Motorola. A brand I thought had started an amazing comeback. The Moto G? A piece of cut-price brilliance. But with the launch of the Moto X, it's undone all that good work.

Late to arrive? A price tag and spec sheet which makes it more expensive than the excellent Nexus 5, yet less powerful? I'm left scratching my head as to why Google has allowed this to happen.

Motorola says that UK-dwellers have been eagerly anticipating the potential arrival of the Moto X on our shores - and yes, back in August last year even I was excited about the possibility of it turning up here - but that was six months ago.

The fact of the matter is the Moto X's time in the sun has long since passed, and that initial excitement and hype has been lost - along with its biggest selling point: customisable handsets.

That's right, the Moto Maker service which lets Americans customise their Moto X any which way with various colours, finishes and engravings has not made the transition over the Atlantic.

So with that key USP unavailable, what's left to shout about on the UK variant of the Moto X? The answer is... not a lot.

During my briefing at the Moto X launch I was shown how I could quickly open the camera app by taking the phone out of my pocket and then twisting it twice in my hand.

The action did work every time, but it's nothing more than a novelty. Almost every smartphone these days has a shortcut to the camera app on the lockscreen, which takes perhaps an extra second or so to load versus the X. That's hardly a deal breaker.

If you want a quick launching camera, put a hardware button on the side. It's simple, recognisable and useful.

Touchless control meanwhile lets you say "OK Google Now" to wake up your phone, and then bark voice commands at it. Once again it works, but these aren't features worth inflating the price tag above the Nexus 5.

Active Display? A potentially handy notification shows a pulsating icon of the type of communication you've just received without waking the whole screen. But again, not going to blow you away, and not a good reason to part with that extra cash.

Motorola has a good thing with the Moto G and it now risks overshadowing what is the best budget smartphone on the market with the overpriced, averagely-featured and late-to-the-party Moto X.

Want my advice Motorola? Ditch the X, concentrate on the G and launch a high-end flagship later this year. You could even talk to Google about a certain Nexus device.

Just a thought.

While there has been some suggestions that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would be launched at MWC 2014 in February, two of the latest rumours dispute that.

The first comes from Italian journalist Flavio, who tweeted that a 'reliable source' had confirmed to him that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would be launched at an event in London in mid March.

This would mirror the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S3 which also launched in the Capital, although the Galaxy S4's launch venue of New York could be on the cards instead.

London or New York?

ZDnet Korea cites a 'senior Samsung official' as saying that the main purpose of MWC is a business meeting and that the timing is wrong for the launch of the Galaxy S5, and rather than a London launch the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be unveiled in New York in March.

We were always sceptical that the Galaxy S5 would launch at MWC, so this news is somewhat unsurprising. A March launch does mean a slightly longer wait for the handset though, and kills rumours pointing towards an early Feb reveal.

As for whether it will be unveiled in New York or London (or both) we'll hopefully know soon.

• Looking for more of the latest on the Samsung Galaxy S5? We've got you covered.

An insider claims to have the inside knowledge on the Samsung Galaxy S5, outing a whole bunch of information about the upcoming flagship.

These details include the fact that the handset will come in two different flavours - the much-rumoured metal and conventional plastic.

The insider for SamMobile went on to say that the metal version will cost roughly 800 Euros (about £667, $1092, AU$1210) and the plastic version will cost 650 Euros (about £542, $888, AU$983).

So even the plastic version won't be cheap, however the same source claimed that the S5 will have a 2560 x 1440 AMOLED display, a 16 megapixel camera, Android 4.4 and either an Exynos 6 or Snapdragon 805 processor, so you're certainly getting a powerful phone for your money.

Power up

The same source also revealed that a Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini and Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom are both in development too. Both handsets will apparently include Super AMOLED screens and Android 4.4, while the S5 Zoom will have a 4.8 inch qHD display, but that's all we know so far.

The source was unable to confirm anything else about the flagship S5, but SamMobile suggests that it will probably have a 5.25 inch screen and earlier rumours point to a 64-bit 2.5 GHz quad-core processor and either 3 or 4GB of RAM.

At the same time, a new rumour, this time from PhoneArena, suggests that the Galaxy S5 might have a new type of Li-ion battery which can store 20% more energy in the same space.

The battery is thought to be 2900 mAh (up from 2600 mAh in the Samsung Galaxy S4) and will apparently be fully chargeable in under two hours.

• There are still things we don't know about the Galaxy S5, like whether it will have an eye scanner.

MWC 2014 may be just around the corner, but Sony is too eager to wait that long with the announcement of two new handsets – the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra the Xperia E1.

The T2 Ultra is aiming itself at emerging markets, with no confirmed UK, US or Australia release date just yet.

But that doesn't mean it's lacking in power, by any means. Arriving in an Xperia Z-like style, the T2 Ultra's 6-inch 720p display eats into the bezel, coming in within 2.5mm of the phone's edge.

Powering the phone is a 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and you'll find a 13MP camera sat on the back and 1.1MP snapper stuck to the front.

Despite its Z-ish looks, the T2 Ultra doesn't share its water resistance. But as a phone for the emerging markets, it's not shoddy at all.

Speaking of which, the phone also comes in the T2 Ultra Dual form, which (as you might have guessed) adds the option of dual SIM.

Pump up the volume

Getting even more budget is the Xperia E1, which Sony is aiming at the music lovers with its 100db speaker.

Sony's also upped the Xperia E's 3.2-inch screen to 4 inches, with a 480 x 800 resolution. You'll also get a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage.

Again, this will be primarily aimed at emerging markets. Sony told us it had nothing to announce on release dates outside of those, but we expect we might hear more of the specfics at MWC.

• What do we make of the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact?

Motorola has confirmed the Moto X handset will finally make its way across the pond, with an official UK release date set for February 1.

Ahead of Tuesday's media event, during which Motorola was widely expected to unveil the device for a UK audience, the Google-owned company said it will offer the device for £380 SIM free from multiple retailers.

The 4.7-inch 720p handset, which packs Motorola's own 'X8 Mobile Computing System' and the stock version of Android, will also be available on contract, starting at £25 on the O2 network, while Phones 4U has dibs on the white device.

Judging from Moto's media release it appears that the 'Moto Maker' customisation options which helped to make the handset an attractive proposition for stateside buyers won't be available in the UK.

What up, G?

The Moto X, which will join its highly-rated cheap-as-chips sibling the Moto G on the UK market, does arrive in the UK packing the voice activated Google Now software.

Motorola's camera software will also bring an innovative shooting mode which can be enabled simply by twisting the wrist twice and tapping anywhere on the screen and could also ensnare smartphone fans.

The camera, in case you're wondering, is equipped with a 10 megapixel sensor and Motorola's 'Clear Pixel' technology, but before you get too excited, it was described as "the most inconsistent snapper on a flagship phone," in a TechRadar review last summer.

All day battery life and a "water repellant" Gorilla Glass display are also some of the hefty promises made by Motorola, but at more than double the asking price is the Moto X really a better option than the Moto G? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

• Opinion: How the Moto G will revolutionise the smartphone market