Jolla, the startup partly comprising of ex-Nokia employees, reckons it will have hardware ready next month.
While the phone won't be available to buy, the move will show that Jolla, formed by disgruntled Nokians who wanted to continue the work into MeeGo (the OS created by the Finns and Intel) through the Sailfish operating system, is serious about bringing out hardware based on the concept.
The handset, which will feature 'modern Scandinavian design', according to Jolla Chairman Antti Saarnio, will also be offered early in a Kickstarter-style agreement where users will get a level of personalisation based on their contribution.
Sailfish OS will take a huge number of cues from MeeGo, meaning a BB10-style swipe to move between windows (although it should be noted MeeGo got there first with this concept before being scrapped by Nokia).
Coming soon
There's no word on how the phone will look, but it appears this isn't a fly-by-night scheme set up to curry the affection of ex-Nokia-lovers who have had to sit and watch Symbian and MeeGo crumble.
According to DigiToday, the Finnish news site which ran the story, Jolla has enough cash to launch the first phones in Finland, and is seeking more funding to increase its rollout later in the year.
While it's hard to see the OS gaining that much traction in a world dominated by Android and iOS, the concepts that underpinned MeeGo impressed us greatly, with a similar-yet-superior feel to BB10 noted when we first played with the Nokia N9 (the design of which became the Nokia Lumia 800).
So here's hoping the brand can expand outside of Finland (that was totally a triple rhyme) and we can see a renaissance of another fallen OS.
HTC 606w - blue piping for you, blue piping for me
The HTC 606w may sound like a lightbulb, but it is in fact souped-up HTC First without the tedious burden of Facebook Home to contend with.
HTC tried to sneak the device through Chinese regulatory channels but it was spotted by Digi.Tech which managed to skim off some renders of the handset, showing off a natty blue piping around the bezel of an otherwise fairly uninspiring handset.
On to the HTC 606w's specs, and we're looking at an Ultrapixel camera on the back, 4.3-inch 720p display boasting 342ppi and a 1.2GHz processor to keep the whole thing chugging along.
Battery woe
Unfortunately, it's rocking a 1700mAh battery which may be a bit on the weak side for the mooted specs.
The HTC 606w is running Android 4.1.2 with the HTC Sense 5.0 overlay, and there's also 2GB of RAM and 16GB of device storage to play with.
No word on an official device name nor possible release date but we'll be keeping the heat on HTC til it makes the 606w all official.
It's not just high-end handsets being churned out over in Korea at the moment, with a new benchmark result apparently revealing a more budget-friendly phone in works over at Samsung in the form of the Galaxy Ace 3.
Looking to replace the Galaxy Ace 2 and the still wildly-popular-with-networks original Galaxy Ace, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 has reportedly turned up on GL Benchmarks with a handful of specs leaked in the process.
According to the results of the test, the Galaxy Ace 3 - or GT-S7272 if you prefer - will arrive packing a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 800 x 480 display and running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Smoking Aces
It's good to see the latest version on Android on a cheaper handset, as cut-price phones usually have to make do with older versions of Google's OS.
Round the back you'll apparently find a 5MP camera with 720p video recording capabilities, while under the hood you should be greeted with contactless NFC technology.
Samsung hasn't said anything about its future products, so we're just going on hearsay for the moment and we know that benchmark results can be forged - although it's probably pretty safe to say a Galaxy Ace 3 will arrive at some point.
A Facebook exec has confirmed that the social network is 'talking' to Apple about bringing Facebook Home to it's famously locked-down iOS.
That doesn't mean that the part-OS part-overzealous-app will make it to your iPhone or iPad any time soon though, with Adam Mosseri, Facebook's director of product, describing the talks as 'ongoing'.
"We've shown them what we've built and we're just in an ongoing conversation," he told the Bloomberg.
Facebook Studio Apartment With Shared Bathroom
Even if the talks prove fruitful, Mosseri isn't sure that what makes it to iPhone will look much like the Facebook Home the company launched last week - it could be more like Facebook Bedsit.
"It may or may not be Home. We could also just bring some of the design values to the iOS app. That might be how it ends up. Or we could build just the lock screen. Maybe then it's not called Home, it's called something else."
Glad we cleared that up.
His comments echo those of COO Sheryl Sandberg who told reporters, "We are going to continue to develop for both [Android and Apple]."
"It is true that Android is enabling us to provide a more immersive Facebook experience than we can on other operating systems. Home is based on the openness of Android. It allows users to customise in ways that Apple does not."
Given that Facebook Home for Android basically skims all the useful user data that can be used to target and sell advertising and Apple's traditional unwillingness to share any of the data or revenue love with other companies (take a bow, 30% app store cut), we can't see an all-encompassing Facebook skin making it to iOS.
Still, a 'lite' version could well be on the cards, particularly since Chat Heads have already begun infiltrating the iOS apps.
There was the Note. Then the Note 2. But has Samsung finally pushed things too far with the 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega, or is it the ultimate fusion of tablet and smartphone?
The Galaxy Mega might not have a price yet, but it's certainly not going to be jostling with the Galaxy S4 at her sharp end of the smartphone market. Packing a 1.7GHz dual core processor and 1.5GB of RAM, it's not slouch in the performance department, but it's a far cry from the power and force of the S4 or even last year's S3.
So who is it aimed at, this gargantuan effort at a smartphone? Samsung tells us that it's the 'perfect device of students', which means it dispenses with the need for a phone and a tablet. The subtext there is affordability, and there's no doubt the Galaxy Mega is going to be closer to the mid-range market.
That said, and perhaps it's an acceptance of the likes of the Galaxy Note 2, but that whopping screen didn't feel too bad in the hand at all. It's huge, that's for certain, and no matter what, you're going to feel stupid holding it to your ear.
But given we said the same thing about the Note 2 last year (and has since gone on to be one of the world's top selling phones) there's clearly an appetite for a phone that is great for the Internet and video with the ability to make calls too.
The Samsung Galaxy Mega does have a surprisingly clear and sharp screen for a phone / tablet that isn't full HD nor uses Samsung's proprietary Super AMOLED technology either, opting for an HD PLS LCD effort instead.
We were therefore expecting low colour reproduction and a slightly jagged experience, but even at the larger screen size we were really impressed when it came to video and Internet use, with everything appearing clear and sharp.
Holding the phone to do these things was less of a joy, as you can imagine - it wasn't too heavy in the hand when using with only a single palm, but try to do anything like send a text message and you have to do so using one hand to brace yourself before knocking out a missive.
The messaging system is much more accurate than found on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has a simply woeful keyboard. We can still see any user installing a new option ASAP, but what was on offer wasn't bad.
It's clear to see that the Galaxy Mega is a phone that's the first to feed off the design ethos of the Galaxy S4, with the more robust feel to the chassis and a more metallic rim around the edge.
Like so many Galaxy products, the Mega is as light as can be - you'll struggle to believe that something this large can weigh so little and still actually work. It's only got up to 16GB of onboard storage, but this can be supplemented using the microSD slot hidden under the flimsy polycarbonate cover.
Compared to a Samsung Galaxy S3, it's huge
There's also an impressive 3200mAh battery, which should power the massive screen for a full day and still leave you a good slug of juice should you forget to charge up during the night. We couldn't test the battery power due to the fact it was locked to a charger in our hands on time, but we've got high hopes for this one.
The Samsung Galaxy Mega comes with a similar feature to the Galaxy S4 in the shape of a high power touchscreen than allows you to use gloves with the device, and also gives you Air View. This function allows you to hover a finger over things like photo albums or calendar entries to see more of what's hidden beneath without having to actually open it.
Taking more features from the Samsung Galaxy S4, the camera mode has been upgraded to include drama shot (to let you put loads of frames into one still) and Eraser mode, sponsored by Schwarzenegger (WE JOKE, it's a film reference).
We tried the latter at the event, and we have to say it was really impressive - more so than on our early tests with the S4, which means Samsung is probably managing to perfect the technology.
There was one big problem during our experience, and that was with the overall running of the device. You'd have thought that a phone / tablet with a 1.7GHz processor and 1.5GB fo RAM could have handled anything you threw at it, but twice we had a forced reboot situation.
This was when we were trying to use the device for its more taxing purposes, such as multi-screen or Eraser shot, and was a bit of a worry.
You always allow for elements like this to occur when testing devices on a stand, as the software is never fully ready for proper review. However, perhaps it's an indication of where we've got to these days, but it was still surprising to see it happening on a device from Samsung, which is usually rock solid in this area.
However, like most brands, we'll give it the benefit of the doubt until the final review sample is made available.
Early verdict
Samsung has done something odd to the world - it's made the phone and tablet combination acceptable. We should have been almost disgusted at the size of this phone, but unlike the Asus FonePad it doesn't seem irrational to hold it in your hand.
It brings the sharpness of much higher-res screen and doesn't feel overly cumbersome in your hand, which is impressive.
We're a little worried by the lag that was present in our early tests, but given few Samsung phones show this in final software, we're sure it will be sorted.
The presence of the advanced camera modes is a boon, as is the improved power of the touchscreen to mimic its more powerful brother.
We can't really understand why Samsung hasn't made this a more powerful device - but it makes us hanker for what it's going to do with the Galaxy Note 3.
