Now that WhatsApp has gone some way to give traditional SMS messaging a good kicking, it might now be setting its sights on a BBM-Voice-rivaling voice chat function.

The guys over at 9to5Mac have posted a leaked email said to be sent from WhatsApp to a Hong Kong developer, requesting that the developer to translate some Chinese strings that include a "Push-to-talk button".

Then, to throw more fuel on the speculation fire, an email tip of what is allegedly the new interface – showing the button for voice chat – also surfaced.

Of course, this could actually all be referring to some form of dictation function, not an actual push-to-talk feature. But we wouldn't be too surprised to see WhatsApp introduce voice functionality into its app soon.

We've asked WhatsApp for a comment, and will update if we hear more.

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Look out for the Primrose Hill set rocking a 2G iPhone after June 11, as the first Apple handset is set to be classified 'vintage' as of that date.

At least, that's the case in the US according to this leaked internal Apple document - in the rest of the world, the 2G phone simply becomes obsolete.

What that means is that Apple Stores will stop acknowledging the handset so if there are any issues with your ageing iPhone, you should get them sorted out ahead of the June 11 cut-off.

One more thing...

Also reaching obsolescence on June 11 are the 2005 Mac Mini, 2007 iMacs, the AirPort Express Base Station and a handful of MacBooks.

Apple will stop offering repairs or parts for these products so any post-June 11 issues will have to be dealt with by an unofficial repair outlet.

If you're still using an original 2G iPhone, we salute you. Tell us, how is that going?

Apple and Samsung will be off to court once again come November 12 as the tussle over the level of damages the Korean firm is due to pay the Cupertino-based company continues.

Last summer saw a long, drawn out legal battle between the two manufacturing giants, with Apple claiming a number of Samsung smartphones had infringed on a variety of its patents.

Samsung was initially ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billon (around £652 million) in damages, but that was reduced by $450.5 million in March this year - and it's the latter of the figures which is up for debate in November.

My dad is bigger than your dad

Obviously Samsung isn't too happy about having to pay Apple anything and this isn't the only topic the firms have clashed on, with a seemingly never-ending list of law suits and allegations between the two.

The trial in November will focus on 13 Samsung products and the judge in charge of the case, Lucy Koh said: "This is going to be Groundhog's Day, you're going to be reliving July of 2012" - oh boy, sounds thrilling. We can't wait...

So it looks like we're in for another gargantuan clash of the tech titans in the run up to Christmas, let's just hope Santa doesn't strike them off his list.

It's a title which changes hands every few months and the next handset in line to be crowned the "world's thinnest smartphone" could well be the Huawei P6-UO6.

The Huawei P6 hasn't been officially announced yet but apparently it's already appeared at China's equivalent of the FCC, revealing specs and a couple of pictures.

While specs such as a 4.7-inch HD display, 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, Android Jelly Bean and 5MP camera won't exactly set the heart racing, it's the dimensions of the P6 which pique our interest.

Wafer thin

According to the leaked details the handset - which could arrive on the market as the Huawei Ascend P6 - measures 132.6 x 65.5 x 6.18mm.

At 6.18mm in depth it would make the P6 the thinnest smartphone around, with the iPhone 5 looking porky in comparison at 7.6mm and the current leader, the Alcatel Idol Ultra, comfortably beaten at 6.45mm.

Huawei did hold the thinnest phone title for a while after it launched the Huawei Ascend P1S at MWC 2012, which came in at 6.7mm.

We've contacted Huawei to find out if the P6 does indeed exist, or if this is just a fabricated rumour. We'll update this article once we hear back.

More than a third of consumers reckon they are likely to buy more items by phone when they begin using 4G technology, according to a new survey.

The eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) survey of 2,000 people, carried out in April by eDigitalResearch and IMRG, the online retail industry association, found that 39% of smartphone owners already use them for shopping, and that 34% are 'likely' or 'very likely' to do more – even though just 14% of devices have a 4G capability.

This is being encouraged by early experiences with 4G, the new generation of wireless standards being phased in across the UK. Of the respondents who had it on their phones, 43% said it was 'considerably faster' in browsing the internet, and 39% said it was 'faster'.

Derek Eccleston, Commercial Director at eDigitalResearch, said: "The introduction of 4G technology looks set to have a considerable impact on retail markets. With faster internet speeds and a better all-round browsing experience, more and more shoppers are likely to turn to their 4G enabled device to help them through their multichannel purchase journey."