Hands-free, speech-to-text devices are increasingly being incorporated into cars to help people SMS, make phone calls, or even use social media.

However, last year in Australia, Queensland Police revealed figures which claim that mobile phone-related distractions cause more road fatalities than any other commonly known driving threats, including speeding, fatigue and even alcohol.

Queensland Police's fact sheet says that even "...hands-free mobile phone [use] while driving is four times more likely to have a serious crash resulting in hospital attendance".

A new, on-going study by the University of Utah, sponsored by the US AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, has furthered these claims, having found that speech-to-text devices in cars cause more distractions than listening to talk-back radio, music, simply conversing with passengers within the vehicle and astonishingly, more than using hand-held devices.

"These findings reinforce previous research that hands-free is not risk-free," said AAA Foundation president and CEO Peter Kissinger.

Studying distraction

Three methods were used in the experiment for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study, using 38 participants (20 men and 18 women) for the first method, and 32 for the other two (22 men and 10 women; 12 men and 20 women).

The experiments involved driving without any other distractions, listening to the radio, listening to an audio book, talking to a passenger, talking on a hand-held mobile phone, talking through a hands-free device and using a speech-to-text device to send an email.

Triggers, cameras and special electroencephalographic (EEG)-configured skull caps were used to monitor participants and reaction times. The experiments were done using vehicle simulations and in real cars.

Fatal figures

The results of the experiment are a little surprising, as using a speech-to-text device was found to be more distracting than using hand-held mobile device for calls.

"This clearly suggests that the adoption of voice-based systems in the vehicle may have unintended consequences that adversely affect traffic safety," the study stated.

Hands-free calls, however, was found to be less distracting, and near the same level as conversing with a passenger. Still, it was found to be twice as more distracting than just listening to the radio.

"Just because a new technology does not take the eyes off the road, does not make it safe to be used while the vehicle is in motion."

In Australia, it is illegal to use mobile phones while driving, and though using hands-free and speech-to-text devices are legal, police across the country are still discouraging the use of phones at all while driving.

Where there's smoke, there's usually fire, and in Sony's case, there's been a whole lot of smoke about the Xperia ZU smartphone.

Formerly known as the Togari, Sony latest mobile device has its sights set on the phablet market Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 currently dominates.

Rumors about the supposed phone have been making the rounds since early in 2013, but have been sprouting up more frequently ahead of Sony's June 25 event in Germany.

Though we've heard some purported specs about the Xperia ZU previously, a new set of leaked specs has surfaced, possibly giving us a better idea of what to expect.

Phablet fables

According to Taiwanese site ePrice, the Xperia ZU will feature a 6.44-inch IPS LCD screen, with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution.

With a pixel density of 342ppi, it's not quite as impressive as the standard Xperia Z, but does come in better than the Galaxy Note 2.

The site also claimed the ZU would use a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, and could include 2GB RAM, as well as 16GB internal storage with microSD expansion up to 64GB.

While we've previously heard the Xperia ZU would include a 20MP rear camera, the supposed specs indicate that's not the case, and the phablet will instead use an 8MP Exmor RS rear camera and a 1.3MP front-facing lens.

The device is believed to be powered by a 3,000mAh battery, which should keep the ZU running for quite some time.

With Samsung readying its Galaxy Note 3, and HTC supposedly launching a phablet of its own in the T6, it makes sense that Sony, too, would attempt to get a piece of the bigger pie.

We've only a few weeks to wait to see if Sony's Xperia ZU is real, and if these specs match the final product, but until then, we won't get too excited over the purported phablet's potential.

• How does the Sony Xperia Z hold up against the competition? Check out our comparison to learn more.

There are few emails the British dread more than that post-holiday mobile phone statement, where we discover what little cash we had left will be consumed by those nasty mobile roaming charges.

However, the financial pain of staying in touch with friends and family while vacationing in the EU will hopefully be over by the time you and yours jet off for warmer climes in the summer of 2014.

The EU has voted to fast-track plans to completely scrap roaming charges across the continent, allowing travellers to use their mobile phones for the same price as they do in Blighty.

Under the new plans, the Telegraph reports, calls, texts and internet access will not cost any extra, although it's not totally clear at this stage if EU usage will count as part of the users' monthly allowances.

It's not for us

However, before you get all "Awww, thanks Europe!" the idea behind the scheme isn't to benefit us humble consumers, but more to encourage more competition, alliances and mergers between mobile networks.

The EU hopes that regional networks will form alliances similar to how airlines have come together in order to form fewer, but stronger super networks.

Those larger companies will be able to invest more in future infrastructure, including the roll-out of next-generation mobile speeds.

Nokia is throwing an all day event July 11, according to an invitation sent out today.

"Zoom. Reinvented," the invite, depicting a magnifying glass, reads. "See more from Nokia."

Other than a time - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET - few firm details are discernible from the black and yellow note. However, chances are we're in for a new high-end camera phone to come into focus.

Could this be the day we see the rumored Nokia EOS come to life, a handset said to pack 41MP and that's been popping up in leaks left and right? The phone, codenamed "Elvis," may just enter the building.

More blips!

News can be so scattered these days, but thankfully our blips help make sense of the chaos.

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Undeterred by a recent JPMorgan report predicting slower Samsung Galaxy S4 sales, the company is going on the offensive with plans for its next Android camera.

The Korea Times reported Thursday that Samsung Chief Executive Officer Shin Jong-kyun appears to have channeled his inner Obi-Wan Kenobi this week, deflecting a drop in the company's stock price with a new product tease.

Last week, JPMorgan claimed Samsung faced "significant setbacks" with sales of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, causing shares in the company to drop by nearly 6.2 percent - a four-month low.

With a mere wave of his Jedi-capable hand, Shin shifted the media's focus off of the bad news and onto one of the new products Samsung plans to launch next week.

Mirrorless future

"Samsung will release our latest mirrorless camera that runs on Google's Android software," Shin told reporters in Seoul yesterday.

The company plans to introduce the Galaxy Camera 2 at an event in London next Thursday, June 20, although it hasn't detailed what new features we might expect or when the Android-powered shooter will begin shipping.

Although point-and-shoot digital cameras have waned as smartphones have improved, Samsung hopes to leverage its manufacturing prowess by laying claim to a new market for data-equipped smart cameras that rival DSLRs in quality.

Shin also confirmed there are no plans to lay down arms in ongoing patent disputes with Apple, perhaps newly emboldened by a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that older iPhone and iPad models infringe on Samsung patents.

• Get a refresher course on the original Samsung Galaxy Camera.

Now that iOS 7 has been announced, attention has turned to what hardware Apple will launch alongside it, be it an iPhone 5S or an iPhone 6.

Today several insiders have told Reuters that Apple has been mulling over the possibility of a 4.7-inch iPhone as well as a 5.7-inch device straying in the direction of the 'phablet' arena.

What's more, these chatty source-types have conceded that Apple has 'floated' the idea of a cheap iPhone model with a price tag of $99 (that's around £63 or AU$103), with the budget range coming in up to six colours - a rumour we've heard before.

Technicolour

But before you chuck your Samsung Galaxy Ace out the window and run down to form an orderly queue outside your local Apple Store, take a knee. The plans are still being explored, the four people "with knowledge of the matter" say, with plans laid out for cheap iPhone launches over the next four years.

The bigger-screened iPhones, however, are supposedly set to launch next year which means that one could feasibly be known as the iPhone 6.

• Find out more of what we think we know about the iPhone 6

Although one tipster told the news agency that Apple "constantly change product specifications almost to the final moment" so there's no way to be sure of what the company really and truly has in the pipeline, it's not outside of the realms of possibility that Apple wants to stomp all over the Samsung Galaxy Note 2's turf.

So, that's bigger iPhones, smaller iPhones, more expensive iPhones, cheaper iPhones and multi-coloured iPhones all coming within the next four years. At least one of these rumours has gotta be right. But which?

• We love a good speculation sesh, but sometimes outlandish iPhone rumours really get our goat.

Microsoft is keen for manufacturers to build smartphones for its Windows Phone 8 OS, but Acer isn't willing to bite this time.

Acer isn't alien to the Windows Phone game as it launched the Windows Phone 7.5-toting Allegro in 2011, but it's yet to venture into the latest version of platform.

Allen Burnes, Acer's VP of Smartphones for EMEA told TechRadar: "We are looking at Windows Phone 8, we think it's a great OS. The integration with Xbox is nice, the enterprise suite is nice, but I think no one knows about it."

Burnes continued: "You'll find everyone in our smartphone team would really like to deploy Windows OS, but in relation to where we are as a company we have to make our decisions in relation to what we think will sell out.

Waiting game

"We've made the decision not to launch a Windows Phone 8 device this year. Next year, depending on how we see the growth go this year, we may well do."

Acer wants to hear more from Microsoft on the new platform. "What they [Microsoft] has to do is communicate. They can't rely on Nokia, which has its own challenges of rebuilding its brand, to do it for them," he said.

The Taiwanese firm is also looking at the bigger picture when it comes to Windows, with clear benefits across its PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone divisions.

"The way WP8 integrates in with the rest of the Windows ecosystem is phenomenal," Burnes says, "so yes we are looking at Windows Phone 8, yes we do believe in it, it just doesn't sell enough at this moment, otherwise we would deploy it this year."

Sony Mobile UK has just sent out an invite for an event in London on June 25, where it promises that we'll "see the next breakthrough in the Sony design story".

The invite continues: "join us as we unveil the newest addition to the Xperia range. Discover our unique approach to design as we share our focus for 2013 and beyond."

It's thought that there's a phablet in the offing going by the name Sony Xperia ZU, although early rumours noted it as the Sony Togari.

Germany and France have already received separate invites for local events on June 25 and July 4 respectively, so it's no surprise the UK is getting in on the action.

What's that coming over the hill?

Rumours suggest the Xperia ZU will sport a monster 6.44-inch full HD display and 2.3GHz quad-core processor which would seriously set it apart from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Huawei Ascend Mate and ZTE Grand Memo.

In terms of a potential Xperia ZU release date and price, well we're still in the dark as Sony hasn't even announced it yet, but we'd expect it to hit shelves in the next month or two.

TechRadar will be at the event to bring you all the details on what Sony has to offer, including any potentially oversized smartphone.

It looks like the HTC Butterfly is about to become very real, and some leaked candid snaps show the new specimen giving the camera an early teaser.

The dimensions of the new handset appear to be then same as the original Butterfly, however the speaker on the rear has become stereo speakers on the front.

HTC's BoomSound feature, as it's known, first appeared on the HTC One, and later on the Desire 600. The leak appears to show that the phone is keeping the 5-inch 1080p display, and that Sense 5 will also be showing itself again.

Butter me up

It was VR-Zone that spotted the new handset. We don't know many other specifics of the device, though it's rumoured to be running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor.

The camera is expected to use the One's UltraPixel technology too, but there's nothing in the pictures to tell us if this is a sure thing.

We expect to hear the official word on the Butterfly S from HTC on June 19, when the Taiwanese company is holding a special media event, so hold tight.

Phone manufacturers love a good Android overlay, just take a look at Sense 5.0 on the HTC One, TouchWiz on the Samsung Galaxy S4 or even the Emotion 1.5 UI on the Huawei Ascend P2 - they just can't let Google's creation be - but that's not the case over at Acer.

The Taiwanese firm spoke to TechRadar and explained that it would rather not get tied up in the whole Android UI business and instead focus on enhancing some core aspects.

"We found from our previous experiences of creating Android UIs that they are very difficult to maintain, especially keeping track with Google's migrations," explained S T Liew, the President of Acer's global smartphone division.

"Android actually does a great job at serving up the right user experience and it allows people to migrate from one Android phone to another with relative ease.

"With each phone we assess its main features and we enhance those experiences with small UIs, such as the camera app or the note taking capabilities and multi-tasking tools on the Acer Liquid S1."

Easy to do, lots to gain

For Acer this approach makes business sense too, as the various enhancements generally don't require too much input for a decent return.

"We don't have to rewrite Android," said Allen Burnes, Acer's VP of Smartphones for EMEA, "the overhead we put into that is relatively low, but the consumer benefit is very high.

"People know Android, they like it, and we don't want to try and change their behaviour."

The Android overlay debate will probably always divide people, but we're not surprised that some manufacturers are looking at toning down their involvement in the software.