The European commission is investigating claims that Apple used its considerable influence in the mobile world to bend network operators to its will, said a report today.

According to the Guardian, the European competition authority is sending questionnaires to mobile networks that ask whether they were coerced by Apple into anticompetitive behavior.

The questionnaire asks whether companies are required to purchase a minimum number of iPhones, whether they're forced to agree to treat the iPhone preferentially, and other questions that could reveal unfair terms set by Apple.

The document also asks about any technical limitations Apple may be imposing on the iPhone on certain networks.

Apple could be in trouble

The questionnaire is prefaced by an explanation that the European commission "is currently investigating alleged anti-competitive behavior in the EU/European economic area…relating to the distribution of Apple's smartphones ('iPhones') and the limitation or exclusion from use of technical functions on 'iPhones.'"

Regardless of how the documents are filled out, it would be difficult to prove that Apple is in fact the dominant force in the EU, as Samsung is actually the top phone maker.

On the other hand, Apple's influence on the market is undeniable.

The iPhone maker could be found in violation of article 101/102 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union and article 53/54 of the European Economic Area agreement, which have to do with competition and antitrust laws.

• When will the next iPhone be revealed? Whether it's the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 6, TechRadar has all the rumors in one convenient place.

Sky has announced that its suite of Android apps have been restored to the Google Play store, following last weekend's hacking incident at the hands of the Syrian Electronic Army.

The company had temporarily removed the likes of Sky Go, Sky+, Sky Wi-Fi and Sky Movies when the Google Play pages were compromised, with logos and app descriptions replaced.

The broadcaster's Twitter support account was also taken over, with tweets sent out advising users to uninstall the apps until further notice. Later that day Sky itself issued a statement, telling users not to do so.

The company affirmed that the apps themselves had not been affected, but only the Google Play pages housing them.

Now the apps are back, with the @SkyHelpTeam Tweeting: "All our Android apps, which we removed from the Google Play last weekend, are now available to download!"

Who's next?

The hack was the latest in a series of attacks on the western media, believed to be perpetrated by the Syrian Electronic Army, a group sympathetic to the country's government.

The Financial Times, BBC, The Guardian and US-based network NPR also fell victim. Where will the group strike next?

What's this, another one for the oversized smartphone bandwagon? But before HTC jumps headfirst into the over-hyped and badly named "phablet" market, perhaps it should take a minute to read this.

In theory, a handset with a seriously huge display is great. Samsung, ZTE, Huawei and LG are all churning these things out - but that doesn't mean this is the right direction for HTC.

One and only

HTC has already got a hero handset, and it should be fixing all its attention there. The HTC One is only the third phone ever to win a five star review on TechRadar. This is the mobile to get the Taiwanese firm back to the top.

So why launch a monstrously huge handset which will undoubtedly overshadow the HTC One - especially when the One needs its full share of the limelight?

• Check out our HTC One review

Launching the much rumoured HTC T6 will only distract consumers from the flagship phone. And while the HTC One has seen decent sales, it hasn't reached Samsung Galaxy S4 levels of 10 million in less than a month. HTC has no reason for complacency.

Big enough

Fab Phablets

Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Huawei Ascend Mate
ZTE Grand Memo
Samsung Galaxy Mega

It's worth noting that the HTC One isn't exactly a small handset anyway, with a more than serviceable 4.7-inch full HD display. Does anyone really need any more than this from a smartphone?

A 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate might sound tempting, but get one of these porkers in your palm and you'll see what I mean when I say it's just too much.

I'd probably recommend the HTC One to anyone trying to decide between it and a bigger option. That, coupled with the Note 2's dominance, means that there's very little reason to believe the T6 has a market at all.

Range down

If HTC is looking for a big win in the mobile market without cannibalising the the sales of its flagship, it needs to start by thinking smaller.

The mid and low-end regions of the industry are overflowing with various Android and Windows Phone devices, but if HTC can bring what it's learned from the One to smaller, more affordable handsets it could be onto a winner.

Currently there's no standout phone in either the budget or mid-tier arenas and if HTC can nail both, the payoff could be huge - even huger than an ungainly phablet screen.

HTC has history in the lower levels of the mobile world. I loved the One S when it launched last year - it was the perfect example of a mid-range smartphone - although the likes of the One V, Desire X and Desire C were less of a draw.

HTC needs to concentrate on building a solid range of three or four handsets which span the main price points in the market. Only when it's cemented a respectable position across all tiers should it look at pushing the mobile boundaries.

The T6 won't ruin HTC, but it won't help either. The One deserves to be the king of mobiles, so why hide it behind another ridiculous lump of a phablet?

• Smartphones are continuing to grow and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. We ask "just how big can they get?"

Arriving a little earlier than anticipated, Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy S4 Mini, the fresher, younger, and of course smaller version of its flagship, which will offer a slightly more budget-friendly option that keeps in line with Samsung's high-end design.

But where might you be able to get your tiny hands on the scaled-down handset, and when will it actually arrive on UK shelves?

While we don't have a firm release date right now - though we'd say July is looking pretty good - we do know of a few names who will be stocking the Galaxy S4 Mini when it arrives.

Three

For those hankering for something better than still photos, operator Three has posted a video giving an up-close-and-personal look at the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, putting it side by side with the standard Galaxy S4 and the 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega.

Unsurprisingly, the network has also confirmed that it will be offering the phone, though it hasn't spilled anything on date or price yet.

Phones4U

Phones4U became the first UK retailer to announce it be offering the new handset, and has given the phone a tentative release date of July.

You can "register your interest" over on Phones4U's dedicated Samsung Galaxy S4 mini microsite right now to be alerted with updates as soon as they happen.

EE

EE confirmed to TechRadar in a statement that is plans to stock the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini "from launch".

It also stated that the phone will be available on its speedy 4GEE service, as well as on the 3G-only Orange and T-Mobile networks. EE's keeping schtum on price and availability for now though.

Carphone Warehouse

Carphone Warehouse will of course be offering the Mini too. It's not spilling anything on price or release, but it's also launched its own S4 Mini microsite for those keen to get in line right away.

O2

O2 has confirmed it will be offering the handset when it arrives, but like all the rest, there's nothing more concrete than that for the time being.

Vodafone

Vodafone is much the same, confirming it will be stocking the phone but not giving any details beyond that.

The bad news is that the Mini will be too early for Vodafone's 4G rollout, which is now being delayed until the end of the summer.

When is a launch not a launch? When it's a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini launch. Rather than keep its powder dry until the official launch date on June 20, Samsung has decided to tell us everything well in advance. So what's the story? According to our resident phone expert Gareth Beavis, while it "packs a number of top end features in a diminutive package", it also "does away with a lot of the 'innovation' we saw in the S4". That's a good thing: the so-called innovation was generally rubbish.

Hardware-wise the Mini is pretty much what everybody expected: a 960x540, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, a 1.7GHz dual core processor, 8GB of storage (5GB available) and a microSD slot. There's a nice camera, Android 4.2.2, a low-ish price tag and a July release date.

• Android 4.1 and Android 4.2 combine to make the ultimate Jelly Bean

Samsung isn't the only firm to spill the beans way in advance of a product launch: Motorola's at it too. The Google-owned handset maker's latest flagship, the Moto X, won't be out until October - but CEO Dennis Woodside teased this week's AllThingsD conference by saying it was in his pocket but he couldn't show it to anybody. You might think that sounds like the sort of behaviour you grow out of aged six. We couldn't possibly comment.

No such tactics for Huawei: its Ascend P6 will be unveiled on June 18, and if the teaser product image is anything to go by the entire internet is going to say, "Man! It looks like an iPhone!". Rather worryingly the phone's USP appears to be its thinness. While ever-thinner smartphones are impressive from an engineering point of view, we'd much rather have exciting features or better battery life than a slightly slimmer case. Hopefully the P6 has some surprises up its super-slim sleeve.

State of the 8

While Huawei gets ready to unveil a phone, Microsoft is putting the finishing touches to Windows 8.1, the operating system formerly known as Windows Blue. New screenshots suggest that as rumoured, the Start button really is coming back - and you'll be able to boot into Desktop mode, although that won't be the default option.

We've got most of the puzzle pieces now, and while Windows 8.1 isn't going to be a dramatically different OS it should address the most common criticisms of Windows 8. As ever, we have all the Windows 8.1 information you could ever possibly need online, and we'll be updating it constantly between now and Microsoft's Build 2013 conference at the end of June when Windows 8.1 will be officially unveiled.

Cooking something up

What's American and doesn't say much for more than an hour? That's right: it's Tim Cook! The Apple CEO's second year at AllThingsD was as successful as his first, if by "successful" you mean "inscrutable". Despite the hosts' best efforts Cook refused to be drawn on Apple's plans, the existence of an Apple TV set, the iWatch, whether his name was really Tim Cook, what day it was or whether the sun was shining, and we suspect that we'd have got just as much information if the hosts had attempted to interview a spy, or perhaps a mime.

We're not surprised, of course: Apple prefers to announce Apple things at Apple events, such as WWDC, coming up in a fortnight. Hopefully WWDC will have more interesting news than a slightly cheaper iPod.