It's a bold statement, I know. But the Lumia 1020 is going to be the device that not only reminds people how good Nokia used to be, but will also herald a real change in the company's fortunes… and bottom line.

If you're not familiar with the new handset incomng from Nokia (and let's face it, that's embarrassing for you, given the overflowing glut of leaks appearing from every corner of the internet) the once-behemothic brand is finally taking the excellent Pureview technology it so heartlessly stuffed into a terrible Symbian handset and whacking the 41MP sensor it into a decent chassis.

Not only that, it will be powered by Windows Phone 8, an OS that, while not perfect, is a much better platform to navigate and is fast becoming entrenched as the third smartphone ecosystem.

Oh, and did I mention it would be a real upgrade in terms of spec too? The processor it'll use is a little woolly right now, but 2GB of RAM is nailed on, which is a first for a Windows Phone and will really help with chugging through those high-end snaps.

It will even be packaged in something that doesn't require a spare bag to carry around; sure, it will be chunky as that sensor isn't slim, but multiple renders show a fairly slimline chassis that should slide into the pocket with ease.

Wait, I remember that…

So, a phone that doesn't look hideous and brings a real howitzer of a USP? That sounds like the Nokia I used to know, and you did too. The Nokia that showed the mass market it could own a cameraphone with the 7650, the Nokia that was the main proponent in bringing a colour screen to handsets… heck, the Nokia that gave us mobile gaming on a grand scale with Snake.

Three years ago smartphones were all about convergence, and if Nokia had tried this kind of thing then it would have failed miserably because it needed a phone that did everything really well to take on HTC and Apple. Oh, wait, hang on… we had the Nokia N8, didn't we? Point proven.

But now things have changed. The base level of functionality on most phones is awesome and more than most will ever need. People are getting tired of really powerful handsets that have a whopping screen in a predictable rectangular design.

And ask most of those buying a new phone what they care about most, and they'll say something about battery and 'I want a decent camera'.

The game is afoot

And that's what Nokia is about to do. Bring out a phone that can compete on spec generally, but obliterate the competition on the imaging front. It's been dabbling with such a thing with the Lumia 920 and 925, but this is a whole new level.

The fans is gonna be mad…

Actually, that's the only downside. The Lumia 925's anodised aluminium exterior is barely cool, and already we're seeing a new flagship device that usurps it. When the 1020 was rumoured to be called the 909 (as a nod to the previous 808) I thought it fitted perfectly: a great USP, but not as strong as the recent flagship, keeping the masses who bought into Nokia's recent marketing happy.

And yes, they'll be annoyed when the see the Lumia 1020, but I've changed my mind now. Nokia needs to go big with a handset. Really big.

It needs something that will turn the heads of those umming and ahhing about buying an HTC One or an iPhone. Something that those who love looking through their albums will get a real kick out of, without feeling they've had to compromise on spec, design or price.

Of course it's not going to rival the Galaxy S4 for sales, as it's still going to be a niche product, albeit a niche device that many will want to sport.

If, in a year or so, Nokia is announcing booming profits and Samsung, Apple and HTC are all looking nervously over their shoulders, this is the phone to point to as the reason.

Of course, that might not happen, so if things are dire at the Finnish firm and it's finally been bought by Microsoft, then just point to the N8 as the reason it all fell apart…

Another day, another purported Motorola Droid handset has broken cover. This time it's the as-yet-unheralded Motorola Droid Mini.

Courtesy of yet another press shot Twitter leak artist @EVLeaks, the Droid Mini is pictured alongside the Droid Ultra and the Droid Maxx, devices also touted for the first time within the last week or so.

None of the devices have been officially announced by Motorola, as yet, as the Google-owned company focuses its attention on the forthcoming launch of the long-awaited Moto X handset.

The EVLeaks post which claims to introduce the "The Motorola Droid Family, 2013" showcases a smaller device that looks to be around 3.5 or 4-inches in size and could be Moto's answer to the Galaxy S4 Mini and yet-to-be-confirmed HTC One Mini Android phones.

Droid Ultra coming August 8?

In other news, we could see the first of these rumoured Motorola devices in less than a month's time.

Judging by a leaked TV commercial storyboard obtained by AndroidCentral, the Droid Ultra will be introduced by Motorola on August 8.

The storyboard details a tough, scratch resistant phone with improved voice commands such as "Hello Moto. Open Spotify."

The site has since pulled the image, presumably under instructions from somebody's legal team.

• Still more interested in the Moto X? Check out the latest Moto X release date, news and rumours

A report today claimed that HTC will release a new, updated version of its 2013 flagship the HTC One before the end of the year.

Further, the new HTC One will be followed in 2014 by a successor: an HTC One 2, codenamed "M8."

The report comes from Pocket Lint, which claimed to have spoken with "a source familiar with the matter."

This is the first we've heard of an HTC One successor (not that we didn't expect one after the One's singular success), and while the source didn't provide any further details, he or she did have slightly more to say about the updated HTC One supposedly coming out this year.

Speculation

The HTC One may be due for some software updates, but this report claims that a more substantial hardware overhaul is also in the works.

The site speculates that the HTC One's Snapdragon 600 could be upgraded to an 800, at the very least.

Its HTC Sense UI could be tweaked and other aspects could be optimized as well.

2013 is more than half over, so we might learn more about the new HTC One soon, if it is in fact real.

But don't expect the same for the HTC One 2 "M8," as the source said that HTC is using multiple different codenames for the device so as to thwart spies and sleuths.

• Meanwhile we're still waiting for sight or sound of the the HTC One on Verizon.

Is BlackBerry about to jump into the era of 5-inch smartphones with its rumoured, flagship A10 handset?

According to Boy Genuis Report's 'trusted sources,' the smartphone maker formerly known as RIM is preparing to launch its largest ever handset, with a high-quality, 5-inch Super AMOLED display

The BGR report said the device, codenamed Aristo, 'closely resembles a Samsung Galaxy S4', with rounded, softer edges than the rather rigid Z10 touchscreen handset launched earlier this year.

The A10 will, the article claimed, will pack 2GB of RAM, but concerns over battery life and compatibility with the BB10 software will keep the processor at dual-core rather than making the leap to quad-core.

A focus on gaming is also predicted, with the Canadian company working hard to ensnare developers to boost its app store offerings.

BB7 to live on with 9720?

Beyond the A10 proclamations, the site also brings another purported snap of the BlackBerry 9720, the rumoured refresh of the iconic Bold 9700 device.

The new pic (see above), shown next to the 9700, presents a revamped styling that looks a lot like the recently-launched BlackBerry Q5 budget QWERTY handset.

As we reported yesterday, the 9720 is newsworthy due to the company's plans to offer the handset running the BlackBerry 7 OS it's desperately trying to move away from as it establishes BB10.

On Tuesday a BlackBerry spokesperson confirmed to TechRadar: "We intend to launch one additional product this year to support the BlackBerry 7 segment."

• BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins thinks tablets will be dead by 2018. Do you agree?

The rumor mill has been attempting to connect the dots between an Apple HDTV and Sharp's IGZO display panels for more than a year, but the real deal could be going down elsewhere in Cupertino's product line.

Patently Apple today reported that Apple is in "serious talks" with Sharp for a big shift into the company's indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) display panels beginning in 2014.

According to a report from IT News in Korea, Sharp and LG Display are gearing up to increase production of IGZO panels, which are capable of lowering energy consumption for devices that use them.

But while most of the Apple-related chatter between the three companies has focused on a mythical television set, Cupertino may be laying the groundwork for a bigger shift across existing product lines.

Wild about IGZO

The latest report claims Apple will implement IGZO display panels into both the iPad line as well as a MacBook refresh coming in the first half of next year.

Sharp's IGZO semiconductor is used in thin film transistors (TFTs) capable of controlling substances such as glass, and are capable of moving electrons up to 10 times faster than existing amorphous silicon.

For Apple's mobile and notebook product lines, adopting IGZO would allow existing battery technology to last even longer than it does today, thanks to the lower power consumption of the display panel itself.

LG Display is said to be upgrading its current OLED and LCD production lines to accommodate IGZO panels, but none of the companies have yet confirmed that talks are actually taking place.

• Find out why the iPad 5 could be thinner thanks to Sharp IGZO!

The budget iPhone is a colourful, mythical beast that just won't quit. Its existence is almost a dead cert, and we've been getting plenty of pictures to prove it. Including another one today.

The picture was tweeted by Apple blogger Sonny Dickerson, who told TechRadar that the picture came from a source claiming to have got his or her hands on the fabled budget iPhone.

The colours match up with those spotted yesterday, albeit a slightly paler shade. However it's likely that this is nothing more than the lighting. Or someone, somewhere has been having a great time trolling the internet for the past couple of weeks.

More blips!

Meanwhile, we have an array of colourful blips to gaze upon

• Pirate Bay co-founder proposes Prism-proof messenger
• Rockstar job hints at GTA 5 PC release
• Happy unbirthday everyone, Apple's giving top apps away for free

While Samsung is clearly focused on the Android ecosystem at its core with the likes of the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 arriving this year, it hasn't forgotten about the feature-smartphone hybrid Tizen.

Samsung ditched its home-brew feature phone OS, Bada, a while back as it looked to merge its efforts with Intel to further develop the Tizen platform - although it's all been pretty quiet on this front thus far.

But Tizen's back with a brand new rap - well a cash incentive anyway, as a huge prize pot of $4 million (around £2.7 million, AU$4.3 million) has been pooled by Samsung and Intel in a bid to attract app developers to the platform.

Show me the money

There a various categories into which apps can be submittted, with the top prize in each "game" category totalling a healthy $200,000 (around £135,000, AU$218,000), with two runners-up prizes of $100,000 (around £67,000, AU$109,000) and then a further three $40,000 (around £27,000, AU$43,000) cash pots to be had.

Meanwhile developers who enter applications into the "non-game" categories will be jostling for a $120,000 (£80,000, AU$130,000) jackpot in each section, with runners-up prizes totalling $60,000 (£40,000, AU$65,000) and $20,000 (£13,000, AU$22,000).

Developers have until November 1 to submit their applications, but it won't be until quite some time after that until we find out if the cash incentives have done enough to get people on board and make Tizen an attractive proposition to consumers. The wait goes on.

Don't think that the whole NSA Prism thing is going away any time soon. And despite Apple telling us that iMessages are highly encrypted, for example, it's hardly convincing people that their chats are safe from prying eyes and ears.

Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay, is one of the ones leading the way of snoop-proof communications, designing a secret messaging app named Heml.is that uses end-to-end encryption to keep third parties out of the conversation.

However, he needs your help as Heml.is is a croudfunded project. If and when it reaches its target and gets built, the app will be free for the most part, with the option to pay to use additional features such as picture messaging.

Also, "Hemlis" is Swedish for "secret". Enjoy that one, fact fans!

More blips!

We're quite happy for you to snoop on our blips though

• Rockstar job hints at GTA 5 PC release
• Happy unbirthday everyone, Apple's giving top apps away for free
• Jelly Bean finally takes Android top spot, just in time for Key Lime Pie

Google's major Maps update is currently making its way on to the Google Play store, bringing souped up traffic tools and new exploratory features with it.

Although it's not actually available in the iOS App Store yet, the revamped app is based on the design of the existing iPhone Google Maps App.

But it brings some new bells and whistles with it, including a dedicated tablet layout which should play nice with both Android tablets and iPads of all sizes.

Tablet times

Navigational upgrades include traffic reports that give you more details of incidents ahead of you, plus a dynamic alert system that will let you know if a better route to where you're going becomes available - the latter feature is only on Android at the moment, although Google says it's "coming soon" to iOS.

Also included in the upgrade are a couple of Google-friendly features like 'Explore' which pulls up nearby restaurant, bar, hotel and shopping options without you having to physically search for them.

Zagat and Offers, both products from the Google stable, are also integrated into the new Maps, while Latitude and check-ins are on the way out.

• Don't fancy dancing to the beat of Google's drum? Try one of the 10 best Android mapping alternatives

It's also goodbye to offline maps on Android - instead you'll have to type "OK Maps" into the search box when you're at the bit of the map you want to access offline - we're not really sure how this is better, but hey. It's Google's world, we just live in it.

The new Google Maps for mobile is currently compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean Android devices, and anything running iOS 6 and above once it hits the App Store.