Even though the Nexus 5 wasn't announced today as it was once rumored, Google's new smartphone is still expected to be here before the end of the month

And now we may know how much it'll cost.

The Nexus 5 price is $399 (about £250, AU$420) for the 16GB model, according to an anonymous source cited by Android Geeks.

The cost of the 32GB version of the Nexus 5 is said to be slightly higher at $449 (about £280, AU$472).

That's $100 (about £63, AU$105) more expensive than the contract-free version of the Nexus 4.

Nexus 4 LTE-enabled?

There may be a reason that the LG-manufactured Nexus 5 is priced higher besides the superior technology and 5-inch screen.

The Nexus 4 is said to be sticking around, according to the report, but adding LTE capabilities.

The price of the Nexus 4 LTE is rumored to carry the same launch prices - $299 (about £187, AU$315) and $349 (about £218, AU$367) for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively.

These prices for the original Nexus 4 were discounted in August.

Since the Nexus 4 has a disabled LTE chip inside of it that Google blocked from use, LG and Google wouldn't have to change much between it and the new version of the phone.

It would certainly need a tweaked LTE radio, however, to support more bands of the high-speed wireless standard.

So, current Nexus 4 owners shouldn't get their hopes up for a speed boost via a software fix.

See Nexus 5 caught on camera in Russia

BBM for Android and BBM for iOS are coming later than we expected, but at least they're still coming, according to BlackBerry.

BlackBerry Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben told Reuters yesterday that the BlackBerry Messenger apps for iOS and Android will launch "within days."

The BBM app was supposed to make the jump off of BlackBerry and onto other platforms by the end of summer, and a launch was expected toward the end of September.

It suffered delays after an unofficial Android version was leaked, but Boulben said the issues that caused have been fixed.

'Best in class'

Lately BlackBerry's had its lips sealed when it comes to BBM for iOS and Android, but Boulben's willingness to open up a little could mean that it really is almost here.

His hint came after BlackBerry published a letter on social media and in 30 newspapers around the world assuring customers, "You can continue to count on us."

In the letter BlackBerry called BlackBerry Messenger a "best in class mobile social network."

"There are already around six million customers pre-registered to be notified of our roll out," the letter said.

"This number is growing every day, and speaks to the tremendous opportunity we have to expand BBM beyond BlackBerry smartphones to make it the world's largest mobile social network."

Last we heard, the Android and iOS BBM app is expectedly to initially feature messaging and groups, with voice, screen share, video, and other features being added in later updates.

It's unknown whether that's still the case, but it sounds like we'll find out soon.

HTC has a long history of making smartphones for other companies before striking out on its own with critically acclaimed devices, the newest of which include the HTC One and HTC One Mini.

It may be back in the sidekick saddle, as Amazon is reportedly working with HTC on the online retailer's first smartphone, according to the Financial Times' unnamed sources.

The two companies are said to be at an "advanced stage of development" on one of three devices being proposed.

At least one of the sources warned that the project has been postponed before and Amazon could end up shelving the device in the end.

This is the same cautionary language used when sources have discussed Amazon's rumored Firetube media streaming gadget that is expected to launch before the end of this year.

Not this year

Amazon smartphone rumors are at a two-year high following a report this month that it's planning two phones, one of which has four cameras for a 3D user interface.

The retailer said it has "no plans to offer a phone this year," according to a statement sent to the Financial Times.

Of course, that doesn't mean an Amazon phone made by HTC isn't being planned with a release date in 2014.

Open Handset Alliance violation?

HTC has designed and manufactured white-label smartphones for other companies, but Amazon's forked Android operating system present a unique dilemma.

HTC is bounded by the Open Handset Alliance guidelines, signed a total of 84 companies led by Google, that ensure Android remains open source and compatible across all devices.

If the Amazon phone with Fire OS were to run a forked version of Android like its Kindle Fire HDX does right now, it could spell trouble for HTC's role in the alliance.

We reached out to HTC for more clarification on this and its greater role regarding Amazon's smartphone plans. We will update this story when we receive a comment.

• Find out where you can get the HTC One Max

Pictures of the supposed Google Nexus 5 are popping up all over the place at the moment, and the latest set of snaps have winged their way onto the web from Russia.

The images appeared on the search giant's very own social network, Google+, courtesy of Anton Kunzentsov from Russia, although they're not actually his photographs.

It's unclear where our man Anton picked them up from, but one thing is for sure - the handset in question looks very similar to previous leaked images also claiming to be the Nexus 5.

More of the same

What these photos provide us with is a quick look round the handset, with the same rubberised back and camera layout as the new Nexus 7, while on the front there's clearly no buttons in sight and a relatively large display.

Rumours suggest the Nexus 5 will pack a 2.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, wireless charging, NFC and Google's latest software - Android 4.4 KitKat.

As to when we'll actually see the Nexus 5 for real, that's still a little up in the air. Some reports suggest sometime this week, while others point towards the end of the month for Google's announcement.

• Nexus 5 release date, news and rumors

Android KitKat will let users decide what app to use for sending and receiving text messages rather than automatically defaulting to the classic Android Messaging app.

Once KitKat lands on Android handsets, users will be able to choose a default SMS app for themselves from within system settings.

The upshot for devs is that they need to adjust their hidden SMS APIs, for which full instructions are given in the blog post itself.

Getting set

In the post, Android reps outline what devs need to do to ensure their SMS apps are ready for the KitKat release, whenever that may be.

Previously apps were able to handle text messages in this way, but now that task will be set to one default app in the settings.

While it doesn't contain any concrete information about when KitKat is likely to launch further than "later this year", the post does "encourage" devs to update apps "as soon as possible" which suggests that the Android 4.4 launch will be soon.

Indeed, we're expecting KitKat to be unveiled this week alongside a new Nexus 5 handset.

• What's that? You want to know everything there is to know about the new Nexus 5?

It looks like Samsung might be working on a smaller, much faster and much more efficient chip for the Samsung Galaxy S5, using its Exynos technology to bring out a chip to rival Apple's powerful A7 found at the heart of the iPhone 5S.

Samsung is said to be working on a 14nm (or 14 nanometre) chip for its new flagship, which would be half the size of the 28nm chip in the Samsung Galaxy S4, according to South Korean site DDaily, which is reporting that according to 'industry sources' Samsung is the tentatively-titled Exynos 6.

The smaller size should cut the power consumption of the chip by a large amount, and by using less power it also produces less heat, minimising the chance of the Samsung Galaxy S5 overheating.

Smaller chips have the transistors packed closer together, which means that they can work faster and more efficiently, using less power.

Most smartphones at the moment, including Samsung's, use 28nm chips and the next logical step down in size would be to 20nm, but Samsung seems to be skipping that altogether and jumping straight down to 14nm chips.

Out-doing Apple

This follows on from previous rumours that the Samsung Galaxy S5 might use a powerful 64-bit chip. The move to 64-bits holds advantages of its own, as it will be able to work with more memory at once, allowing for devices with more than 4GB of RAM.

It's also better able to multitask and can better tackle demanding apps and processes than a 32-bit chip, improving performance in the process.

If all this is true then it then the Exynos 6 should be enough to out-do Apple, which recently made waves with the move to a 64-bit chip in the iPhone 5S.

Samsung will not only be able to match Apple with a 64-bit chip of its own, but actually one-up the Cupertino company with a chip that's faster, cooler and smaller.

The move to 64-bit architecture also opens the floodgates for more powerful Android handsets with a theoretically almost unlimited amount of RAM in the future.

• Looking for more Samsung Galaxy S5 news? We've got all the rumours in one place.

While the new HTC One Max may be the talk of the town at the moment, the smartphone maker has also today announced that the super-fast but affordable HTC Desire 601 will be available exclusively from Vodafone.

You'll be able to pick up the Desire 601 with no monthly handset repayments on Vodafone's 24-month plans starting from $40 per month.

The Desire 601 will attract $5 handset repayments on the lowest 24-month $30 plan, while 12-month contract prices start from $68 total per month.

HTC boasts the phone as "blazing fast data speeds" with its Category 3 LTE, which can give you up to 100Mbps download speeds on Vodafone's 4G network.

Desire less specs

With the HTC One moniker the new premium brand, the Desire brand has been reallocated to the mid-range space, but with its sleek HTC design and mid-range price tag, it'll be an attractive buy touting some decent specs.

Powered by HTC Sense UI and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, at the higher-end, it has Cat 3 LTE connectivity as mentioned above, as well as premium in-house features in the form of HTC Zoe, BlinkFeed and BoomSound.

However, the 4.5-inch screen has a mid-range qHD display, as well as middling 1GB RAM and dual-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 processor.

Thankfully, though it only has 8GB on board, it does sport a microSD. A good thing as, though it only has a 5MP camera without the Ultrapixel sensor found on the One, it does shoot 1080p video – and coupled with Zoe, it'll take up quite a bit of space.

• Here's our review of the HTC Desire 601.