Nokia is offering $10,000 to the person that can create their next “classic” ringtone. Using AudioDraft, a crowd-sourced sound design contesting site, the company is accepting entries until October 2, 2011. The winning ringtone will be included on selected handsets from Nokia’s 2012 product portfolio.

Of course, the $10,000 prize is enough to make anybody want to compose their own small melody, however having your very own Nokia Tune heard over 1 billion times a day is an exciting enough reason in itself. It is the world’s most recognized audio brand asset.

The general public will be able to vote on their favorite entries, but won’t have the final say on the winner. The top five will go in front of a top-notch judge panel.

Kai Bronner, one of the founders of Audio Branding Academy; Julian Treasure, known for his TED talks and author of ‘Sound Business’; Mark Dewings, head of Brand & Marketing Communications at SoundCloud; Nokia’s SVP of Design, Marko Ahtisaari; Super8 & Tab, worldwide renowned DJ and electronic music production duo who are ranked in the DJ Mag’s Top 100 of most popular DJs; Andrew Higgins, a jury member from the AudioDraft community who has won 12 AudioDraft contests; and Tommi Koskinen, the Community Manager at AudioDraft.

If you’re interested in entering, do so before October 2. If you want to enter, but don’t quite have the skills to create an original masterpiece on your own, find a unique way to use the Mobile17 ringtone maker to simplify the process.

A new study released by Nielsen shows just how much of a dent Android is making in the smartphones business. Of the most popular operating systems, Android leads the pack with a market share around 40%. Apple iPhone (iOS) came in second at 28% and Blackberry was third with a 19% market share.

Forty percent of mobile consumers over 18 in the U.S. now have smartphones, according to July 2011 data from Nielsen. Android is the most popular operating system, with 40 percent of mobile consumers reporting they have a smartphone with an Android OS. Apple’s iOS is in second place, with 28 percent.

The survey also focuses on the future of the smartphone market, asking potential buyers what kind of phone they plan to purchase. Of that group, 1/3rd plan to purchase an iPhone, 1/3rd plan to purchase an Android-operated device. Though feature phones still outnumber smartphones, there’s a clear shift to smartphones at the moment and they seem destined to overtake feature phones soon.

Here’s the Early Adopter/Late Adopter breakdown:

Do you plan to upgrade your phone this year? If so, Android, iPhone or other?

Mashable has a great roundup of preparations by mobile carriers as Hurricane Irene continues to slam the northeastern United States. Obviously, during a natural disaster (like last week’s earthquake in Washington D.C.), hurricane or any other major event, cell phone service is much more likely to be disrupted.

AT&T:

• AT&T FamilyMap and AT&T Navigator can be used to provide evacuation routes and track family members’ mobile devices in case of separation.
• Capacity is added to wireless networks to accommodate increased volume.
• Backup generators are stored in safe locations for immediate use following the storm.

Sprint:

• Portable generators are prepared near network towers and switches.
• Resources are waiting outside of Washington, D.C. to aid first responders and public safety officials.
• 25,000 fully charged Sprint and Nextel Direct Connect phones are available for rent during disaster events.

T-Mobile:

• Portable, fueled backup generators are ready to be deployed.
• Engineers are on-call with repair equipment along the seaboard.
• Cells-On-Wheels are prepared to provide wireless connections in the worst hit areas.

Verizon:

• Central network offices have backup generators to ensure land lines operate when power goes out.
• Trucks and emergency equipment is being removed from low lying areas.
• Emergency relief kits are prepared to ease power restoration.

An recent update for Gmail on Android-powered devices allows users to specify custom ringtones for labels. With these custom ringtones in place, you’ll be able to react quickly to emails from your friends, family and co-workers while ignoring unimportant or unwanted emails. After ensuring that you have the latest versions of Android and the Gmail app, follow the steps below to customize your ringtones.

First, create a few labels for your Gmail account.

Next, visit the ‘Settings’ tab on your Gmail app. Locate the ‘Sync Inboxes and Labels’ section and click to adjust those settings. Select the Label you want to set a custom ringtone for and click. Select the date period for which you would like to sync emails (Sync None, Sync Last Four Days, Sync All) and return to ‘Settings’.

Now, turn your attention to the ‘Labels To Notify’ tab. Select the target label and you’ll be able to set a custom ringtone for that label. You should now have a custom ringtone set for this label. Repeat for all labels that you want to customize.

You can use Mobile17 ringtones to completely customize your phone alerts. With your new streamlined Gmail label ringtones, you’ll be able to focus on the emails that matter to you. This easy customization can save hours of productivity.

The HP Touchpad was considered by many to be a deadbeat tablet until a fire sale this week (units going for as little as $99) seemed to reignite some interest in the product. Still, critics seemed to universally hate the operating system on this tablet and the app store was even less popular. Strangely enough, at least one person who purchased a last-minute Touchpad got a surprise when he fired up the tablet: Android 2.2.1! He quickly shot this video showing Android in action.

I bought this touchpad (16gb) at best buy. The touchpad is running android 2.2.1 out of the box. The product seems to be a test version from the qualcomm innovation center, since the center logo is shown when you turn the touchpad on. The video shows me walking through the developer tools and the web browser. I cannot find a way to get the android market, or download any android applications onto the device.

If you were one of the bargain hunters who purchased a Touchpad at the $99 price point, you’re in luck. Prices on eBay have skyrocketed to over $250 on this news and one intrepid user has uploaded an image of the Android install online.

Click here to upgrade your Touchpad now!

If you’ve been on the fence about switching to the iPhone 4, especially after rumors that a new version of the iPhone is just months away, Apple wants to encourage you a bit by offering a major price cut.

Apple Inc will release a cheaper iPhone 4 within weeks, jeopardizing profit margins to win lower-end customers from rivals such as Nokia in China and other emerging markets.

Asian suppliers have begun making a lower-cost version of the hot-selling smartphone with a smaller 8-gigabyte flash drive that will arrive around the same time Apple unveils its much-anticipated iPhone 5, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The new version, though cheaper, will not be as fast as the original iPhone 4. The question is, are you better off waiting for a late-September release of the iPhone 5 or will a very low priced version of the iPhone 4 entice you to purchase?

My Keepon is set to be one of the biggest tech toys of the holiday season. If you’re not familiar with these yellow dance machines, check out the video below.

The My Keepon can be set to interact with touch or sound, either reacting to music or any person or object that it encounters. Perhaps most importantly, it looks pretty cool while doing so. There’s been some excitement over this toy for the past few years but the 2011 holiday season marks an official release date.

The toy, originally developed as Keepon, an expensive device designed to assist autistic children in the development phases of their lives, is a great conversation piece that serves an even greater good. The designers of My Keepon, Beat Bots, intend to use money from every purchase to fund programs and medical robots for therapists and practitioners.

This holiday season, when you’re thinking of a gift to buy for friends or family, consider the Keepon which will be available at Toys R Us. Expect to see this do-good gadget flying off of the shelves as soon as October for around $40.

A new study from Nielsen Smartphone Analytics shows Android users prefer interacting with apps over surfing the mobile web. Of the thousands of users tracked in this study, most spent nearly 40 minutes interacting with their favorite apps every day; much of this time is spent interacting with the top 10 apps.

According to first-reported data from Nielsen Smartphone Analytics, a new effort that tracks and analyzes data from on-device meters installed on thousands of iOS and Android smartphones, the average Android consumer in the U.S. spends 56 minutes per day actively interacting with the web and apps on their phone. Of that time, two-thirds is spent on mobile apps while one-third is spent on the mobile web.

This certainly isn’t the first study to suggest a shift away from the html environment of the past in the direction of mobile applications and it certainly won’t be the last. So, Mobile17 fans, with the shift to mobile apps becoming more apparent every day, what are your favorite apps for Android phones?

And now, for something new.

There’s quite a bit going on behind the scenes here at Mobile17! We’ve continued to add new features and supported platforms as our apps and website grow in popularity, and now plan to announce updates here on the Mobile17 Blog. Additionally, from time to time, we’ll post videos and news updates that are focused on technology, apps, and the mobile marketplace. Feel free to comment or submit any of our posts to your favorite social media outlets or social bookmarking sites.

To keep up with our updates, subscribe to our RSS feed, ‘like’ Mobile17 on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.