Apple's old staples are selling well enough, but questions always swirl about what "one more thing" Cupertino has planned next.

One of the most recent reports about a possible area of interest for Apple is the mobile payments space, and CEO Tim Cook brushed on the topic during the company's earnings call today.

Cook, who refrained from levying the call's opening remarks as he normally does, replied to an investor question about mobile payments that it's an area "we've been intrigued with, and that was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID."

Though he said there's nothing to announce today, he noted plenty of commerce travels through Apple's devices and services. He said of mobile payments: "It's a big opportunity on the platform."

Apple into the future

As for future tech, executives on the earnings call played their cards very close to the vest.

Oppenheimer said in prepared remarks that Apple is investing heavily in R&D for future products and services, though he didn't elaborate. Corporate Controller Luca Maestri also teased that the company is investing "in areas that are not visible," adding the company is "very excited about them."

If you're getting a little ill over Apple's continued success quarter after quarter, we suggest you turn away from the rest of this story.

The company reported Q1 2014 results today (covering October 2013 - December 2013), and among its high notes was word Cupertino set an all-time quarterly iPhone sales record with 51 million units sold. That's up from 47.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

iPads also hit the all-time quarter record mark, striking upon 26 million compared to 22.9 million a year ago.

Macs also saw an upswing, selling 4.8 million compared to 4.1 million during the same quarter last year. Not bad for a 30-year-old piece of tech.

We'll be listening in on the company's earnings call and will flush this story out with more details as they become available. Will we hear anything about the iPhone 6, iPad Pro or iWatch? Stay tuned.

We pick up where our fellow gadget gumshoe left off.

Another clue has stumbled into the case of the red Nexus 5. Make that a whole mess of clues, a rarity in this crazy mixed-up world of smartphone sleuthing.

By way of @artyomstar, our peepers spy a legitimate-looking Nexus 5 box, identical to the one you'd find encasing the black or white version save for the red hue of the kit on the cover.

Our tipster went one further - upon opening the box, a scarlet Nexus 5 stared us straight in the face. At first glance the stamped "Nexus" is as hard to read as a fog-shrouded street sign, but a second look reveals the lettering right where it should be.

Are we any closer to finding this handset put up in the Play Store? That, unfortunately, is a mystery for another day.

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If the New Year has inspired you to get fighting fit, then you've hit the right page. Technology has the tools to help you get in the shape of your life but it's not easy to know which product is right for your goals.

We've enlisted the help of T3.com Editor-in-chief and ultra runner Kieran Alger to put together a four-part guide to help you uncover everything you need to go from couch slouch to marathon finisher.

Running a marathon is a bucket list favourite but training your body to be able to conquer the 26.2 miles is a really daunting prospect. From what kit to buy, to how many miles to run each week, marathon training takes time, dedication and, really importantly, knowledge.

You could shell out for a personal trainer or even join a running club but there's also a new way to turn yourself into an endurance runner – using your smartphone.

While it won't run the miles for you, use your mobile right and it can take the pain out of knowing how to get marathon-ready.

Whether you're brand new to running or you've got the odd half marathon under your belt, this four-part marathon training guide gives you everything you need to get yourself to the finishing line.

We'll show you the best smartphones for the job, which run-tracking apps to download and which phone-based training plans to follow. We'll also share the best motivational ebooks to read, where to go for tips on technique and how you can use your handset to run further and faster.

From start to finish

For those who are just starting out, the first part of the marathon fitness plan will help you build up to running for 30 minutes non-stop. Once you've achieved that, part two takes you through the essentials you'll need to complete the journey from couch to 5k.

Next we'll show how you can use your phone to keep your running fresh and exciting, as well as the things you can use to build on your base level of fitness, in preparation for your first 10k.

The final part is all about getting ready for the big test – achieving that dream of running your first full marathon. We'll show you how to get a training plan that matches your goals, how to eat like a long distance athlete and best of all, how to share your new-found physical excellence with all your friends, family and colleagues.

So you want to be a marathon runner? Step this way…

HTC might be on the verge of launching the refresh to its five star HTC One handset, but that doesn't mean it has forgotten its other customers (you know, those who can't afford £500) as it looks to take on the budget market with a new Desire model.

Suggestions that HTC is planning on launching a new budget model first surfaced last week, and today more details have emerged giving us a rather colourful taste of what is on offer.

Chinese site ePrice has been passed pictures apparently showing a new HTC handset in a variety of colours (red, orange, blue and yellow), leaving it to take to take on the incredible budget Moto G handset.

Cheap and cheerful?

­The new handset is expected to include a 5-inch 720p HD screen with an 8MP camera, leaving the UltraPixel technologies to remain on the high end HTC One range.

The upcoming Desire will apparently run Sense 5.5 over the top of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, leaving it lagging behind the KitKat toting Moto G.

The leak also suggests that a MediaTek octa-core processor and 1.5GB RAM will also come inside the upcoming budget handset, retailing at 2000 Yuan (around £200, $330, AU$380).

While we can't vouch for the authenticity of the shots - so take the report with a decent pinch of salt - we may be looking at an MWC 2014 launch for this handset.

• Does the HTC Desire 500 warrant a baby brother?

BlackBerry's woes are well documented, but the Canadian firm isn't giving up without a fight as news surfaces that it's planning to launch some new handsets very soon.

The news comes from Foxconn's CEO Terry Gou, whose company recently signed a deal with BlackBerry to design and produce a series of low-end handsets for emerging markets over the next five years.

BlackBerry is said to be eyeing up MWC 2014 in Barcelona as the platform to showcase its new wares, with Gou being quoted by Focus Taiwan saying: "We are working with them to design a new device, and we will showcase multiple devices at the trade show in Barcelona in February."

BlackBerry set to emerge

One of the rumoured entry-level handsets is apparently codenamed "Jakata", and will be targeted at countries such as Indonesia and Mexico.

BlackBerry is shifting its focus to a more business-orientated view, but insists it isn't giving up on the consumer side of things - and perhaps its new focus here is low-cost, low end devices.

It's not clear whether BlackBerry will aim to bring any of the rumoured handsets to the UK, or indeed how many phones it will actually reveal during MWC at the end of February.

• Here's what else you can expect at MWC 2014

The Galaxy Gear might not have been a triumph, but at least a number of Samsung bods have recognised that a rethink is needed for its next smartwatch.

Rumours of what the Galaxy Gear 2 may or may not feature have been floating about for months, and the latest we're hearing is that the watch will have a completely new design with a flexible display.

How that new design will actually look isn't made clear, but "an industry source" told ZDNet Korea that Samsung is changing up the parts that "looked dull or boring," which hopefully means cutting down that bezel for one thing.

Galaxy quest

The same source also said the Galaxy Gear 2 is likely to be launched in April or March in London. Samsung previously said that the Galaxy S5 would launch at this same time, joined by the new Galaxy Gear.

Interestingly, this new tipster also claims that the big unveiling is set to happen in London. Could this be where the S5 is also unveiled? It certainly makes sense for Samsung to bundle the two closely together.

Samsung is reportedly keeping a close eye on what Apple and LG are up to with their own smartwatch efforts. Here's hoping the Korean company has something more appealing by the time the iWatch (probably) rolls around.

We've heard a few things about the upcoming Nokia Lumia 1520 mini, including that it might be called the Nokia Lumia 1520V, or even the Lumia 930.

We're now able to put a potential face to those names, as well as reveal a little more about what the Lumia 1520V may pack inside its slender frame.

An image spotted on microblogging site Weibo MiLeaks claims to show the upcoming Nokia Lumia 1520V (the V stands for Viisi, the Finnish word for five). Interestingly, the picture shows the full three columns of live tiles that also adorn the Lumia 1520 phablet.

That 4.3-inch full HD screen which has been rumoured previously might actually be a 4.45-inch HD screen with a more realistic sounding 768 x 1280 screen, according to WMPoweruser who spotted the new specs on WPBar.

New specs sound sensible

Other leaked specs include a 2370mAh battery, giving it slightly more juice than the 2300mAh battery that is found in the upcoming Sony Xperia Z1 Compact - which seems more palatable than the 3000mAh option we've seen elsewhere.

According to twitter tipster @NextLeaks the Lumia 1520V will actually launch as the Nokia Lumia 930, presumably as an update to the Nokia Lumia 925.

Given that @NextLeaks has only posted six tweets to date, we are currently advising a far less healthy dose of salt, even if the Lumia 930 name seems a little more realistic.

Either way, we shouldn't be left waiting to long to find out who is right with the Lumia 1520 mini expected to launch alongside Windows Phone 8.1 in April.

We now know at least one product we'll definitely see for sure at MWC 2014: LG has announced that it will announce the LG G Pro 2 at the phones show in February.

Unfortunately we'll have to wait until the show kicks off to find out anything more concrete about the handset, which looks set to take the LG Optimus G Pro's place in LG's oversized phone line-up.

Go Pro

It may not be the eagerly awaited LG G3 (which is now pegged for a later 2014 release date), but the LG G Pro 2 will see the original Pro's get a spec-boost if some leaked information is anything to go by.

We're expecting a 1080p 6-inch screen (up from the original Pro's 5.2-inch affair) as well as a Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM and Android 4.4 KitKat.

Whether we'll see the handset launch in the US, UK or Australia is anyone's guess at this point, but given that the G Pro never made it beyond Korea's borders then we'd say possibly not.

• Find out what we made of the LG Optimus G Pro