Did you know that over $30 billion worth of phones will be lost in the U.S. alone this year? Yeah, that number shocked me a bit as well. But it came from Lookout's 15 million strong user base and was part of their Phone Loss study compiled of last years (2011) data. They didn't stop there, either. They've compiled lists full of factoids about when and where phones are getting lost, and just how much it's costing us. Granted, Lookout sells a product to help find lost phones, but it's still fun to have a look at the numbers. 

Using the Foursquare API to turn Longitude and Latitude into a venue, they expound the numbers a bit as well. Trivia like the fact that in Chicago it's common to lose a phone in a church (number three on the list), while in London it common to do so in the pub (number one) come from this sort of data. Unfortunately, another thing they noticed is that many of the top locations in the U.S. where people "lost" their phones also happen to be cities with high crime statistics. These are just examples of the things you can find out about lost phones, but they have some good news as well -- 9,000,000 smartphones (that's one every 3.5 seconds) were lost then located with Lookout last year. That's a great reason to use an app like Lookout, or one of the many others, to help you find your phone when (not if) you lose it.

There's a couple screenshots and the press release after the break, and you can check it out yourself by heading to Lookout's Mobile Lost & Found page.

More: Lookout

Motorola this morning announced that it's teamed up with three-time PGA Tour winner (and fellow Northwest Florida native!) Bubba Watson for the the MOTOACTV Golf Edition. This version's being billed as "a cutting-edge GPS golf tracker, virtual caddy and online clubhouse. (Read our full review of the MOTOACTV standard edition.)

The MOTOACTV Golf Edition has 20,000 courses available, and you'll be able to check distance to the front, center and back of greens, as well as the distance to hazards. (Which for some of us often is seen in negative numbers.) It also can help keep track of your score, including clubs used and greens hit in regulation. The "online clubhouse" portion syncs your data to Motorola's MOTOACTV service, where you can then see a satellite view of the course you played, and where your shots went. You also can see how Watson has played on a course before you tee up. (Hint: Get ready to get depressed, unless you're at Tanglewood or Stonebrook here in Santa Rosa County, I suppose.)

“The new Golf Edition of MOTOACTV has features that allow players to make better decisions on the course,” Watson said in a press release. “From the weekend warriors trying to find the distance to the back of the green to great golfers who want to analyze their game and share their stats with friends, MOTOACTV helps improve scores and makes the game more enjoyable.”

You can preorder the MOTOACTV Golf Edition today for $299.99 either from Motorola, or from Amazon. It'll start shipping April 1.

Smart phones are expensive. More-so if you buy them off contract and unlocked, but even subsidized with a new agreement the high-end phones are going to cost you about three-fiddy after taxes and that's a whole lot of money. When you spend that much money, you want to try to take very good care of something lest you break it, and for many of us that means a case of some sort. On the other side, it's awful nice to use a hot new Android phone without a case. The Galaxy S II or  the Bionic are super thin and beg to be felt in the hand. It's a difficult decision.

I use a case sometimes. I have one that I will slap on a phone if I'm headed outdoors doing something that sounds like it would tear up a phone, but most of the time I just slip my phone into my pocket and roll the dice. So far, so good.

What about you folks? Let us know in the poll.

If you're a registered member here at Android Central then you know our forums always have a contest happening. And if you're not registered, well -- now is as good a time as any. This week's winners are as posted after the break, and if you were chosen watch your email as we'll be following up shortly. Stay tuned for more upcoming contests folks. (And Transformer Prime winners will be announced later today.) Congrats to this week's winners!

If you've got a few hundred dollars burning a hole in your pocket and would love to get some Beats Audio sound playing in your house instead of just in headphones, this may be what you were looking for. The Beatbox by Dre is a high quality portable speaker that allows you to stream music from your Android device via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, priced at $399 it does make it something that is not practical for everyone, but if you really love music and the quality that Beats offers, you will want to check this out. So, will you be grabbing one of these, or would you rather a more moderately priced alternative?

Buy: Beatbox by Dre

Although you could have picked it up from a few online retailers previously, the Motorola  MOTOACTV has now officially been released in Canada. The Android-based fitness tracker that has seen a few large updates since it's general release will be sold at select Running Room locations across Canada as well as online at thesource.ca with a MRSP of $249.99 (8GB) including a watch strap. Looking to learn more? You can check our full review here.

If you're a registered member here at Android Central then you know our forums always have a contest happening. And if you're not registered, well -- now is as good a time as any. This week's winners are as posted after the break, and if you were chosen watch your email as we'll be following up shortly. Stay tuned for more upcoming contests folks. Congrats to this week's winners!

We've already had a look at some of the accessories coming with the new HTC One Series, including this sweet car dock, at MWC. Thankfully -- and unlike Samsung -- HTC are bringing a whole variety to market around the time the devices launch. British retailer Clove Technology will be stocking the range, and have put them up for pre-order on their website.

We won't list them all, needless to say there's plenty. Some such as the Media Link are universal. Each different phone has its own car dock, and a range of cases. The One X and One S are both getting a hard case with a built in stand that will set you back £19.99. There's also a desktop cradle with speakers for the One X that'll run you for £54.99

The car docks are where it's at though, as our hands on with the One X variant in Barcelona showed. That particular item is going for £44.99, which is the same price as the One S and One V car docks. 

Clove are claiming mid to late April on the whole range. Hit the source link below for the full list. 

Source: Clove Technology