Back in May, it was reported the European commission was looking into alleged anti-competitive practices Apple may have engaged in to push the iPhone.

At the time, a series of questionnaires were sent to retailers asking whether or not Apple convinced them to participate in such behavior, and included questions about purchase agreements.

Now, a little over a month later, French anti-trust group Autorite de la Concurrence is digging deeper into Apple's potentially harmful practices.

According to French paper Les Echos, the authorities searched numerous Apple offices, wholesalers, and retailers in an effort to uncover the truth behind possible anti-trust violations.

Nappletism

The whole issue was raised when EBizcuss, an Apple retailer in France, went bankrupt last year, prompting the company to file a suit against Apple with claims of "abuse of economic dependence" and "unfair competition."

EBizcuss' issue with the Cupertino company stemmed from a perceived favoritism for its own proprietary Apple stores, which left secondary retailers allegedly without product or scrambling to offer competitive pricing.

Whether or not the French authorities will find any conclusive evidence Apple's own stores were the first to get products remains to be seen, but the accusations are clearly being taken very seriously.

As if Apple wasn't drawing enough unwanted attention over the anti-trust issue, the iPhone maker is also now drawing the ire of the U.K.'s tax collectors, as it somehow managed to avoid paying any taxes last year whatsoever.

iLoopholes

Despite earning £68 million (US$103.6, AU$112.1) during the last fiscal year, the Financial Times reported Apple paid a grand total of zero in taxes in the U.K.

Just for some comparison, Apple paid out £11.4 million (US$17.3, AU$18.8) in taxes for the 2011 fiscal year.

In order to avoid dropping so much wasted money on taxation, Apple reportedly granted millions in stock awards to its employees, all of which was 100 percent tax deductible.

Apple is already under scrutiny for its practice of funneling 80 percent of its international income into an Ireland-based subsidiary, where the tax rate is a mere .05 percent.

While not illegal by any stretch, the lengths to which major corporations like Apple will go to save a few million a year is quite impressive.

That said, it likely won't earn any favors should more of these anti-competitive complaints come to light, or should any of the accusations be found to be true.

• More budget iPhone rumors abound as a possible new plastic casing leaked online.

A photo of what just might be the HTC One Verizon emerged from the bowels of the internet today.

The photo's mysterious appearance, at the start of July, could be a sign that the long-awaited Verizon version of HTC's beloved flagship really will arrive this summer as Verizon promised.

Infamous leaker @evleaks sent the image above skittering across Twitter with the simple label "HTC One, for Verizon."

In this photo the phone appears only in silver, though other finishes may be available when the One launches on Verizon.

It's coming

"It's coming - the HTC One will be available on the #Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network later this summer," @VZWnews, the official Verizon news handle, tweeted last month.

Is it a coincidence that the price of Verizon's HTC Droid DNA was slashed (via Android Community) the same day that the Verizon HTC One photo leaked? Maybe, but even so it could indicate that the One will replace the DNA on Verizon's wide-reaching 4G LTE network.

The DNA on Verizon can now be had for just $49.99 with a two-year contract, and though Verizon says it's for a limited time only, it's likely the carrier wants to move as many DNAs as possible before the One launches.

Last in line

The HTC One is already available on Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile, the other major U.S. carriers.

TechRadar asked Verizon whether they had any additional comment, but a spokesperson for the carrier pointed us toward the aforementioned tweet and reminded us that they don't comment on rumors or leaks.

TechRadar originally gave the Android HTC One a full five stars, praising its sleek design and innovative camera, among other things.

• Could Verizon's HTC One also come in red? Anything is possible, after all.

The iPhone 5S, which we're expecting to arrive later this year, may support 4G LTE-Advanced if rumoured negotiations are to be believed.

South Korean carrier SK Telecom is said to be in talks with Apple to release an iPhone capable of LTE-Advanced speeds, which a source speaking to The Korea Times believes to be the iPhone 5S.

"SK Telecom is approaching Apple to put our LTE-A technology on the upcoming iPhone 5S," said an anonymous SK Telecom executive. "We are in the middle of negotiations."

The upgrade could see the iPhone 5S achieve downloads that are the double the speed of current, though only the South Koreans will be able to reap the benefits for the time being.

Speedy... for some

Samsung pulled the same stunt just recently, with its LTE-Advanced Galaxy S4 going official last week after SK Telecom announced it had launched the world's first 4G LTE-Advanced network.

With the UK and most of the rest of the world currently without any running LTE-Advanced networks, it's unlikely that we'll be taking advantage of the greater speeds soon.

Still, having both Apple and Samsung on board could prove a catalyst for a global rollout, so if a super-speed iPhone 5S does surface, we'd expect to see LTE-Advanced make its way around the world before too long.

HP has confirmed that it is working on a new smartphone, which it says will aim to offer a different and unique user experience.

HP Senior Director of Consumer PCs and Media Tablets for Asia Pacific, Yam Su Yin, said that the company is working on a number of devices, and when asked specifically about a smartphone, admitted that one was in the pipeline.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Yin was open about HP's ambitions for a smartphone. "The answer is yes but I cannot give a timetable'" she said. "It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game."

She continued: "Being late you have to create a different set of proposition. There are still things that can be done. It's not late. When HP has a smartphone, it will give a differentiated experience."

Burnt fingers

This isn't the first we've heard from HP about a return to the smartphone game, with a few previous hints that it was making plans, but it does seem like the closest thing to confirmation.

HP had a brief – and less than successful – flurry into the smartphone market when it purchased Palm for in 2010, but sales were poor and WebOS failed to catch on - although WebOS still lives on through LG.

There's no indication of when a possible new HP mobile could hit the market or what OS it could be running on. But it will really have to really make good on its promise of a unique experience if it wants to stand out in this overcrowded market.