Having apparently squeezed every drop of potential sales out of its seven-inch tablets, a rumor straight from Google's supply chain in Taiwan claims the 2014 model will attempt to woo consumers with a slightly larger screen.

DigiTimes reported Friday that Google and Asustek Computer are eyeing an 8-inch display for the third-generation Nexus tablet, which could potentially arrive in late April.

Although the partnership has by all accounts produced two critically acclaimed Android tablets using the seven-inch screen size, the report claims last year's second-generation Nexus 7 sold fewer than three million units by the end of 2013.

Those so-so sales figures are being blamed on "intense price competition" in the seven-inch tablet market, which is typically more price-sensitive than 10-inch models such as Apple's latest iPad Air.

8 is great

According to unnamed sources in Google and Asustek's supply chain, an eight-inch version of the Nexus 7 has the potential to offer a competitive edge for the third-generation tablet.

The report also cites five- and six-inch "phablet" style smartphones as encroaching on the Nexus 7's market share as consumers seek handsets large enough to also offer some of the benefits of a dedicated tablet.

It's unclear whether Google plans to confuse its branding by retaining the Nexus 7 name or introduce the new hardware under something more obvious, such as Nexus 8.

One thing apparently won't be changing: Google and Asustek will remain partners for this year's model, despite recent speculation to the contrary.

• Speaking of phablets, check out our review of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3!

Let us play devil's advocate for a minute: there's a chance the Galaxy S5 will be the biggest anticlimax since the final episode of Lost.

News that Samsung might be planning to unveil its latest flagship phone amidst the rabble of MWC rather than hosting its usual standalone event has raised a few eyebrows. Is the company trying hide the S5 in the crowd to lessen the blow of an underwhelming device?

It's certainly a hot topic here at TechRadar HQ, no more so than for smartphone know-it-alls Gareth Beavis and John McCann.

This week's Phone Show also sees our experts discuss the Nokia X/ Normandy Android phone, the future of Motorola, as well as questioning whether it's the end of the line for Google Nexus.

Work can wait (as long as you promise to do it later), so hit that play button and enjoy:

Apple's no fan of bitcoin, it seems, with Cupertino having just blocked the final bitcoin wallet app from the App Store.

Apple's taken down a number of bitcoin wallet apps but the final one to go, Blockchain, has caused a fair amount of backlash from the cryptocurrency community.

Apple gave no notice that it was going to remove the app from the iOS App Store and Mac App store, despite the fact it's been around for over two years.

One Reddit user even promised to give away a Nexus 5 to the first five people to smash their iPhone. Sure enough, people got smashing.

Smashy smashy

"The only thing that has changed is that bitcoin has become competitive to Apple's own payment system," said a response from Blockchain on the matter.

Meanwhile Android still has a number of bitcoin wallet apps available, so Google's still in the good books of cryptocurrency fans.

Apple better hurry up with those sapphire screens before the iPhone smashers get too carried away. Or just reinstate the apps.

• What's all this bitcoin stuff about anyway?

Imagine if you were followed around all day by a little man who kept asking you for money.

Not with menaces, just a wee fellow who would occasionally stick his head around the door and rattle a collection tin at you. Sometimes he might whisper a brief reminder about your responsibilities and that he could help. Really, he could make them all go away... for a price.

Well, thanks to the wonders of modern smartphone technology this entertaining scenario can be yours.

All you have to do is download EA's new free-to-play game, Dungeon Keeper and you too can experience a daily shakedown for loose change in the name of retro gaming 'fun'.

Everybody's free

Dungeon Keeper, you see, is a Free-to-Play game. In the wacky, topsy-turvy world of gaming, this means that it will cost you money and you can't really play it otherwise. Free-to-Play (F2P hereafter, I'm getting annoyed even typing it) is the business model that is killing gaming. Not for games publishers, mind. Just for players.

When you download an F2P game you are usually presented with a cut-down or limited version of a game that you can enhance by making in-app purchases.

Sometimes these microtransactions just make the game a bit easier (an early example being the level-beating Mighty Eagle from Angry Birds) or more aesthetically pleasing (you might buy a new outfit for a character, say). Increasingly, however, developers are making in-app purchases the only way to ensure that the game is playable.

The original Dungeon Keeper was a PC strategy game that put you in the role of a stereotypical Dark Lord who had to stock His dungeon full of monsters and traps to repel any heroes who might come a-callin'.

The mobile remake takes that basic template and tries to 'update' it with the same kind of F2P mechanic found in games like Clash Of Clans and Candy Crush - a series of timers that slow gameplay down unless you spend an in-game currency to speed things up again.

These in-game currencies (Gems, in the case of Dungeon Keeper) can only be found in short supply in the game proper, meaning you have to top them up with actual, real-life currency to avoid frustration.

What can be an annoyance in some games has here been turned up to eleven, making Dungeon Keeper less of a game and more a sort of siphon you can attach to the side of your wallet in return for its measly offerings of mobile entertainment.

Advanced dungeon keeping

To build a world-class Dungeon there are certain things that you need to do. You have to dig out spaces to fit special rooms like a Hatchery (to breed chickens, your minion's favourite food) or a Library that you can use to research spells with which to confound your enemies.

Helpfully, there are several open areas already visible on the game map that you could use for this, but you still have to dig out corridors through the earth and rock in order to reach them. The problem with this is that almost every action in the game has a timer attached. Summon a demonic helper or a heavily armed Troll to defend your gates and you must wait a short while - a few seconds perhaps, or a few minutes - for it to arrive. You can pay out a gem or two to avoid the wait, though. And you do because, well, who wants to wait?

Digging tunnels takes longer depending on the kind of rock your Imp helpers are chipping away at. Just a short while after I began playing properly (having already been charged a fair few gems during the tutorial) I started to dig my way towards a suitable room for a Hatchery when I noticed that the timer for one of the blocks read '1d'. Not one old Penny, one actual day of real-time play. Or I could just pay a few hundred gems to get things moving..

Going on the latest evidence, it looks very much like Apple is on course to put sapphire-crystal displays in its future iPhones, including, quite possibly, the iPhone 6.

The gang over at 9to5Mac uncovered evidence that Apple placed a big order for furnaces and chambers designed for building sapphire displays.

According to the report, Apple will have enough machines to build between 103 million and 106 million displays every year, with more machines said to be on their way that would push that number up to 200 million.

Apple's not getting smashed

This certainly isn't the first we've heard about Apple's possible plans to go big on the tougher material on its next iPhone, and the TouchID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S already uses laser-cut sapphire crystal.

By using a sapphire material, Apple's screens could become highly scratch-resistant and a lot less likely to break from any unfortunate drops.

We could also see sapphire used on the iPad Air 2, of course. in the meantime, here's a video to show just how touch a sapphire screen could be.

• Everything else you need to know about the iPhone 6