Nintendo boss Saturo Iwata has admitted the company is considering "a new business structure," which may involve branching out into the mobile arena it has shunned for so long.

After the company revised its 2014 Wii U sales forecast from 9 million to an unspectacular 2.9 million, the CEO suggested that it may be time for a change.

With Wii U games sales new predicted to hit just 19 million units, rather than the previously estimated 38 million, Iwata seemed to indicate that change could be on the horizon.

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata told a news conference in Japan, while hinting the company is exploring the possibility of touchscreen handheld devices.

Studying...

Nintendo has long dismissed the possibility of launching versions of popular franchises like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong on smartphones and tablets, largely through fears of watering down its top earners.

Now, with the company expected to post an annual lost of 35bn yen ($335m / £205m), Nintendo may finally ready to relent and answer the clamour for Mario and Link on iPhone, judging by Iwata's forlorn comments

"Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone," he said.

Could sharing Mario with a wider audience put Nintendo back in the spotlight? Or would opening up it's famous franchises beyond Nintendo hardware be an admission that Nintendo's on the way to becoming the next Sega? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

• Mario on iPhone? Not on my watch, said Iwata back in June last year. Has his tune changed?

The LG G3 release date will arrive in May, says a new report.

The Korean site asiae.co.kr has reportedly heard from "industry sources" that the G3 will arrive in May, earlier in the year than its predecessor the LG G2, which dropped in September 2013.

This could offset other releases as well, such as the successor to the Optimus G Pro, which launched in April 2013.

So why would LG throw its whole schedule out of whack? Reportedly, to make sure the G3 isn't completely buried by Samsung's Galaxy S5.

G-unit

That said, the Galaxy S5 is rumored to be arriving in March, which would still place it months ahead of the G3. So who knows?

Meanwhile, contrary to what common sense might dictate, the Optimus G Pro 2 will apparently launch in February, ahead of the LG G3.

That's according to this same Korean industry source, at least.

Both the Optimus G Pro 2 and the LG G3 will sport 1440 x 2560 resolution screens, said the source. Further, the G3 will supposedly have a QHD display.

Other rumors have claimed the G2 successor will sport LG's new octa-core Odin processor, which could make it something of a behemoth.

For now we'll just have to wait and see, though.

• LG issued a battle cry as it promised its smartphone business isn't going anywhere

According to rumour, Microsoft will give up to $2.6 billion (£1.6 billion, AU$2.9 billion) to OEMs to support building Windows Phone devices. The head of communications at the company, however, is calling that number "complete fiction" in answer.

The rumour had been started by Eldar Murtazin, chief editor of Mobile Review. In a Tweet, he claimed that a few OEMs that were coming back to Windows Phone in 2014 would get wads of cash from Microsoft in exchange. Out of those, Samsung was supposedly taking the lion's share with more than $1 billion (£600 million, AU$1.1 billion) of the payment.

Frank Shaw, Microsoft's head of communications, has come out and called the numbers "complete fiction" in a tweet yesterday. He instead admitted that Microsoft does spend money on OEMs, but in co-promotions. He claims that they're covering OEM's R&D costs and helping them to switch to Microsoft's OS in order to launch new devices.

Behind the scenes

Despite this, there is certainly a strong incentive for Microsoft to pander to OEMs at the moment. Nokia is heading into the sunset, and its current dominance of the Windows Phone market will be transferred back to Microsoft.

A precedent was also set when Nokia received sums of money every quarter for their investment in the platform. Nokia is a premium partner but now that has been done it's not unreasonable to assume Microsoft would try to entice other companies.

The money doesn't have to be cash either. It's likely that this will include discounted or free licensing on the operating system, direct development support and other perks that Microsoft might be giving away.

Even though the company is denying it, there's a strong possibility that behind the scenes cash and promises could be being swapped between Microsoft and OEMs for the future of the Windows Phone.

• Microsoft 2014: What to expect

A recently spotted message has revealed that Google is working on a "Chromoting" remote desktop app for iOS.

Chromoting is essentially a remote desktop client that will allow users to control their computers from their Android and, it seems, their iOS devices.

The message popped up on Google's developer site for Chromium, the open-source browser that's at the heart of Google Chrome.

It appears to be from one developer to another, discussing the iOS and Android versions of the Chromoting app.

Self-Chromotion

The Chromoting app is related to the Chrome browser's own remote desktop and screen sharing features, which as TechCrunch points out graduated from beta in 2012.

There are plenty of similar services, like LogMeIn and TeamViewer, but Google's is free and works natively with Chrome.

But according to the developer post, the iOS and Android apps are in need of an aesthetic overhaul.

"As noted, the iOS version is very unpolished at this stage," developer Hannah S. wrote. Icons, toolbars and more apparently need to be re-designed and re-organized.

In addition the iOS version is reportedly further behind than the Android version, which will ship first, though no time frame is given.

TechRadar has asked Google to share any additional details about Chromoting, and we'll update this article if we hear anything useful.

• Here's 21 brilliant iOS 7 tips and tricks

Sprint could be getting ready to introduce Wi-Fi calling for two Samsung devices at launch.

According to a training manual obtained by Android Central, Wi-Fi calling and texting will first come to the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy Mega at an unspecified launch. This feature supposedly will be unlocked with a downloaded "maintenance update."

In addition to the two Samsung handsets, new devices running Android 4.2 and above will be able to cash in on Wi-Fi calling.

As the name suggests, Wi-Fi calling allows users to get off the Sprint Network and make VOIP calls and texts at no additional monthly charge. A useful feature when you're running low on minutes or in the basement of a building with no bars and a healthy Wi-Fi connection.

The training manual documents that users enable the feature by visiting http://sprint.com/manage on a compatible device. To turn it off, users can toggle the feature in the settings of "approved" Sprint Android devices.

Fine print

While that's good and all there are still restrictions. Wi-Fi calls will only be supported domestically within the continental United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Android users will also have to turn on their Location Services in order to ring in over the net. In one last line item, calls started over CDMA can't be switched over to the Wi-Fi channel or vice-versa.

Precious voice minutes

If Sprints Wi-Fi calling really happens, the yellow carrier will join the ranks of T-Mobile and Virgin Wireless.

Virgin is able to serve both Android and iOS handsets through its SmartCall App. Meanwhile, T-Mobile has had free Wi-Fi calling for Android devices since 2010.

Sprint has not released an exact timetable for when it's roll out Wi-Fi calling. But, it has a lot of catching up to do if it can't retroactively enable the feature on older devices.

• The HTC One Two could make it's appearance in March with two rear camera sensors

Apparently hoping to avoid the possibility of crude jokes being made by calling their next-generation handset the number Two, HTC is rumored to be prepping yet another variation of its flagship handset for early 2014.

Bloomberg today reported there could be a new HTC One on the way in the coming weeks which will retain the well-received exterior design but potentially offer some welcome component changes inside.

The most notable change is a screen said to measure "at least five inches," according to an unnamed source familiar with the Taiwanese manufacturer's plans.

Powered by a more recent flavor of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor, the 2014 HTC One will reportedly be slightly larger than the 4.7-inch display on the current One model, but smaller than the HTC One Max at 5.9 inches.

Wonder twins

One area HTC appears to be targeting for improvement aside from the display is the Ultrapixel camera, which is designed to take higher resolution images with a lower megapixel count.

Bloomberg's source claims HTC is planning to use twin sensors on the rear-facing camera, which "will provide better focus, depth of field and image quality" when it launches in late March.

Despite critical acclaim for last year's HTC One, the smartphone maker has floundered in the market against the might of South Korean rival Samsung, currently the 300-pound gorilla of Android handsets.

HTC may need more than just a refreshed One handset to stave off the competition, as the big-screen HTC One Max failed to make stem the tide of losses in the company's second quarter earnings.

• Is Apple's new Mac Pro right for you? Find out in our comprehensive review!

President Barack Obama has called for an overhaul to how the US National Security Agency collects and uses citizens' phone records and an end to eavesdropping on foreign heads of state.

In the second speech addressing the controversial NSA policies that have come to light from documents in the hands of Edward Snowden, Obama said Friday that he's "ordering a transition," one that will end "[the] bulk metadata program as it currently exists and establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata."

He maintained that the NSA's data collection program is an important tool in identifying and preventing terrorist threats. While he hasn't seen any cases of abuse in the agency's phone collection activities, Obama said he recognizes the potential for abuse.

So what will change?

Obama has asked US Attorney General Eric Holder and intelligence officials to hand in a plan by March 28 that outlines how phone record data will change from the hands of the government to a third-party agency.

Who that third-party record keeper will be has not yet been determined.

Starting now, the government will only investigate phone calls "that are two steps removed from a number associated with a terrorist organization instead of the three," the president said.

Also effective immediately, the NSA will need a court order to obtain phone records.

Holder has been asked to reform the use of national security letters, used as a subpoena to obtain business and other records, so that the gag order usually tacked on doesn't last indefinitely.

The president plans to consult Congress on appropriate boundaries for phone records collection, and has tasked the legislative branch with forming a panel of public advocates to represent privacy interests to the FISC.

Looking off shore

Obama also ordered a cease to the eavesdropping on foreign leaders and governments considered friends or allies. In October 2013, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Obama after information arose the US had tapped her private mobile phone.

Pending a significant national security reason, the US "will not monitor the communications of heads of state and government of our close friends and allies."

Foreign citizens were also granted more privacy protections against NSA surveillance.

The president's speech comes after months of revelations of how the NSA collects and keeps information, raising alarms from those within the US government, global governments, private citizens, the tech community and privacy advocates.

On January 16, new claims arose that the agency indiscriminately gathers up to 200,000,000 text messages daily. The UK's GCHQ reportedly has access to the texts.

While steps forward, Obama's NSA reforms are likely unsatisfying to the agency and government's harshest critics.

Some code squirreled away somewhere in the Android OS hints that a future version will come with souped up fitness tracking.

While KitKat already features pedometer tech for counting your steps, future versions perhaps beginning with Android 5.0 will allow the software to harness "fitness data from sensors on your Android device."

These could be built into future Android phones and tablets, but it's also likely that the API will play nicely with Android-based smartwatches and even Google Glass.

Get fit quick

A 'more info' pop up says the API should let you "view and edit your fitness tracking, health and activities data" - the fact that it allows both reading and writing of data means that it might store your vital stats on your Google account for access by other apps - you could potentially generate a fitness graph in Google Drive, for instance.

As it's an API, it means that app makers will be able to use more biometric data in their software - alongside the pedometer, they could monitor your heart rate for instance.

It's worth noting that this may not be code intended for Android itself though; it could also be part of a Google Play Services update.

• What do we know about Android 5.0 so far?

Know any Nokia fans? Noticed that they seem giddy, like their dreams are finally coming true? It's because the Finns could FINALLY be making an Android handset.

This is bad news.

The NokDroid project has been up and down more than a demented see saw. First, Nokia was developing an Android handset, fulfilling the liquid fantasy of geeks everywhere.

Then the project was off. How could Nokia even consider such a thing? It's (sort of) owned by MICROSOFT for Gawd's sake. And now, it looks like it's back on. I can't keep up with this.

I've never been the biggest fan of Windows Phone. Don't get me wrong. It's very nice. It has tiles. TILES. Who needs widgets? But I personally find it to have too many nuances.

On one side, there's Android, which will let you customise to the hilt. On the other, there's iOS, which will barely let you change more than the wallpaper.

Tell me I'm wrong

Logically, Windows Phone should fall into the gap in the middle. But for me, it doesn't work. Hell, that's me. And I know the vehement fans of said OS will tell me I'm wrong. Go for it.

But despite that opinion, I'm all for competition, so Windows Phone needs to be given a chance. It needs to develop more if it is to become a credible competitor to Apple and Google. And Nokia needs to concentrate its efforts there. Be a master of one trade, not a jack of them all.

How would Windows Phone feel if it had emotions? Like its husband is constantly looking at others to see if they'd be a better partner. That's how.

• Read our Windows Phone 8 review

Nokia is supposed to be the faithful hubby. The company looked like it was on its deathbed until boss Stephen Elop announced that he was flogging the family silver and taking WP as the provider's OS. Which looks like it's paid off, as the company doesn't appear to be on the brink of bankruptcy anymore (partly helped by the billions slung into the coffers by Microsoft).

Cool again

Nokia phones are actually cool devices that many want to own again. That's pretty good in terms of reinvention.

But this apparent renewed interest in just trying to keep another project on the boil seems to be eating away into what should be a 110% commitment to Windows and nothing else.

Just look at the screenshots. Android's beauty is that it can be skinned easily. It can look like anything you like. So what is Nokia doing? It's making an Android UI that looks like Windows! What's the point?! Do you want to confuse your buyers, Nokia? You're going the right way about it.

By calling it a 'project', it makes it sound all Google Labs. You know, fun. Inventive… cheeky even. But it's not, it's just giving the critics another reason to beat you when it comes to nothing.

You can't hope to become a key player here, Nokia. Samsung, HTC and Google themselves pretty much have Android sewn up. Sony and LG are on the periphery. How are you going to take them on when your dedication is really to Microsoft?

A far better strategy would have been to continue with MeeGo. Geeks worldwide sobbed to themselves when that bit the dust. The only MeeGo handset became a bit of a collector's item.

Going forward with a half hearted attempt makes you look weak. And you're not – you're the bastion of our phone world. Don't go changing!

Panasonic will apparently re-enter the smartphone market for a second time at MWC 2014 as fresh reports suggest the firm is working on a new, rugged handset.

Remember the Panasonic Eluga? Launched at MWC 2012 as Panasonic's return to the mobile game the waterproof phone sunk without a trace, resulting in the firm pulling out of the smartphone market completely in 2013.

According to Japanese site Asahi it won't be gone for long, as reports now point towards a shock proof handset being readied for the Barcelona show at the end of February.

When the going gets tough

There's not a huge amount of detail on the mystery Panasonic smartphone, but the unnamed sources do reveal that it will sport a 5-inch screen.

Apparently Panasonic is targeting users such as construction site workers for its next handset, suggesting that this may not be a particularly mainstream device.

TechRadar will be out in force at MWC 2014 to bring you all the latest from the show, including any possible return to form from Panasonic.

• Find out what else you can expect from MWC this year

The ZTE Blade Q Mini has been officially launched in the UK, exclusively on Virgin Media, as the Chinese brand looks to snaffle the first time smartphone user market.

Setting you back just £59.99, the Blade Q Mini is one of the most affordable smartphones on the market, and while the specs won't blow you away, they certainly don't look too shoddy for the price.

The Blade Q Mini sports a 4-inch 480 x 800 display, 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, 5MP rear camera and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

All good on paper

On paper at least the Blade Q Mini is going toe-to-toe with handsets more than double its price - with the likes of the Sony Xperia M and HTC Desire 500 for company.

You also get a 1500mAh battery, microSD slot, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and a FM radio in the 125.5 x 63.9 x 9mm chassis.

As well as Virgin Media, the ZTE Blade Q Mini is also available in Sainsbury's and Argos from today.

Everything sounds promising then for the Blade Q Mini but some of the previous ZTE handsets we've used have been let down by a poor user experience, so keep an eye out for our Blade Q Mini review to see how this one fares.

• Check out the best cheap phones around