—a special price of $2.99 per month per child, or $6.99 per month per family. Customers who are not yet Prime members can sign up for FreeTime Unlimited for a monthly price of $4.99 per child or $9.99 per family.

According to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the worldwide mobile phone market is forecast to grow 1.4% year over year in 2012, the lowest annual growth rate in three years despite a projected record number of smartphone shipments in the high-volume holiday season. Vendors will ship more than 1.7 billion mobile phones this year. In 2016, IDC forecasts 2.2 billion mobile phones will be shipped to the channel.

Apple today announced the launch of the iTunes Store in Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa and 52 additional countries featuring an incredible selection of local and international music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels. Customers can choose from over 20 million songs available to purchase and download on the iTunes Store. The iTunes Store is available in 119 countries. Customers also have access to the App Store with more than 700,000 apps available in 155 countries.