For example, this follow-up to last year's HTC One is supposed to boast a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, according to a brochure obtained by GSM Arena.
That's a step up from the previously rumored Snapdragon 800 chip that was thought to be powering the device and can be found in the current LG G2 and Google Nexus 5 smartphones.
Also, beneath its expected 1080p 5-inch display, the All New HTC One has been tipped to be packing a 2,600 mAh capacity battery.
Both phones use a Snapdragon 801 system on a chip from Qualcomm, while the new HTC One's 2,600 mAh battery life is close to its rivals.
The Galaxy S5 includes a removable 2,800 mAh li-ion battery capacity, while the crams in a non-removeable 3,200 mAh battery. The pros and cons are pretty obvious between the two.
It's unknown whether or not the All New HTC is destined to have a removable battery, but that wasn't the case for its predecessor when it launched last year.
The final interesting detail from the brochure indicates that the HTC One for 2014 will include a nano SIM card and slot vs the typical micro SIM configuration.
The maker of axed smash hit mobile game Flappy Bird has hinted the addictive title could one day return to the App Store, following the self-imposed exile.
At the time, Nyguyan claimed to "hate" the game that had "ruined his simple life," but in an extensive interview with Rolling Stone, he admitted to pondering its eventual return to the nest.
"I'm considering it," he told the magazine, before adding that any return would come with a "warning [to] take a break!"
Addictive-yet-infuriating
Since Flappy Bird went into hibernation, iOS devices with the game installed have appeared on eBay for thousands and many clones have emerged seeking to replicate the addictive-yet-infuriating experience.
Those fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to still possess the game are still generating massive wads of cash for the Vietnamese developer who was reportedly bringing tens of thousands in ad revenue during the game's peak.
As a result, the Nyguyan has quit his day job to focus on full time developing. He's got an untitled cowboy shooter, a vertical flying game called Kitty Jetpack and an "action chess game" called Checkonaught coming this month.
All of the games will feature those 8-bit inspired graphics combined with extreme levels of difficulty, according to the interview. Great! There goes another sheet of Gorilla Glass!
Don't make do with Google Hangout! Try these apps instead
It's all very exciting having the latest version of Android install itself on your mobile, but what happens when it makes changes you don't actually like?
That's the situation owners of phones like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 found themselves in recently, as Google's exciting new Android 4.4 KitKat release arrived – and forced upgraders to use Google's own Hangouts app as the default SMS app.
Aside from no one really liking being told what software they have to use, the change was also a bit unsettling. The SMS tool is one of the most basic, reliable and unchanged features of any phone, with even the most backward of tech users usually able to work out how to send a simple text message.
But in Hangouts? Even experienced smartphone users struggled to work out how to send a simple text. Not only that, the term 'hangout' is a dreary, predictable piece of brainstorming nonsense.
So if you fancy rebelling against Google's forced use of the Hangouts app and going your own way, here are five alternative SMS apps to install and bring texting back to basics on Android.
1. Hello SMS
Plenty of customisation options await in this Android SMS app, with Hello SMS letting users choose if they want a standard notification or the entire screen to light up when messages arrive. Plus there's a night mode layout option with a dark background to supposedly save your eyes and battery when texting late.
The design is pretty jazzy, with a list of SMS threads down the left, plus a wider layout when viewing your texts in landscape mode.
Replies are threaded, albeit in a subtle, bolded highlight way, and it's a fast, simple app to open and use. A long-press on the message icon lets you delete an entire conversation, while the attachment option is a swish combined gallery and camera app, splitting the screen between existing shots and a viewfinder for capturing and attaching live shots.
Handcent's been around for a long time on Android, and it shows. The design's not particularly thrilling, offering a white and blue colour scheme that looks like it's been ported from iPhone.
Still, beneath the clunky layout there are absolutely stacks of features in Handcent, with this texting app letting users add doodles to messages as image files, attach screen captures of the phone's display, spellcheck messages before sending and, if you have a clear non-regional accent, input text via Google's speech-to-text tools.
The sending of messages can even be scheduled, if you need to establish a watertight alibi. It's a proper hardcore texting app for people who use their 3,000 SMS allowance each month.
EvolveSMS goes all-out on design, with a stylish layout that incorporates a swish landscape option, multiple font and text size options, Emojis and more.
A nice pop-up reply box makes responding simple, plus there's a pattern lock and the ability to set some conversations to private while leaving others unrestricted, and a choice of Home screen widgets.
You can also snooze incoming text message notifications for a set period of time, in the unlikely event you've got something better to do than look at your portable telephone.
And as nice as it looks, the appearance can further be amended by installing themes and other customisation packs.
Textra bravely claims it's a "beautiful" texting app, and, if you like Android's old grey, boxy layout, it probably is.
To make it less pretty there's a custom Textra Emoji plugin that can be downloaded for free, if you like expressing yourself via silly emoticons, plus there's a built-in audio recording tool, for sending people clips of you speaking when typing's too much of a chore.
In terms of customisation, there's much to play with. It supports pop-up message notifications, the changing of the notification LED colour (if your phone supports it), with users also able to customise the pulsing of the notification vibration – for the ultimate in stealth text alerts.
TextSecure has a bigger selling point than the rest: security.
On a basic level it restricts Android from taking screengrabs of messages, plus, if you demand more control and reassurance that the wife/government isn't reading everything you say, there's the option of locking the app down with a passphrase. And, for yet more protection, conversations between two users can be kept private with end to end encryption.
In terms of customisation, TextSecure delivers some fun consumer toys, with SMS delivery report tools, LED colour and blink pattern toggles for at-a-glance notifications, enter key modification and more.
Apparently being able to use a fingerprint, password, PIN, face or pattern to unlock a smartphone isn't enough as Samsung has now patented a new method.
The patent explains that users will be able to wake up or unlock a phone when the screen is off by drawing a shape with at least one intersection in it.
If that sounds familiar it's because LG has just launched a new unlocking method of its own called Knock Code, which again works with the screen off, but rather than creating a shape you tap out a series of knocks.
Muscle memory
According to Samsung's patent it doesn't matter what size, shape or orientation the pattern has, so it should be easy to draw.
A new way to unlock? (Credit: USPTO)
All that matters is that it has at least one intersection and by saving multiple patterns with different numbers of intersections users would be able to jump straight to specific apps or phone functions by entering a different pattern.
So for example one intersection might just unlock the phone, while two intersections would launch the camera and three would take you straight to the web browser.
At the moment this is just a patent, so it's anyone's guess if and when it will actually be implemented into the Galaxy S5 or any future Samsung phones, but on paper it makes a lot of sense, even if it is suspiciously close to LG's idea.
Good news for Samsung fans - your shiny device is about to get better with a chocolatey dose of Android 4.4.2.
The update is rolling out today for unlocked versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3, while if you're on Three you may also be getting the update soon, as forum members on Android Central who are on the Three network have reported getting it on their Galaxy Note 3s.
Incoming Android
Some users already have the update while others are still waiting, so keep an eye on your phone today if you don't have it yet.
There's no news on when other networks will roll out KitKat, but hopefully they'll soon follow.
The update is an OTA file, with sizes ranging from 300MB to 400MB, and it brings the KitKat features you'd expect, like lock screen album art and support for native cloud printing, along with some minor visual changes such as white notification bar icons.
The Galaxy S4 is old news. Check out our first thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S5.
If Samsung's working on the Galaxy S5 Neo it's certainly stayed quiet about it so far, but now we've got some evidence that it could be on the way.
A phone with the model number SM-G800F has appeared on Indian import site Zauba and while that letter-number combo doesn't ring any bells, the price difference between it and the Samsung Galaxy S5 is similar to the difference between the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Note 3 Neo, suggesting that the mystery handset could be the Galaxy S5 Neo.
That's hardly a confirmation, but we wouldn't be surprised if Samsung is working on such a handset and just days ago the same logic was used on the same site to spot what might be the Galaxy S5 mini.
Slim hope
Even if this is the Galaxy S5 Neo it might not emerge for a while. The Zauba listing claims that it's being shipped for R & D purposes, so it may not be a finished product yet.
Then there's the fact that the Galaxy Note 3 Neo never actually made it to the UK, so here's hoping the S5 Neo, if that's what this is, does.
Whatever it turns out to be, the price difference between it and the Samsung Galaxy S5 is very small, so we should be looking at quite a powerful device if and when it ever sees the light of day.
Looking for a mid-range Galaxy and just can't wait? Check out the Galaxy S4 mini.
