LG's road to smartphone success has been rockier than most. After false starts with the Optimus series, LG basically took 2012 off; a sabbatical from the top-tier end of the market to gather its thoughts.

During this time it focused on the pre-paid and BYO segment with its cheaper L-Series models like the Optimus L5, and having enjoyed some success with them, now makes its return to the big leagues with the Optimus G.

LG is also responsible for the popular, but difficult to obtain, Google Nexus 4. If you are familiar with Google's mobile unicorn, you will have a headstart in imagining the Optimus G. They share the same glass finish, front and back, and an identically specced 4.7-inch IPS display.

LG relies on Corning Gorilla Glass 2 to cover its phones, and promises some durability in line with how Corning markets the Gorilla Glass products. Still, as it is with glass on any phone, you don't want to be dropping the Opitmus G.

Starry, starry night

Both the G and the Nexus 4 have a sparkling, reflective back plate under the glass that catches the light, and your attention, when you hold it in a certain way. The handset shimmers, like electronic circuitry when the light bounces off this surface.

The Optimus G also has a stainless steel trim that runs around the edge of the phone and really pulls the design together.It feels nice too, with rounded corners, so it sits comfortably in the hand.

All this said, the Optimus G still isn't particularly eye-catching. For all of the criticism leveled at Samsung for its plastic handsets, they are instantly recognisable as Galaxy handsets. The Optimus G is a featureless black box when not in use, but then, perhaps this is your preference.

Button placement is similar to the Galaxy S3, with a power button on the right side and volume on the left. The Optimus has a headphone socket on the top of the handset and a micro USB port on the bottom.

A micro SIM can be inserted into a space on the side of the phone, under the volume rocker. To get this slot out you need a sharp pin, similar to the iPhone and HTC's range of phones.

The handset is completely sealed, removing a user's ability to access the battery, and it doesn't have a slot for micro SD cards either.

The handset does have 32GB of storage though, which is rather generous, so hopefully most people won't miss the expandable memory option.

On the back of the handset you'll find a small, square camera lens and an LED flash. Beside it, on our review unit, it states that the camera is 13-megapixels. This is a promise to photgraphers that the Optimus G never lives up to -- but more on that later in the review.

The first thing you'll see when you power the phone up is LG's very cool unlock animation. It is difficult to describe: it's sort of like a magnifying bubble that grows in size as you swipe your finger across the screen, revealing a distorted version of the screen underneath.

It is one of those small touches that barely impacts on your use of the phone, but has the ability to make your day all the same. We challenge you to handle this phone for a couple of minutes and not spend the whole time swiping back and forth on the lockscreen and watching the mysterious bubble.

There's no official word yet on UK plans and pricing through the telcos, but Expansys is now selling the Optimus G outright for £469.99.

In Australia, the Optimus G is available through Telstra for $63 per month on a 24-month plan or for AU$699 upfront.

BlackBerry knows that success with its new BlackBerry 10 OS relies on getting the new software into the hands of the people it hopes to convert. What better way than through the devices they are trying to overthrow.

In a cunning marketing move, BlackBerry has designed an interactive experience that let's users test drive the new BlackBerry 10 OS in the browser of the smartphone they have in their pockets; namely iPhones and Androids.

The tour takes you through several of the key differences between BlackBerry's new OS and the current market leaders, focusing on how the Hub works, the predictive keyboard and the Time-shift camera.

Our hats are off to BlackBerry for this clever approach to one of its major customer obstacles, it's just a shame that these sorts of demos don't work very well using mobile browsers.

Slow start

For starters, the demo is a guided tour and not a free-flowing trial of the system. You follow the onscreen instructions and move from section to section. It is a shame that there isn't a screen of instructions followed by free use of the gestures to play around.

It is also painfully slow, and while we understand why this is, we wonder whether all of the people BlackBerry is targeting with this site will understand too. It would be a shame if they assumed the real BB 10 system was as clunky to use.

If you can look beyond these quibbles, it is worth a look. Go to http://techradar.com/blackberry.com/glimpse, but remember, you'll need to use phone's browser to see it.

Today’s update for the Twitter app on Android devices just made tweeting 140 characters a little easier thanks to a much-needed redesign.

“Its new design reflects a native Android experience,” said Twitter technical lead for Android Jonathan Le.

First and foremost, that translates into a Twitter app with wider and taller timelines which make use of a device’s entire screen.

There’s also a flat navigation bar, and the ability to tap and hold for quick actions.

Twitter users on Android can now quickly navigate between tabs by swiping across their phone or tablets display.

Another time-saving perk to today’s update is the ability to see username and hashtag suggestions when a user begins typing his or her tweet or initiates a search.

iPhone, mobile versions also update

While the Twitter app update for Android received most of the social networking company’s love, there were some design tweaks for the iPhone and mobile versions, too.

“All three mobile apps, plus twitter.com, now show more types of content in expanded Tweets,” announced Le.

This expandable content includes photo galleries, apps, and product listings.

Twitter users will notice that there is a new link below embedded content that is shared from another mobile app.

Now, if a user clicks a link below a Foursquare check-in or Flickr photo, for example, it’ll send them from the Twitter app to the native mobile app - not the website, which probably doesn't have them logged in.

Twitter, playing nice with other social media companies, will even send users to download the linked app if it’s not already installed.

New Twitter Android design rolling out

The Twitter updates for Android, iPhone, the mobile web are rolling out over the next several days, according to the company.

However, Android owners who still have Twitter app version 3.8 or lower can go straight to the Google Play and update to Twitter for Android 4.0 today.

iOS device owners are also seeing the Twitter app, version 5.5, in the Apple App Store right now.

The Rdio streaming music service that launched in 2010 has been joined by a related pay-per-video video service known appropriately as Vdio.

Unlike Rdio, though, Vdio has more in common with iTunes' video on demand model than it does with Netflix; Vdio is pay-as-you-watch, allowing users to "rent" movies and TV shows from major studios.

Rdio, on the other hand, is a subscription-based service (like Spotify).

The new VOD service is currently available in the U.S. and U.K., but there's a catch: only paying Rdio Unlimited subscribers can access it.

Say what?

Currently Vdio is only available to customers who are already paying for Rdio subscriptions. Those subscribers get $25 of Vdio credit to promote the launch of the new service.

Anyone else is currently out of luck, though Rdio Vice President of Product Malthe Sigurdsson told GigaOM that that will change this summer.

Sigurdsson also reportedly revealed plans to expand to Canada "in the coming months."

What sets Vdio apart?

Vdio has a few unique features to differentiate itself from competing streaming video services.

Chief among those are Vdio's social features, which are closely tied to Rdio and allow users to follow their friends and see recommendations based on their tastes.

Sigurdsson stressed to GigaOM that basing the service on users' personal networks "rather than a marketing department" is a major plus.

Content from major studios and networks including Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, NBC, CBS, ABC, Comedy Central, Showtime, and the BBC can be streamed over the web and an iPad app (though unfortunately you can't purchase anything through the app itself).

Rdio is already available on a number of platforms, though, and Vdio could hypothetically expand outward to Android, Roku and other connected devices too.

Sigurdsson also teased that Vdio subscriptions could be added in the future, according to the report.

Yet more has leaked out about what Facebook supposedly plans to show during an event at 10 a.m. PDT Thursday.

Thanks once again to @evleaks, we may have our first fleshed out look at the Facebook Home UI.

Published by 9to5Google, which has provided a number of details over the last few days regarding Facebook Home and a device now known as the HTC First, the images show an in-color UI with a focus on photos.

The images show a phone screen that has photos taking up the entire screen, with bubbles of info - missed calles, Instagram alerts and messages - floating above.

Coming into focus?

Yesterday, @evleaks posted an image it claimed was of the HTC First, though the rendering was suspiciously generic. It also had the markings of Photoshop, never a good sign towards authenticity.

Today's images matche with the phone shown yesterday, so at least @evleaks gets points for consistency.

We get a glimpse at what might be the app launcher, and while it looks like any Android app center, you'll notice the Status, Photo and Check In options along the top.

Another leaked image presumably shows a photo and the various share options users can hit to get their pic on their various social networks - Instagram, Messenger, Picasa, Google+, Twitter, Messaging and, of course, Facebook - as well as Gmail, texts or trash.

We'll know if all the images - and all the leaks - are legit tomorrow. Tune into TechRadar for the lowdown on Facebook Home, HTC First, or whatever it is FB has in store.

Tony Stark has a new phone in Iron Man 3 and he's slumming it with an Alcatel One Touch Idol - a handset we branded "a middle of the road smartphone" when we got our hands on it at MWC 2013.

It's not clear exactly what the narrative impetus behind Stark's phone-buying decision is but we imagine that Marvel will come up with something to justify the big fat cheque that has no doubt changed hands behind the scenes.

After all, Tony loves to tinker with his tech - maybe he's ripped the Idol's insides out and replaced them with something uranium-powered to make it worth his while. Probably doesn't stop it feeling cheap though, eh?

Blips are TechRadar's new news nuggets that you'll find percolating through the homepage - or you can see them all by hitting the blip keyword below.

The much-longed-for Apple Watch may come packing fingerprint scanning, according to the latest rumours.

Word on the analyst street is that the fingerprint tech expected to show up in the iPhone 5S could surface in the iWatch too.

Oftentimes we wonder where analysts dredge these rumours up from but this time there's a solid backstory - Brian White was on a tour of China and Taiwan when he met an anonymous component supplier who let him in on a couple of juicy secrets.

White then penned a note for clients of Topeka Capital Markets, which AppleInsider managed to get its fruity little mitts on.

Finger-lickin' secure

In it, White describes the fingerprint scanner as being used for "essential security purposes" - no shocker - including credit card payments.

Going further, he expects the fingerprint scanner to be the main selling point of the iPhone 5S, much like Siri was on the iPhone 4S. So, yeah... form an orderly queue.

But iPhone 5S aside, White says that the scanning tech will hit other gadgets too, particularly the iWatch which he anticipates seeing on the market this year after he spotted "early signs of movement in the supply chain".

So, beefed up NFC with fingerprint security. Will that get you parting with your hard-earned cash for a new iPhone or an Apple Watch?

The last major iOS 6 update for Apple's mobile devices, the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, was mostly hit, but there was a big Maps-shaped miss.

Lots of people were rightly angry about Apple ditching Google data, but beyond that mis-step there were things to like: a more useful Siri (App launching plus the recognition that a world exists outside of the USA), shared Photo Streams, handy Phone app controls such as 'send to voicemail', and major improvements to Mail, Safari, accessibility and the Camera app.

iOS 7 release date

it looks like the new operating system might be running a little behind schedule. John Gruber believes that iOS 7 is "running behind", with engineers being pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it.

We're expecting a September or October release date for iOS 7 in line with previous releases. Expect a preview of the new features to come at June's Apple WWDC.

iOS 7 design

But regardless of what Apple achieves, it's never really enough. As soon as you've sat there playing with the latest iOS, ideas pop into your head regarding what you'd like to see next.

However, most changes will be "pretty conservative" according to the paper's sources.

The rest of this article explores a dozen of the features we're clamouring to see in iOS 7. (And by 'clamouring', we of course mean 'asking really nicely'. C'mon, Mr Cook - pretty please?)

1. Hide Apple apps

Pretty much everyone we know with an Apple device has a folder entitled 'Apple'. This isn't filled with must-have apps from the geniuses at Cupertino, but all the junk Apple installs that you can't get rid off. To be fair, what each individual considers junk is different, and these apps—Compass, Stocks, Voice Memos, Passbook, and so on—have their fans; but is it too much to ask for a switch in Settings that will hide those we don't use?

2. Better app management

Change for change's sake is rarely a good thing. Recognition is key to satisfying experiences with technology. That's why we're not yelling at Apple to change how iOS home screens work. What we would like to see is improvements to app management: more screens; by default saving app data on delete; and an alphabetical list of installed apps, perhaps accessible from Spotlight.

3. Change app defaults

We're pretty certain this request would be met with wide-eyes from Apple CEO Tim Cook, swiftly followed by a full twenty minutes of belly laughing, but we want the ability to use non-default apps for important things like email and calendaring. Apple's own apps would remain the defaults, but you should also be able to pick your own in Settings.

4. Provide a guest account

It's extremely unlikely that Apple's ever going to enable multiple user accounts on iOS devices—they are, after all, designed as extremely personal computers. What is perhaps more realistic is some kind of guest account you could switch to when handing your device over to someone for a short while; something similar already exists on the Mac in OS X.

5. Change Siri's voice

OS X is blessed with dozens of high-quality voices that witter away to you in various dulcet tones. By contrast, Siri is Siri. In the US, you get a slightly robotic woman; in the UK, Siri's that bloke who did The Weakest Link for a decade. It'd be great if you could choose the voice your device uses to speak. (Possible exception: Yoda voice.)

6. Provide App Store demos

Apps and games might be cheap, but that doesn't figure cheapskates into the equation. Too often, people are unwilling to risk 69p on the latest release, forcing devs into irritating freemium models or making them clutter up the App Store with 'lite' versions of their output. Apple should just allow demos: 24 hours from first launch and then you buy or the app won't run. Boom.

7. Power up 'Do Not Disturb'

Fed up of getting woken up in the middle of the night by the marketing efforts of [redacted, but quite possibly a well-known mobile network] or Game Center fanfares? Do Not Disturb is a great feature that enables you to time when your phone will quit bugging you. But you can define only a single schedule, and we want to see alternative options for weekends.

8. Make locking location-aware

Locking is a great thing on iOS devices, making it at least a little harder for some scallywag to get at your data if they pinch your shiny Apple joy. But it could be more intelligent, locking on a location-aware basis, and not when you're, say, happily sitting at home on the sofa.

9. Improve the lock screen

There's something to be said for Apple's minimalism regarding the iOS lock screen, and it's mostly that it's too minimal. We're not sure we want to see Android-style widgets sprayed everywhere, but a little more functionality wouldn't go amiss. For example, artwork from a currently playing song is displayed on the lock screen, but there are no controls for pausing or skipping to the next track, until you double-press Home, which isn't hugely discoverable. And beyond notifications, nothing else shows up there at all.

10 Cut all iTunes ties

In recent years, Apple's made great leaps away from iTunes, and you can technically get away with never using the monstrous jukebox. However, there's still no way to easily get your existing music collection nor your photographs on to your device, and there should be. (Alas, with Apple wanting to push iTunes Match and the iTunes Store, there almost certainly never will be for the first of those.)

11. Make more icons dynamic

We're hesitant at arguing Apple's home screen icons should be more like Windows 8 tiles, but there's something to be said for dynamic updates when such things work well. With iOS, you get update badges and a live calendar. It'd be nice at the least if Apple made its own Clock and Weather icons dynamic.

12. Enable cross-platform installs

On a device, you now often see iOS-style banners on websites that when tapped take you right to the equivalent App Store app. But if you're browsing elsewhere, you have to email yourself a reminder and then install later. How good would it be if you were surfing on your PC, saw a great app and could install it across your devices without going near them, nor even to iTunes?

It's all systems go at Apple HQ right now, with word that the Cupertino is doing everything it can to get the new-look iOS 7 out the door and onto devices.

However, it looks like the new operating system might be running a little behind schedule. John Gruber, who blogs over at Daring Fireball, says that iOS 7 is "running behind", with engineers being pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it.

The new iOS is the first to be led by Apple's British design chief, Sir Jonathan Ive. Though the UI hasn't actually been confirmed, you can bet your mortgage it's in the works, and will be appearing to fall in line with the release of the iPhone 5S (or is that the iPhone 6?) - and possibly the iPhone Mini - which are expected to land this summer.

What's it gonna look like, Jony?

Gruber also says that engineers have been out and about testing the new iOS, but with polarizing filters on their iPhones to reduce the chances of Joe Bloggs seeing the new design from across the train. He added that the fresh iOS will be a "rather significant system-wide UI overhaul."

But he's not the only one with the inside gossip. Rene Richie, who runs iMore under the MobileNations network, also seems to have some info on what Ive and his team are up to.

"Ive's work is apparently making many people really happy, but will also apparently make rich-texture-loving designers sad," he said

Hmmm, interesting. Could the new iOS be more of a radical change than we thought?

Like clockwork, Apple is rumoured to begin production of the iPhone 5S over the next three months.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the next iPhone will look very similar to the iPhone 5, something we're not particularly surprised to hear.

The next handset is expected to be unveiled as the 5S, keeping to Apple's usual behaviour of releasing a mid-generation model.

Though we don't expect any drastic evolutions from the iPhone 5, we'll likely see a better processor and more powerful camera.

The next version of iOS is also expected to appear around mid-year and will be the first overseen by Apple's British designer, Sir Jonathan Ive.

With Samsung gearing up for the release of its recently-unveiled Galaxy S4, Apple will no doubt be feeling the pressure to get its next phone out on the market as soon as possible. Interestingly, it's likely that initial designs of the iPhone 5S will have begun under the watchful eye of Steve Jobs.

Cheaper model incoming

Another device we're expecting from Apple is its cheaper iPhone - aka the iPhone mini - which is will offer a slightly more stripped-down option to Apple's flagship device.

The phone is said to have a 4-inch screen, just like the iPhone 4S, and will reportedly land in a range of fancy new colours, breaking away from Apple's traditional black-and-white approach to design.

The WSJ's sources say that the diminutive device will also launch around the middle of this year - but as this is less of a certainty, we'd apply a dash of salt if we were you.