HTC One going for the gold? (credit: Android Authority)
It seems like HTC wants some of the iPhone 5S's golden glory as an image has surfaced purportedly showing off a gold HTC One.
Since this is the first, and so far only image leaked, it's safe to say HTC may not actually be following in Apple's footsteps.
But if true, the HTC One would join the red and blue handsets, boasting the most flashy color.
Though judging from the feedback of the gold iPhone 5S, the hue hasn't been well received ... so maybe HTC should pass on the gold if its actually considering it?
In the post, the company said it was exploring how to expand the feature to marketers, which is probably code for: "Sorry, guys we're going to be filling up your feeds with loads of ads really soon."
Facebook product manager Kelly Mayes wrote: "At first, this feature will be limited to videos posted by individuals, musicians, and bands. We're doing this to make sure we create the best possible experience. Over time, we'll continue to explore how to bring this to marketers in the future."
Your wish may be granted, if that wish is Tizen on TVs
The world is still waiting with bated breath for the first Tizen-based phones to actually appear, but Samsung is already planning the next step in that particularly quiet revolution.
Samsung co-CEO Boo-Keun Yoon told the German publication Die Welt (Via CNET) that Tizen-based televisions could debut as soon as 2014.
"Tizen is going to be used on some of our smartphones just like on our TVs and on home appliances," Yoon, who's also head of Samsung's consumer electronics business, said.
"This way we create an ecosystem in which we are able to connect all Samsung devices," he continued.
So that means…
If Samsung's goal is to connect all its devices through Tizen, does that mean the Korean company's days using Android really are numbered?
Samsung already relies on its own software for its smart TVs, so a switch to Tizen there is more plausible than a complete transition away from Android on mobiles.
Samsung's entire mobile business has been built on Android, and a full switch to Tizen there might not go so smoothly.
Considering the success that Samsung has seen with Android handsets like the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines it seems it would be counterproductive at this point to start completely from scratch with a new OS, but Samsung has made it clear that it's committed to Tizen.
Tea with Tizen
One of the most recent developments in the saga of Tizen came when Samsung delayed the release of the first Tizen smartphone until the fourth quarter of this year.
Now we're expecting the first Tizen phone to drop in time for the holidays, whereas before it was expected no later than September.
The new mobile OS, which is being spearheaded by Samsung and Intel, may also appear at Samsung's developer conference in October.
The companies behind Tizen no doubt want to break free from reliance on Google, but will the cost be worth it? With iOS and Android so well entrenched, will smartphone customers be willing to give an unknown a try?
More mundane reports than Cortana is used to giving
Microsoft is reportedly planning to include a Siri-like personal assistant in the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update, and its codename should sound familiar to gamers.
According to ZDNet, Microsoft's virtual personal assistant is currently being called "Cortana" after the sexy purple artificial intelligence character in the popular game series Halo.
Cortana first popped up in the context of Windows Phone in June when an alleged screenshot of an early build of Windows Phone showed an app called "zCortana," says the site.
But the name popped up again this week, and ZDNet reportedly confirmed with sources that Cortana is the name for Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri and Google Now.
'Magical intelligence'
Cortana will be more than just a voice command interface for Windows Phone, and like the Halo character will be able to learn and adapt, according to those sources.
And it seems she'll rely on Microsoft's "Satori" knowledge repository - the same one behind Bing.
The virtual assistant may have been hinted at previously by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who mentioned "a service-enabled shell" for Windows Phone in a July memo posted to the company's news center.
"Our UI will be deeply personalized, based on the advanced, almost magical, intelligence in our cloud that learns more and more over time about people and the world," Ballmer wrote.
"Our shell will natively support all of our essential services, and will be great at responding seamlessly to what people ask for, and even anticipating what they need before they ask for it."
Cortana screenshots
Alleged early Cortana screens (credit: The Verge)
To top it off, The Verge today published screenshots it claims are from an early test version of the Windows Phone Cortana personal assistant.
The images appear to show that Cortana can pull together weather, calendar events, notifications, location information, controls for Bluetooth devices, and more.
The images also show some of the settings and customizable "rules" for Cortana.
Even if this really is a glimpse at Microsoft's answer to Siri, the interface and UI will doubtless have changed by the time Cortana actually appears, likely with Windows Phone 8.1 according to today's reports.
That substantial Windows Phone update is expected to drop next year.
There's little doubt LG is building the Nexus 5, and today we have yet more evidence that the phone is inches away from taking the stage.
Thanks to an FCC filling spied by Phone Scoop, we have our clearest look yet at what is likely the next Nexus phone.
The model number for this handset is D820, matching another FCC filing we reported on last week.
Today's shots, the first D820 images and a phone flaunted in a commercial for Android KitKat all appear to match, indicating that this phone, whether the Nexus 5 or other, is real and increasingly less camera shy.
We should note the new FCC images don't have "Nexus" stamped on the back like the device spotted in Google's Android 4.4 ad, but cosmetic differences aside, the large camera and flash orientation are as close as kin.
Couldn't get a sharper shot, could you FCC?
Nexus family tree
The filing picked up by Phone Scoop is for a "class 2 permissive change" for Verizon's version of the LG G2.
LG may base the new Nexus on the G2 - the Nexus 4 stemmed from the Optimus G, so the pattern could continue with the Nexus 5.
Rumored specs for the Nexus 5 include Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac and 7-band LTE support.
We could see two variants of the phone, one supported by AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and one by Verizon, but for now we have nothing more than filings and ad guest appearances to go by.
Read our hands on reviews of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C before both phones go on sale.
The EU Commission's new Connected Continent plan proposal envisions the barring of all roaming charges and the boosting of broadband speeds to allow for more affordable communications and higher quality internet access to whole Europe.
The move is already proving quite unpopular with telecoms, which project substantial business losses from a potential move like this one. The EU Commission however is pretty confident that the roaming charges are one of the roadbloacks to achieving of a Paneuropean Telecoms Single Market.
In a recent speech, Neelie Kroes, the EU's digital agenda commissioner, said "[...]the European Commission says no to roaming premiums, yes to net neutrality, yes to investment, yes to new jobs. Fixing the telecoms sector is no longer about this one sector but about supporting the sustainable development of all sectors."
The Commission estimates that if achieved, the Telecoms Single Market will allow for a 1% yearly growth of GDP. The proposal aims to boost the performance of the EU telecoms market, which reportedly is well behind the US and Asia.
The specific measure proposed by the plan is barring the incoming calls roaming charges and slashing the price ceiling for outgoing calls across the EU borders down to €0.19 per minute.
Apple has offered further insight into what the new M7 'motion co-processor' within the iPhone 5 is capable of, including its integration with the iOS Maps app.
The new processor harvests all of the data from the iPhone's compass, accelerometer and gyro motion sensors and aims to power a new generation of fitness and wellness apps such as Nike Move (pictured).
However, in a post on its website, spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple explains how the M7 chip also plays nice with the Maps app due to its ability to discern when you're in a moving vehicle and when you're walking.
Bestowed with that information, once you park up the car and continue on foot, the Maps app will handily switch from turn-by-turn driving directions to walking directions.
Also, when you're driving in your car or riding on public transport, the iPhone 5S will ignore public Wi-Fi networks and if the phone hasn't moved for a while, M7 will save battery by pinging for updates less often.
Saves your battery, while you sleep
The description reads: "M7 knows when you're walking, running, or even driving. For example, Maps switches from driving to walking turn-by-turn navigation if, say, you park and continue on foot. Since M7 can tell when you're in a moving vehicle, iPhone 5s won't ask you to join Wi-Fi networks you pass by.
"And if your phone hasn't moved for a while, like when you're asleep, M7 reduces network pinging to spare your battery."
Apple is also plotting further Maps integration in forthcoming iOS updates according to the report. Soon it'll be able to remember where you parked your car, making finding it after a day's shopping much easier.
Battery boost
Meanwhile, in other iPhone 5S and 5C related news, the devices' stop off at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US appears to have revealed their respective battery sizes.
The iPhone 5S is a reported 1570mAh, while the iPhone 5C reportedly packs a 1507mAh battery. That equates to a 10 per cent and 5 per cent increase over the iPhone 5's 1440mAh cell.
The company has promised an extra two hours of talk time for the iPhone 5S (ten, compared with eight of the iPhone 5), with the improvements thanks largely to the efficiency of the new A7 and M7 processing team.
FCC has always been a good source to find bits of info on upcoming and unannounced phones, if you know where exactly to look. Well, the guys over at PhoneScoop hit the gold with the pictures of alleged LG Nexus 5 flagship.
LG Nexus 5
This phone already leaked before at the Android 4.4 KitKat announcement posing in some developer's hands. Today the FCC photos reveal the same device sans the Nexus logo. It looks a lot like the Nexus 4 at the front, while the matte back might be a camouflage for the real deal as shown on the previously leaked picture.
A photo from the Android 4.4 KitKat announcement supposedly showing the Nexus 5
The FCC documents reveal the alleged Nexus 5 will feature a 4.96" display, most probably of 1080p resolution. We guess if LG is indeed the next Nexus manufacturer, the specs of the device will be based on LG's G2 - a Snapdragon 800 chipset and a 13MP camera. We bet sweet Android 4.4 KitKat will be in charge of the smartphone.
We expect Google to detail both Android 4.4 and the Nexus 5 next month.
In a rare twist Walmart will be offering discounts on the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c at launch day. You can pre-order the iPhone 5c starting tomorrow, but you'll have to go to the store to pick it up. The iPhone 5s is only available in store.
The 16GB iPhone 5s will cost $189 at Walmart, $10 less than the official Apple pricing. You'll have to opt for a two-year contract on AT&T, Verizon or Sprint, of course.
The 16GB iPhone 5c gets a $20 price cut and you can have it for just $79 with a two-year contract. The iPhone 5c will be available on pre-order tomorrow, but you'll still have to go to a store personally to sign your contract and then once again to pick up your phone on September 25.
Walmart is also slashing the prices of the older generation iPhones starting tomorrow. The already discontinued iPhone 5 model now costs $79 with a two-year contract until supplies last. The iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 new prices are 97c and 10c, respectively plus you'll get a $100 gift-card with the iPhone 4 purchase.
There is no indication how long these price cuts will last, though you can bet all new iPhones will go out of stock before September 20 is over (those reserved for pre-orders not counting, of course).
Update: It looks as though Nokia Lumia 1020 pre-orders are opening in the UK on September 12, with the handset scheduled for delivery on September 24.
At least, that's the word from Three which has opened its pre-orders for the device now with various tariffs available.
The 64GB model will be available only through O2.
Original story below...
It's official: the Nokia Lumia 1020 will touch down in the UK on September 12 bringing its huge 41MP snapper to the British masses.
The Lumia 1020 release date was confirmed on the Nokia UK twitter page in a simple message which reads "#Lumia1020 + UK = this Thursday" - because maths is a great way to say when a phone goes on sale.
When prompted by other Twitter users for more information Nokia candidly replied "you'll know all about the what/when/where on Thursday", which isn't overly helpful.
What, when, where?
Luckily for you here at TechRadar we've done the hard graft to discover who will actually be selling the Nokia Lumia 1020.
Previously some retail sites suggested we may get hold of the Lumia 1020 at the start of September, but that's clearly not the case. Is Nokia looking to steal a bit of Apple's thunder with the timing of this release? Probably not.
As well as that massive camera the Lumia 1020 also sports 4.5-inch display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, 2000mAh battery and comes running Windows Phone 8.
If this turns out to be indeed the truth, then this will be the first dual-SIM Windows Phone ever released.
Nokia Lumia 720 was launched in April. It's a sleek device available in five different colors and running on a 1GHz dual-core Krait processor. The rest of the specs include a 4.3" IPS ClearBlack WVGA display, a 6.1MP Carl Zeiss camera with 720p video recording, 512MB RAM, optional wireless charging support, and various connectivity options sans LTE.
Currently the Lumia 720 costs about €250 and but the dual-SIM model availability and pricing is yet to be confirmed.
Apple promised improved battery life for its new iPhone 5s and 5c, but other than endurance times for a few use cases, the company gave little info on the battery itself. Luckily, it's FCC's job to certify such aspects of a mobile device so now we have the actual battery capacity.
The iPhone 5, 5s and 5c batteries all work at 3.8V, but differ in battery size. The iPhone 5 had a 5.45Wh battery which works out to 1,440mAh. The iPhone 5c has a bigger, 5.73Wh battery or 1,507mAh and the iPhone 5s has the biggest battery of the three at 5.96Wh or 1,570mAh.
V
Wh
mAh
iPhone 5
3.8
5.45
1,440
iPhone 5c
3.8
5.73
1,507
iPhone 5s
3.8
5.96
1,570
It's interesting that the iPhone 5s battery grew more, even though the phone is as thin as the iPhone 5, while the 5c is thicker.
S4 knows not of 64-bit chips, it knows only the peace of the wilderness
The Galaxy-iPhone war shows no signs of halting with Samsung confirming that it's looking to match the iPhone 5S 64-bit processor chip in its next smartphones.
Whatever comes after the Samsung Galaxy S4 – the Galaxy S5, we assume – will boast the same level of power according to Samsung co-CEO Shin Jong-kyun, who spoke to the Korea Times.
However he said we shouldn't expect this to appear too soon, which figures as we probably won't see the Samsung Galaxy S5 until next March and the
Apple shot first with 64-bit on Tuesday, with the iPhone 5S A7 chip marking the world's first smartphone with such a processor.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Samsung's also not convinced that Apple can go big in China (namely in the iPhone 5C), adding that it's unlikely Cupertino will threaten its 20 percent market share in the country.
"Apple believes that it can boost its market share in China thanks to stronger brand awareness," said an unnamed Samsung exec. "However, with better pricing, a diversified product lineup and solid partnerships with local channels, Samsung plans to keep its current momentum in China.
"We have no reason to allow Apple to steal market share from us."
Just as predicted, Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 3 at IFA, and we got our hands on it
Samsung's CEO JK Shin announced the company will start using 64-bit processors on its "next smartphones". This most probably means the 2014 flagships, such as the Galaxy S5, will be getting the new processors.
This announcement follows hot on the heels of Apple's recent event that brought us the iPhone 5S with a 64-bit CPU. But while Apple did optimize the iOS 7 for 64-bit processors, Android OS is yet to support such thing.
The 64-bit CPUs are a must-have for devices with 4GB or more RAM and there is a chance Android 4.4 KitKat brings 64-bit support. There is also a probability Samsung unveils a flagship with 4GB of RAM next year, since the Note 3 already has 3GB.
Has Apple opened the door to dystopian horror where people's thumbs are hacked off by criminals? Probably not
Seconds after Apple's 2013 iPhone event ended the inevitable chorus of doom-mongering began. High-velocity complaints and entitlement missiles were fired at millions of eyes, with payloads of "no surprises *sadface*" and "Apple didn't add NFC/a six-inch display/my random tech fantasy hardly anyone else cares about" (delete as applicable).
Instead, they bellowed, all we got was a blingphone with a fingerprint sensor! Imagine!
Leaving aside Apple's newfound infatuation with 'gold' (which could be a smart move in upping the iPhone's appeal in the likes of China and India), idly waving away the fingerprint sensor as a trifling distraction is the preserve of someone who doesn't get Apple, how the company approaches technology, and also how typical consumers approach digital security.
Horror stories abound regarding passwords, with security companies regularly revealing the top-spot goes to 'password', the runner-up often being the imaginative '12345678'.
Apple forces a more complex mix of characters for your Apple ID password, but you can be sure most people use the simplest, easiest-to-remember combinations.
Additionally, although anyone can set a four-digit passcode to block unwanted access to an iOS device, not everyone does. Constantly tapping it in when unlocking a device is deemed a hassle - people have enough codes to remember in their lives without adding another.
Invisible authorisation
A fingerprint makes authorisation interactions almost invisible. Apple's Touch ID system therefore showcases the company's focus on user experience over technological fads, and that it cares more about systems that will get immediate widespread adoption than merely being 'cutting edge' in some manner that might make a select group of techies excited.
A fingerprint makes authorisation interactions almost invisible
With a little thought, it's easy to see why Apple would prioritise Touch ID over the likes of, say, NFC. The latter is gaining ground but remains somewhat niche, whereas the former can make every iPhone 5S more secure, with very little effort on the part of the user.
Beyond merely unlocking an iPhone 5s or buying apps more rapidly, Apple also talks about enrolling multiple fingerprints, to cater for "the people you trust".
It's therefore a small, logical step towards user-friendly multiple accounts on iOS or, at the very least, a system where someone can use their device however they like and also be sure their young child only gets suitable content when they unlock it with their own digit. (In the meantime, kids won't be able to sneakily unlock a device they shouldn't have access to, unless they somehow clone their parent's hand and keep it alive in a jar under the bed. We imagine such mini-maniacs/geniuses can probably figure out ways of getting their own iPads, though.)
Extrapolate logically into the near future, and the sensor won't be solely an iPhone 5s thing, but present across Apple's entire line. Combined with the iCloud Keychain, this could bring a mightily powerful usable personal security layer to Apple's entire range.
Questions and concerns
There are, of course, obvious questions relating to Touch ID technology. Beyond whether it'll actually work in the wild (you can almost hear the 'fingerprintgate' engine revving up), there are security and privacy implications.
Apple states the data is stored in encrypted fashion on the A7 chip and is never sent to iCloud. Also, as explained in depth by Rich Mogull on TidBITs, the system Apple uses "can't be faked out with a photocopy of a fingerprint".
It also, says Mogull, in reality stores a 'template' of your fingerprint; this means a stolen or hacked device contains an abstraction of your most important identifier, not a direct copy of the real thing.
People are wary of large corporations and promises they make regarding private data
In a post-Snowden world, though, people are very wary of large corporations and any promises they make regarding private data. On Twitter, author and technologist Suw Charman-Anderson remarked: "You only have one set of fingerprints. You have to look after them."
Similar sentiments have been expressed quite widely by people concerned about 'giving up' their fingerprints to the Cupertino machine, or even the broader normalisation of fingerprint ID should Apple itself be entirely above board.
But this still ignores the context surrounding user experience, personal security and human nature. Give someone a reliable fingerprint sensor and they'll likely use it and possibly even enjoy it. "It's just like Star Trek!"
Task them with defining complex passwords and activating pass codes and they'll probably get bored, confused, or just have another game of Angry Birds, leaving their devices, data and accounts less secure.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra screen measures 6.4-inches in diagonal, which makes it borderline tablet, if you ask us, but below 7 inches, it still technically qualifies as a phablet.
Categorization aside, our UK readers will be glad to know, that online store Clove has just announced they already have both the white and black version of the Xperia Z Ultra in stock after having fulfilled all their pre-orders.
The handset retails for £612, bundled with the Sony SBH20 stereo Bluetooth headset and for a limited time only, a free Sony SmartWatch 2.
Last time we heard, the phablet was supposed to launch on September 13 in the UK, so it seems it's a day early.
We also managed to find a Vodafone deal for the Xperia Z Ultra through Phones4U, which offers the phone bundled with a Sony dock and a case.
O2 also has it in stock now, either directly or via CarphoneWarehouse. It's available for £599.99 commitment-free.
We recently reviewed the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and we found it to be an excellent piece of kit, save for the below average loudspeaker performance and the lack of a camera flash. Other than that, it's got a razor-thin 6.5mm profile, an impressive screen (much better quality than the one on the Xperia Z), great talk times, a nice camera, an awesome preforming 2.2Ghz Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2 gigs of RAM and a solid audio output quality. And of course, its IP58 certification means it's one of the few portable devices to be truly water tight - good even for swimming.
Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with any of these stores and we do not endorse purchasing through any of them. We are merely researching the most popular options and these are not necessarily the best deals available. By all means, shop around before you commit to buying your Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
The Touch ID fingerprint reader found on the iPhone 5S is undoubtedly one of its most intriguing new features, but there have been a lot of questions about just how useful it's going to be.
While there are certainly a few more queries to be answered, Apple has opened up a little bit more about how secure the sensor-based gateway actually is, stating that you'll need to also create a backup passcode if you're planning to use the Touch ID function.
If you haven't unlocked the phone within 48 hours or reboot the device, you'll have to use that password to get in, solving the problem of pesky thieves breaking through the touch-based security wall.
But the touch reader won't play nice if you're in a sweaty state as liquids on your fingers will occasionally prevent the device from detecting your touch.
In touch with reality
And the good news is that if any bright spark thinks cutting off someone's finger (or, less gruesomely, just making a fake fingerprint copy) will get around the security wall on their victim's iPhone, this won't fly either.
We're told that the sensor looks for vitality signs to make sure that the finger belongs to a living, breathing person.
Apple also insists that it won't be letting any third-party apps to use the scanner, and that the fingerprint data will only be store in the phone itself - not fed back to Apple.
While some were wowed by the fingerprint scanning Touch ID home button on the iPhone 5s others have a tough time feeling safe that Apple won't "accidentally" share their fingerprints with someone not meant to have access to them.
So an Apple spokesman stepped in an said that the iPhone 5s won't store fingerprint images on the device but instead will encrypt the fingerprint data on the phone's A7 SoC.
Even if someone did hack into your device and managed to get inside the A7 chip they likely won't be able to extract the fingerprint information out of it.
Furthermore, Apple requires every fingerprint to be created with an accompanying passcode, which in a scenario when the phone has been rebooted or hasn't been unlocked for 48 hours will be required instead of the fingerprint, which is a nice two-step security verification.
Apple announced a brand new chipset for the iPhone 5s – the Apple A7 – and in traditional Apple fashion proceeded to give very little detail about it. The company promised 2x performance increase over the iPhone 5 in CPU and GPU performance (and 40x over the original iPhone).
There was very little on the GPU front – OpenGL ES 3.0 support was added and the presenters boasted about the improved graphics, but GPU model remains unknown. The Apple A6 in the iPhone 5 had a PowerVR SGX543MP3, so there's a high chance Apple is using a newer PowerVR or at least one with more cores / at a higher clock rate.
A GFXBecnh 2.5 score confirms the performance has indeed gone up, but the test is getting old now (and uses OpenGL ES 2.0) so we're not seeing the full capabilities of the new GPU (like those fancy lens flares in Infinity Blade III).
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt (1080p off-screen)
Higher is better
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 60
Apple iPhone 5S 56
LG G2 54
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa) 43
HTC Butterfly S 42
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600) 41
HTC One 37
Google Nexus 4 32
Sony Xperia Z 31
Sony Xperia SP 31
Apple iPhone 5 30
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 17
HTC One mini 15
HTC One X 11
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt on-screen
Higher is better
Apple iPhone 5S 53
LG G2 51
Apple iPad 4 41.5
Apple iPhone 5 41.1
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600) 41
LG G2 33.6
Apple iPad mini 24.3
Apple iPad 2 23.2
Apple iPad 3 21.3
In the 1080p off-screen test, the iPhone 5S shows nearly double the performance of its predecessor. This doesn’t show up in the on-screen test though as the benchmark hits the 60fps screen limit (the test is old and can't stress the GPU at the native 640 x 1136 resolution of the iPhone 5s).
With OpenGL ES 3.0 support on both iOS 7 and Android 4.3 and improving mobile GPUs, we're about to get a lot of eye candy on mobile 3D games.
We may be treated to the first phablet from the Finnish firm before the month is out as word of a Nokia Lumia 1520 release date gets out.
The slip was made via the @evleaks twitter account - a highly rated source of mobile leaks - with a simple message "Nokia Lumia 1520: launches 9/26."
Nokia is yet to reveal whether or not it is indeed working on the rumoured 6-inch Lumia 1520, which is thought to have been codenamed Bandit, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill going into overdrive.
We've seen various specifications and pictures claiming to reveal the Lumia 1520 from a variety of sources and they all seem to be banging the same drum.
Full of firsts
It's being suggested that the Lumia 1520 will be the first Windows Phone handset to pack a full HD display, and Nokia could well break into a new screen size if the 6-inch reports turn out to be true.
While its name may be similar to the 41MP toting Lumia 1020, the Lumia 1520 is said to arrive with a less brash 20MP snapper as well as a quad-core processor (another Windows Phone first) and the same polycarbonate design we've become accustomed to with Nokia.
There's apparently an update in the pipeline for Windows Phone 8 too, version 8.1, which the Lumia 1020 is hotly tipped to run out of the box.
Now we're not getting too carried away just yet, as nothing is set in stone and Nokia hasn't shown any signs that such a handset is in production. We'll just have to sit tight for two weeks.
Courtesy of yet another brilliant insider's info by notorious leakster evleaks comes today's info that Nokia will be announcing its next Lumia smartphone on September 26.
According to a new tweet, the next phone in the pipeline is no other than the Lumia 1520 (formerly known as Bandit). It was not long ago that we saw the first official image of the phone, courtesy of the same source.
The Lumia 1520 is rumored to have a 6-inch 1080p screen, presenting a substantial development, with both being firsts in the Windows Phone ecosystem.
We've also recently seen a leaked live image of the phablet, which clearly shows how it compares in size to the current gen of Lumia phones.
It isn't easy being a smartphone fan, especially if your timing's bad: no sooner has the ink dried on that two-year contract for the Uber Mega X than it's rendered obsolete by the slightly thinner, slightly faster Uber Mega Y.
And that got us thinking: are there patterns here? Should we be buying Samsungs in Spring and Nokias in November? Is August ever a good time to buy an iPhone? Let's look at the history and see what patterns emerge.
The most obvious pattern that emerges is the dwindling power of trade shows.
The big one for mobiles was always Mobile World Congress, which many manufacturers use to launch their most exciting products.
Increasingly, though, smartphone manufacturers prefer to host their own, separate events for their flagship phones to maximise publicity. Shows such as MWC and IFA are still important, but the biggest hitters are usually announced elsewhere.
The other pattern that you'll see is annual releases, so if you're a keen early adopter it's a good idea to get your existing handset on eBay or sent to a reputable trade-in firm a month or so before.
Leave it too late and you may see the value of your phone plummet as it goes from next big thing to last year's model.
Apple
Predicting a new iPhone launch is easy: for the first four years we saw new iPhones every summer, but in 2011 that schedule changed from summer to autumn and Apple's stuck to it ever since.
The iPhone 4S shipped in October 2011, the iPhone 5 shipped in September 2012, and Apple launched the iPhone 5S and 5C this week.
It's a pretty safe bet we'll see the iPhone 6 this time next year.
It's worth remembering that Apple is on a major/minor release schedule now: major revisions of the iPhone happen every two years, with relatively minor upgrades - the S models - in between.
Current flagship: iPhone 5S
Launched: September 2013
Current estimated price (SIM free): £529
Expected iPhone 6 release date: September 2014
HTC
The HTC Desire was launched in February 2010, the Desire S in February 2011, the One X in February 2012 and the newest flagship, the HTC One, in February 2013.
HTC is one of the few companies that still likes to do things around MWC, although this year it decided to hold its own launch before the big trade show. It still took a while to get the thing onto shop shelves though, so a launch date doesn't necessarily mean a new phone will be in your hands any time soon after.
There's also the fun issue of the name: HTC seems to think it will be able to call all its flagship phones the HTC One. We prefer to think it will be called the 'Old HTC One Two', in homage to boxing parlance.
But if we were betting people, we'd be sticking a portion of our wages on a new HTC flagship the next time the month rhymes with "mebruary".
Current flagship: HTC One
Launched: February 2013
Current price: £489
Expected HTC One 2 release date: February 2014
Samsung
Samsung loves variants - for every Galaxy there are eleventy-three variations to cover niches such as "smartphone owners who live under the sea" and "smartphone owners who don't believe Mars exists" - but the big ones follow a fairly predictable pattern.
All given the 'S' suffix, the Samsung Galaxy S was announced in March 2010.shipped in June, the Galaxy S2 was announced in February 2011 and shipped in May, the Galaxy S3 shipped in May 2012, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 was announced in March 2013 and shipped the following month.
Samsung's clearly working to an annual upgrade cycle here, with its launches timed for shortly after Mobile World Congress is over to ensure it gets the headlines all to itself.
Current flagship: Samsung Galaxy S4
Launched: March 2013
Current price: £549
Expected Samsung Galaxy S5 release date: March 2014
Nokia
If there's a pattern to Nokia's release schedule it's the kind of pattern only Jackson Pollock could divine: since betting the farm on Windows Phone the Finnish firm has apparently been planning launch dates by throwing darts in the vague direction of a calendar.
The Lumia 800 and 710, Nokia's first Windows Phones, were unveiled in November 2011; their successors, the 900 and 610, turned up the following April - and their successors appeared in September 2012. Since then we've seen launches in December (the Lumia 620), May (the Lumia 925) and July (the Lumia 1020 and 625).
Microsoft's purchase of Nokia's phone business could mean price cuts, even on flagships: the Lumia 1020 has just dropped by $100 in the US.
Launched: July 2013 (UK release expected September 2013)
Current price: £550 (estimated)
Expected Nokia Lumia 930 release date: Your guess is as good as ours
Google
Do you prefer your Android unadorned, its skin unsullied by TouchWiz or Sense? If the answer is yes then it's Google's Nexus range for you, and so far that appears to be sticking to a reasonably predictable schedule.
The first Nexus, the Nexus One, may have been a January launch back in 2010, but since then Google has aimed to launch its Nexus phones early enough for the lucrative Christmas shopping season.
The Samsung-made Nexus S was launched in December 2010, the (Samsung again) Galaxy Nexus was unveiled in November 2011 and the LG Nexus 4 was released in November 2012.
That annual release schedule may be changing, however, or at least moving forward a little bit: in late August the Nexus 4 got a massive price cut, bringing it down to just £159 for the 8GB version.
That and the Nexus's sudden disappearance from UK retailers such as Carphone Warehouse suggests that the shelves are being cleared for a newer version, and the timing indicates that it might be coming much sooner than November – although don't be surprised if Google holds off to make the most of the holiday season rush.
Current flagship: Nexus 4
Launched: November 2012
Current price: £159
Expected Nexus 5 release date: October / November 2013
We have been hearing about a notification center in the upcoming version of Windows Phone for quite some time now. These new leaked photos give us a look at what that might look like.
Windows Phone 8.1, as it will allegedly be called, will have a live tile as your notification center. The tile, it seems, will simply show you the number of notifications that are pending without specific details.
The Windows Phone live tiles were originally a means of conveying notifications without having a separate notification center but it made easy to miss a notification from an app that you don’t have on the homescreen. This new notification center will give you one place to see all your notifications even if you missed them or don’t have a corresponding live screen pinned.
The Windows Phone 8.1 update is still some way off but Microsoft will be releasing a GDR3 update in the interim.
