Luckily for ZTE the world didn't end today, but it wasn't bold enough to launch a phone with a new ZTE Nubia Z5 release date now on the cards.
Yesterday we reported that the Chinese firm was planning a dooms-day unveiling of the 5-inch, full HD Nubia Z5 but it looks like the tipsters have gone the way of the Mayans with their prediction skills.
The official Nubia website now has a fancy countdown clock, informing us that the super-sized phone will arrive in 5 days times – on December 26.
Real deal
Thanks to the official website we can now be sure the Nubia Z5 is the real deal, although specifications, price and availability are still a mystery.
The latest reports suggest the handset will sport a 1080p HD display, 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera and 2MP front camera with Android Jelly Bean running the show.
We expect to get hands on with the ZTE Nubia Z5 at CES 2013 which kicks off on January 8 in Las Vegas, where we'll bring you all the details along with news on the ZTE Grand S.
Instagram is famed for its photo filters, but it appeared to add a new, unwanted one this week: a filter that made the service evil.
Changes to its terms and conditions appeared to give the service the right to use your photos in ads - ads that wouldn't necessarily be labelled as such - or sub-licence them for cash without asking permission or giving you a cut.
The internet, you'll be amazed to discover, was furious.
Gary Marshall explained why so many people were angry. "Whether by accident or design, the new T&Cs say that when you upload things, they can be used to misrepresent you and mislead others," he writes.
"That goes way beyond using advertising to pay the bandwidth bills. It's seeing users as suckers." If Instagram didn't change the terms, Marshall suggested, "you should change your photo sharing service."
Instagram promised to change the terms, in what you might interpret as frantic backtracking or clarification of a terrible misunderstanding.
National Geographic appears to believe it was the former, and has suspended its use of the service. Yahoo must be jumping for joy: the Instagram debacle happened just as it unveiled a brand new Flickr app for its photo sharing service.
iOS 6 is now bearable. Thanks Google!
Instagram users weren't the only ones jumping ship. Apple users were dumping iOS maps for Google's new maps app: as Chris Smith reports, one firm of analysts reports a massive 29% leap in iOS 6 impressions in the five days following the Google Maps app launch. It seems that the app "may have prompted a large number of users to finally make the leap to Apple's iOS 6" - and to leap straight into the arms of Google.
Highs and lows from the tech giants
The Maps debacle was one of many highs for Google in 2012, but there were lows too: hands up who bought a Nexus Q, or even remembered that it exists? As we discovered, Google's hit home runs with smartphones and tablets, but it's also encountered logistical problems, tax troubles and regulatory scrutiny.
Microsoft also had fun in 2012. Windows 8 and Surface are pretty good, but mystery still surrounds their sales.
Apple's had a bumpy year too. Despite making some wonderful bits of kit and earning truly astonishing sums of money, Apple's operating amid a flurry of lawsuits, share price swings, software problems and some pretty blatant copycats.
It's also suffered from uncharacteristic delays, such as the delayed launch of the new, ultra-thin iMac - check out our new iMac review here.
Windows 8 tablets delayed
Apple's not the only one dealing with frustrating delays. Dell and HP's flagship Windows 8 tablets have been delayed too, with their November and December shipping dates being pushed back to January. The culprit, it seems, is quality control testing: Intel's latest Clover Trail processors aren't meeting Microsoft's quality standards.
Swearing is OK. But not in an aggressive way!
It's enough to make you go online and call people names, but be careful: new UK government guidelines make it clear just how many expletives you can hurl before the internet cops will come a-knocking. The guidelines add some much-needed perspective, differentiating between stupid and/or inebriated posts and online abuse.
Generally speaking it's okay to call someone a ******** **** ******* ****, especially if that someone is @piersmorgan, but it's not okay to intimidate, terrify or harass them.
And that's it for Week In Tech this year, although we'll be posting plenty of other stuff over Christmastime to keep you and yours entertained. Plus our fabby (and five issues free!) iPad magazine, Tech., will continue to publish during the Christmas season.
We'd like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year, and we hope that Santa delivers all the gadget goodies you asked for.
You could sell your phone and get perhaps £30. You could just send it for recycling and give your conscience a boost. Or you could reuse it for something useful, saving yourself spending more money and extending its life at the same time.
At its heart, even the cheapest Android phone is a complex, internet-connected device that can be put to a host of useful tasks.
If you've got an old Android phone or tablet lying around, here are our top ways to reuse the forgotten thing and help increase the employment figures.
One thing to keep in mind; some of these ideas will require the device to remain powered, so investing in a spare mains-power adaptor and USB lead might be required.
If you're interested in seeing how much you can get for your old mobile phone, why not try TechRadar's mobile phone recycling service, powered by Sellmymobile.com. Just pop in your handset name and it will compare a wide range of deals from multiple services to get you the best price for your old mobile phone.
1. Security or nursery monitor
This is the idea that kicked all of this off.
We had a cheap £30 motorsied Wi-Fi security camera from Ebay, which we decided we could use as a nursery monitor – turns out it had audio built in as well.
There are a number of excellent apps that will tap into the huge range of these IP cameras and will make your phone function as an ideal security or nursery monitor.
Try IP Cam Viewer Lite for free, with a 'pro' version available for £2.50.
2. AirPlay audio streamer
How much does Apple want for its AirPlay adaptors like the AirPort Express? A lot.
Stuff that. Grab a fee app such as AirPlay/DLNA Receiver, just install it and reboot your device and connect the device to your local network. Open iTunes and click the 'AirPlay' icon where a new ITV@86 AirPort Express device will magically appear.
We admit that an app in Chinese isn't the easiest to understand, so you could try AirBubble which has a 30-minute limit, unless you get the £1.31 licence.
3. A kids' toy
Children always want to join in with what daddy or mummy is doing, which, if you're trying to send an email or reply to a text message can be just adorably annoying.
TechRadar has looked in depth at turning an Android device into a kid-safe device but, largely, turning off the Wi-Fi after installing some choice childrens' apps should keep the little darlings happy for a while.
4. Smart remote
Plenty of people have PC-connected TVs, and while many may have a Media Center remote control, these are horribly limited.
A far, far better solution is the free and easy Unified Remote which supports direct mouse and keyboard control of multiple PCs over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
It includes dedicated remotes for WMC, WMP, NetFlix, Spotify and pretty much anything else you can mention.
If you search the Google Play Store you will also find dedicated Wi-Fi remotes for many Smart TVs too.
5. Kitchen assistant
Using a combination of Google Tasks, web browser and a cheap stand, a spare Android phone or tablet becomes the ideal kitchen assistant.
You can build up a shopping list on Google Tasks, synchronise it with your other devices and take it with you shopping.
Then in the kitchen use it to follow recipes and cook items to perfection, by using the built-in timer, so nothing ever gets overcooked.
As it's also touchscreen, it's easy to keep clean too.
6. Ultra low-power server
A phone can't be a file server, can it?
Think again; the free app Servers Ultimate is an ambitious project that brings pretty much every server-based protocol to your Android phone, turning it into an HTTP(S), DLNA, DDNS, IRC, FTP, POP3 serving master.
This is very geeky - and not for technological lightweights - but works a treat.
7. Portable media player
You're lucky if you get a day's worth of battery life out of your phone at the best of times, never mind if you're also trying to watch a film on the train, or enjoy the latest One Direction album on your commute to work.
So save its battery and use your old device for these menial tasks.
Add in a cheap SD card for storage, which will also take the load off your main device, and enjoy it as a dedicated audio/video media player.
8. Portable games console
Gaming is big business on tablets and phones.
So not only is your Android device a solid gaming platform – though if it's an older device newer games may not run – but what it can also be is a classic gaming platform through emulation.
Search the Google Play Store for MAME, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Sega Megadrive/Genesis and the Nintendo SNES. You'll of course have to supply your own games...
9. A remote IP webcam
IP Webcam is a neat free app that turns your Android device into a handy IP-based webcam, so you can connect to it from another Android device or any network computer using a browser, or even Skype.
It supports audio and a host of clever features such as streaming to VLC.
If you're after a cheap Wi-Fi IP camera, this certainly does the trick.
10. Video camera
It's unlikely you're going to want to use an old Android device as a spare camera, as we'd imagine the camera quality leaves something to be desired.
But that's not to say it can't be used as a decent video camera, though.
The moving image, being lower resolution, is a lot more forgiving on poor quality sensors and lenses, while even old devices can offer HD 720p encoding.
Again, slap in a suitable SD card and you have a device to capture hours of video.
11. Sat nav
Grab Navfree. It is, importantly, an offline sat-nav app, as otherwise with Google Navigation you'll need a data connection.
Make sure you grab the UK maps and postcode downloads and you're ready for a bit of free navigation.
Using a spare device means you could more permanently fix it within the car with attached power without worrying about it.
It'll also work without hassle when your main phone might not have any signal.
The government has finally woken up and changed the law to allow people to make digital copies of their copyrighted CD eBook and movie collections without fear of reprimand.
Sure, people have been burning CDs for years and the police haven't come a knocking, but at least this practice is now completely guilt free.
The inclusion of movies being allowed to be copied onto a digital format should have been a boon for many who want their vast DVD libraries converted into a form which can easily be transferred between PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone.
However, it's still illegal to remove the 'TPM' (technical protection method), so the biggest barrier remains in place for most consumers.
Sharing still a no no
Of course all this activity is strictly for personal consumption only, as soon as you start sharing any of your newly created files with anyone else the long arm of the law will be poking you on the shoulder.
And it's okay to store your copies in the cloud as well, with the government ignoring suggestions from rights holders that anything online is ripe for piracy.
If you feel especially hard done to that your movie and TV content is still almost impossible to legally take from a disc and on to your tablet you are allowed to complain to the Secretary of State.
But according to the Giovernment's document they can simply point you in the direction of somewhere were you can BUY a digital copy.
It's a story of David vs Goliath, but in this version Goliath has rather cruelly crushed little David.
Apple has closed down a Kickstarter project by refusing to licence its Lightning charger. So now the POP portable charging station won't see the light of day, and the technology and design lab behind it has to return the $139,170 in funding it received on the crowd-sourcing website.
The POP was going to be a portable charger that let you juice up your Apple device, among other phones and tablets. Apple, not happy with its iPhones and iPads sharing the stage with rivals, didn't licence its Lightning dock, and so the team have had to abandon the project.
Understandably peeved
The team at Edison Junior, the company behind the POP, are understandably annoyed, and aren't shy about letting it be known. "We are pissed," CEO Jamie Siminoff told VentureBeat. "I think they are being a bunch of assholes, and I think they're hurting they're customers."
Edison Junior will have to foot the fees from credit cards as well as the Kickstarter charges. In total, that amounts to more than $11,000.
"We would have loved to have made the product," Siminoff said. "At the same time I feel like we're making the correct decision… I'm not willing to compromise on the product."
He guaranteed all backers would get their donations back in full.
And he had a word of warning for Apple over its business practices. "When you do things that are bad for the customer… I think it will be bad for them," he said.
It's often said that God works in mysterious ways. And for those who believe in the afterlife, the thought that the late Steve Jobs may have been upstairs whispering into the ear of the big man isn't hard to imagine.
After all, it's been a busy year for the South Koreans, from innovating to litigating - and finding $1bn down the back of the sofa to pay a fine to Apple.
How things has changed since Samsung came onto the scene years ago with the dual-screen A300. Now, they're, debatably, the market leader in tech.
Here, we take a look at their highs and lows of 2012.
Samsung's Highs
1. The Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note 10.1
Love them, or hate them, there's no denying that 2012 has given us probably the best portfolio we've seen from Samsung.
When the much-anticipated Galaxy S3 was announced earlier this year, it wasn't at CES or MWC like its peers.
The Galaxy S3 – TechRadar's phone of the year, so far
Such was the excitement around it, Samsung was able to hold its own event, taking a cue from arch-rival Apple, because it was so confident the crowds would come specifically to see what was on offer.
The day of launch came and we were there to see the queue at the Samsung store in Stratford. It may not have been iPhone length, but it was pretty big.
It's still at the top of our list as best phone. The punters agree – Samsung managed to ship 18 million of the things in the third quarter of this year.
And don't get us started on the Note 2, which we reviewed and found to be one of the best devices out there.
Even the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet has managed to sell impressively – despite having a fairly lower-resolution screen than those we've grown accustomed to.
2. Beating Apple (to an extent)
Naturally, this annoyed Apple.
Remember how Steve Jobs threatened to "go thermonuclear" on Android because he felt it was a stolen product? Well, as Samsung got bigger, Jobs' ire (and that of Apple after his demise) appeared to shift less from Google and more to Samsung.
Things like S-Voice didn't help the issue (come on – who thinks that isn't Siri rebadged and made into a more rubbish product?)
The legal toing and froing has made us dizzy and reminiscent of a game of ping-pong, with a £652m ($1.05bn) fine in place of the ball.
But the sweetest part of Samsung's fight will have been the victory it scored in forcing Apple to publish an apology on its website. Not just tucked away anywhere as was originally the deal – but on the UK front page, no less. Ouch! And it's still there, for all to see as they head to Apple online to buy their Christmas presents. Double ouch!
3. Giving us the first Galaxy Camera
Nobody (even Cupertino) could accuse Samsung of not being innovative.
Sure, a lot of things in Android (and TouchWiz) are similar to those found in iOS, and vice versa. Who invented them is a whole other story.
But the newly launched Galaxy Camera has been a great creation.
Snap Happy – The Galaxy Camera, allowing peeping toms to Instagram their naughty snaps
Again, Wi-Fi enabled cameras aren't new – but one running 3G and Android?! Now, that is cool.
Remember, this isn't a phone with a great camera. It's a great camera with a phone added on. Or, at least, the phone functionality - without the calls bit.
Naturally, it's more of a niche device – and it's hardly sleek or cheap - but the thought of being able to edit your phones on the go and even mix up a bit of Instagram action, then tweet or Facebook them, is truly marvellous. We're currently working on our detailed review – but early indications are that it's a belter.
4. Getting a new boss
And it's not just new products hitting the shelves; it's new people at the top too. Never ones to accuse companies of nepotism, we wouldn't dream of saying that Jay Y. Lee's recent appointment to vice president has anything to do with the fact that he is the son of the chairman.
In fact, his dad, Lee Kun Hee has been the big cheese there for the last 25 years – meaning old Junior will have learned from the best. And the news went down well within Sammy circles – meaning there's every chance Jay Y. Lee will continue to build on Samsung's incredible success.
5. Golden publicity
At London 2012 the world was watching and Samsung had a front-row seat as one of the main sponsors, meaning it got even more publicity worldwide.
The partnership was highly evident during the games – and tickets to events were even given to those early adopters of the Galaxy S3 if they bought direct from a Samsung store.
A golden endorsement even came from Goldenballs himself, David Beckham, as recently as late November, when he refused to answer a reporter's iPhone at a press conference because it wasn't a Samsung product. The video went viral. PR doesn't get better than this.
Samsung's Lows
1. Losing out on key partnerships
It's not been a great year for some of Samsung's partnerships though.
Apple and Samsung have long held a deal where Samsung supplies parts to Cupertino, including memory chips. But Apple was reported to be cutting its reliance on its bitter rival amid the court action that has had the two sides at such odds.
Samsung's had to make up with orders from its own handset division and so, even though it's making huge profits on its phones, it'll be taking a hit on components, which can't be great for balance sheets.
Not only that, but Google went with rival South Koreans, LG, for their latest phone offering - the Nexus 4.
While Samsung did manage to secure a Nexus tablet deal, it will have been a bitter blow after successfully holding the Nexus contract with Google for nearly two years, giving us the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus handsets in that time.
2. Confusion over Ativ S
Samsung has also been struggling with other product lines.
Yes, Android is going great guns, but remember that motto, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket'? Yup – that's one Samsung could be learning from, as the firm's Windows Phone 8 offerings seem to have been given the B-Class treatment.
In fact, the debut Windows Phone 8 handset from the firm has been delayed until January, according to Carphone Warehouse, which means that it's missing out on that key Christmas market. Especially galling, considering offerings from the likes of Nokia and HTC are on the shelves and that by the time the Ativ S does grace us with its presence, it's going to be nothing special in most eyes.
The unloved sibling: The Ativ S has seen more delays than London Bridge station
3. Dropping fail
You know those videos that show idiots smashing up phones that we would kill to have? Yeah, those. Well, despite our personal feelings, there was something voyeuristic about seeing which would come out top when dropped onto a hard floor.
It made sense to pitch the Galaxy S3 against the new kid iPhone 5 and, sadly for Samsung, in most cases - surprisingly - the iPhone 5 proved to be more of a hard man. It's not what we'd have expected considering the weight and materials used in both, but the proof is all over the web.
And don't say that it doesn't matter because you take care of your phone – we do too. And all the casing and protection made no difference when we dropped our S3 on a concrete floor last week, shattering the screen. Cue tears, rants, emptying of bank accounts and insurance claims!
4. Security fears
And it's not just the physical side where Apple came out top, but the security element, too. Yep, we know Apple has long prided itself on that walled-garden approach when it comes to apps (for non-jail-broken devices), which means you're not susceptible to viruses, compared to Android.
But the fear was stoked earlier this year when it was revealed that Samsung devices in particular contained a specific line of code, thanks to TouchWiz, which made them vulnerable to nasty people and their nasty plans to do bad things to your phone if they so wished. There weren't reports of any handsets actually being exploited – but Samsung was forced to rush out a fix and the publicity wouldn't have done it any favours.
5. Being blinged up – badly
You remember that scene from ET where a young Drew Barrymore gets her hands on him and dresses him up? Yeah, that feeling when you see someone walking a cat in a pair of mini Ugg boots or pushing a pooch in a pram? That's how lots felt when they saw what Swarovski had done to the Galaxy S3.
The crystal kings got their hands on a model and rushed out this concept for those with more money than sense. Yours for a snip at £2,099 - but bad news for the wallet. At least you get a free case with it though – so the spirit of Christmas is alive and well.
Bling tidy – but imagine the insurance premium on this!
Apple has apparently had a rare change of heart over the licensing of its Lightning cable tech following the row over a popular Kickstarter project.
The company's refusal to license the tech for an accessory that also features its 30-pin connector, had put the kibosh on the POP mobile charging dock concept, which raised $140,000 on the crowd sourcing site.
The POP's creator had, on Friday, lashed out at Apple in an expletive-laden rant, calling the Cupertino-based giant a 'bunch of a**holes'.
However, CNET has learned that Apple has decided to change the tech specifications for the Lightning tech so both types of connector will work in a single accessory.
This means the POP charger, whose enthusiastic backers doubled its funding goal - will now go ahead after all.
Unexpected
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET: "Our technical specifications provide clear guidelines for developing accessories and they are available to MFi licensees for free.
"We support accessories that integrate USB and Lightning connectors, but there were technical issues that prevented accessories from integrating 30-pin and Lightning connectors so our guidelines did not allow this."
Naturally, Edison Junior CEO Jamie Siminoff was delighted by the unexpected change.
"It's great news. It's crazy," he told CNET.
"If you had asked me yesterday morning 'what did we think was going to come out of this?' I wouldn't have even thought anybody - not even a line-level employee - would have seen this at Apple."
Apple has apparently had a rare change of heart over the licensing of its Lightning cable tech following the row over a popular Kickstarter project.
The company's refusal to license the tech for an accessory that also features its 30-pin connector, had put the kibosh on the POP mobile charging dock concept, which raised $140,000 on the crowd sourcing site.
The POP's creator had, on Friday, lashed out at Apple in an expletive-laden rant, calling the Cupertino-based giant a 'bunch of a**holes'.
However, CNET has learned that Apple has decided to change the tech specifications for the Lightning tech so both types of connector will work in a single accessory.
This means the POP charger, whose enthusiastic backers doubled its funding goal - will now go ahead after all.
Unexpected
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET: "Our technical specifications provide clear guidelines for developing accessories and they are available to MFi licensees for free.
"We support accessories that integrate USB and Lightning connectors, but there were technical issues that prevented accessories from integrating 30-pin and Lightning connectors so our guidelines did not allow this."
Naturally, Edison Junior CEO Jamie Siminoff was delighted by the unexpected change.
"It's great news. It's crazy," he told CNET.
"If you had asked me yesterday morning 'what did we think was going to come out of this?' I wouldn't have even thought anybody - not even a line-level employee - would have seen this at Apple."
Update: BlackBerry 10 (or BB10) is still under development and not yet a finished product, but we've checked out an almost-final version of the user interface, which is pretty close to perfection, according to RIM - but we'll let you be the judge by checking out our findings below.
Delayed until early 2013, the first BB10 devices should land in January– although we're now hearing it could be as late as March and RIM is now saying it will arrive during the first quarter of the year.
We saw the near-final version of BlackBerry 10 running on the new Dev Alpha B handset, building on the other test units and newer devices we've seen in the past.
The Dev Alpha B handset has been seeded to select BlackBerry developers, to aid them in their quest to produce applications for the new platform.
RIM has already handed out over 5,000 of the original Dev Alpha devices, and we wouldn't be surprised if the new handset gets the same sort of circulation.
We've also heard about the first Dev handset to sport RIM's famous Qwerty keyboard. Known as the Dev Alpha C, this will be the first handset with physical keyboard to run BlackBerry 10.
1,500 Dev Alpha C handsets will be winging their way to the hardcore BB10 developers before the official launch on January 31, so apps can be tweaked to work on the smaller screened phone.
BB 10 sees the implementation of a whole new user interface, with RIM doing away with the familiar BlackBerry system we're all used to, in favour of something which resembles the likes of Android and iOS, although with its own unique features.
With BlackBerry 10, RIM has merged homescreens, widgets, app lists and a unified inbox into one slick interface, offering up an easy-to-navigate user experience.
Lock screen
The lock screen shows notifications for alarms and unread messages on the left plus your upcoming meetings as well as the date and time, with a button to launch the camera straight from the lock screen to grab a quick snap.
You unlock the phone by sliding your thumb up the screen and from there slide from anywhere on screen and the handset starts to draw in around where you slide so if you just want a quick peek at the information in one area of the screen, you can just drag to show it and then let go – with the device remaining locked (more on that in 'Peek' mode below).
Home screen
The main homescreen comprises of 'Active Frames', technically mini-applications, which give you an overview of information from a particular app and launch the full version when tapped.
Users can select up to eight of these active frames, which arrange themselves in order of most recently used, with the latest app appearing in the top left position.
A maximum of four frames are shown on the screen at any one time, and if you scroll down and you'll be able to view the others – the display in order of use allows you to jump quickly between your recent applications.
RIM tell us that any application, even third party ones, will be able to appear as an 'Active Frame' on the BB10 homescreen, which is excellent news for anyone left frustrated by the limited widget options on Android or live tiles on Windows Phone.
For those of you who may be concerned that these 'Active Frames' could be both data and battery intensive, Research in Motion assures us that this is not the case, with the QNX core of BlackBerry 10 providing efficient power management, and the frames only downloading the minimum amount of data required for them to update.
Interface
Swiping from right to left will take you to the app list, with 16 apps on the screen at any one time – if you have more than 16 apps additional pages are added and can be accessed by swiping the same way again – familiar territory for iOS and Android users.
At the bottom of both the homescreen and app list you'll notice a shortcut bar, with quick links to the phone, search and camera applications – allowing you to quickly jump to these regularly used features.
There's a pleasant fading animation as you flick between pages, and you'll see the previous page of apps fade away to the side of the screen, to be replaced by the new page.
The idea behind BB 10 is that it Flows... which is the phrase RIM is using mercilessly to describe the new OS.
Further screenshots of the BlackBerry 10 interface have appeared online, showing off official social networking apps from all of the big players, plus a voice control feature which will likely challenge Apple's Siri and Google Voice on Android.
Notifications
The whole Flow concept really comes to life when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen – this minimises the current app/screen you're viewing and shows new notifications counts down the left hand side, including new emails, BBMs, texts and social media messages.
If you continue the slide to the right, the unified 'Hub' application can be previewed – allowing you to 'peek' at your messages.
Complete the slide and you'll open the hub fully, otherwise you'll be returned to the page you were viewing before the little red light on your handset started to flash.
This means you can easily see who has just messaged you without having to close down your current application, and knowing who it's from allows you to make a decision on whether or not to answer them straight away or continue with what you were doing originally.
BlackBerry Hub
When we say all, we mean all, as the unified inbox, or the 'Hub' as RIM likes to refer to it as, can deal with multiple email accounts, text messages, BBM, call history, third party messaging apps such as Whats App and a whole host of social networks including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Of course, with so many accounts feeding into the handset, the more popular among us will be quickly inundated with notifications from various different channels, and this is where the peek idea makes it easy to see when you've got anything new to look at.
To make the reams of messages easier to manage place your finger on the title in the bottom left corner of the message centre and pull across to reveal a list of all the accounts you have linked up and then select the one you're interested in – this will then populate the Hub which notifications from just that source.
There are also various options which can be selected for a particular message, hold down on the communication in question and a slim column of tools will pop up to the right for you to choose from, including reply, forward and delete.
Drag down from the top of the message centre and the Hub will automatically pull in your calendar events for that day in the top half of the screen, allowing you to quickly see what you've got on without having to launch the full calendar app.
Peek
Peek works much better when you get your head around all the gestures - however it may prove to be overly complex for some users, although RIM will be providing video tutorials on its BB10 handsets during the initial set up phase when you switch the phone on for the first time.
Having the 'peek' idea work the same way in so many applications helps you get used to it as well (though we don't yet know how well third-party applications will be able to do the same thing, although RIM has said it's developed nearly every API asked for when it comes to developers, and they have full access to the Peek code).
When you do get into a message or an appointment, you can see more information about the people involved in a way that will be familiar to BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 users; you can see who you know in common, what messages you've exchanged or recent social network updates.
It's a new look for the 'flow' between different apps and information sources that BlackBerry has always been good at, but with a fresh modern look on a much larger screens.
Personal and Work modes
Sweep down on the home screen or an app list page and you'll see Personal and Work buttons that let you switch between the two BlackBerry Balance modes.
In Personal, you can install any apps you want, send any email, save any file and so on, working in a partition that's encrypted for privacy but not locked down in any way.
If you use your BlackBerry for work though, you'll also have a Work partition that's also encrypted but completely separate and can be locked down if that's what the company wants.
Drag down on the screen, pick Work mode and all your personal apps disappear – so you can't accidentally copy a work file into your personal cloud storage account.
Your company can have complete control of this work section, giving you as much, or as little freedom within this area as they see fit – and everything in Work mode is fully secured, with remote wipe available just it case your handset goes astray.
However work won't be able see what files you have on your personal area when they're managing it, because your personal partition is encrypted.
BB10 in work and personal modes
Select Work mode and you'll be prompted to enter a password before gaining access to your protected area, which means prying eyes won't be able to steal a glimpse at all your company secrets. Phew.
Work mode still features the same UI as found in Personal mode, with all the flow and peek activity present, allowing you to perform some slick, one-handed operations.
Other apps use the swipe-down motion in a different way, allowing to function like a menu key - for instance the mapping app allows you to change accounts or settings with a quick finger flick.
Cascades
Then there's Cascades, a new navigation system cooked up by RIM especially for BB10, allowing for quick multitasking from within applications.
The example we've seen is in the messaging app - open an email it will display full screen, but drag your finger from left to right and the message will slide with you, revealing the inbox below.
This means if you get a new message in the middle of reading an email, you can check who it's from without having to close the application – similar to the notification bar on Android and also now iOS.
If you were to open an attachment from the email, a PDF document in the case of our demo, pulling to the side to view the cascade will show the app's layers stacked up – a more visual paper trail, if you will.
It's certainly an intuitive feature that we found to work smoothly on the development handset – but it will be interesting to see how this feature is embedded into other applications and if it will have the same pleasing results.
New App world
BlackBerry App World is also getting a makeover with a cleaner, more intuitive design ready to show off all the apps RIM is pushing developers so hard to make in time for launch.
As well as offering applications, the new App World will also provide music and videos to purchase and download – allowing BlackBerry 10 handsets the chance to compete with the likes of Google Play, iTunes and the Apple App Store.
There's a sperate version of BlackBerry AppWorld where your company can offer specific work apps – like an app that uses the NFC chip in your BlackBerry to unlock the door to the office, as well as locking out applications they don't deem suitable for using while at work.
Keyboard
BlackBerry handsets are famous for their physical boards and RIM is keen to bring this typing experience to its BB10 touchscreen smartphones with its own offering.
Visually the keyboard looks similar to the stock Android offering, but each row of keys is separated with a silver line, or 'fret' – which is supposed to reflect the metal strips between buttons on the Bold range, such as the Bold 9790 and Bold 9900.
Next word prediction, auto-correct and spell check are all common features on smartphones today and RIM has spent some time developing its own system to offer an efficient typing experience.
It sees next-word suggestions appear above the character the word begins with, and if it's the word you want to use, you just need to swipe up over the word and it will be added to your sentence.
As with many offerings these days, the keyboard will learn your style of writing, meaning it will be able to suggest better words the more you use your phone.
RIM reckons that heavy users will quickly see a marked improvement once they start using the keyboard, as BlackBerry 10 will only take a couple of days to learn their style of writing.
Another interesting feature is that the keyboard can support up to three languages at any one time, so if you're writing in English it will offer up English words as suggestions, but suddenly switch to tapping out French, even in the same message, and the BB10 board can detect the change in tongue and adjust its recommendations accordingly - smart.
We found the keyboard to be fairly accurate and relatively well spaced, but for those of you used to the physical buttons of a traditional BlackBerry it will take some getting used to.
Camera
RIM is making a big song and dance about its BB 10 camera application as well, especially the 'Time Shift' feature, which allows you to select the perfect smile of your subject after taking the photo.
Fire up the camera app (from the lock screen if you so wish), which was relatively quick to open on the Dev Alpha B device, select 'Time Shift' mode and snap your subject, and the app will then search for faces in the image.
Once a face is located in a photo, you can tap it and literally roll back time to find the point at which your friend had their eyes open and the perfect grin.
If there are multiple people in your snap, you can individually adjust each person, however during our demo we found 'Time Shift' struggled in lower lighting conditions, subjects face's need to be illuminated well for the camera to detect their mugs.
'Time Shift' did take several seconds after the photo was taken to detect faces and offer us the chance to tweak the image, but this could be down to the fact it's running on a development build of the BB10 software, and speed could be improved in the final product.
Of course the camera can take standard photos and record video alongside the 'Time Shift' function, which itself is an impressive function, but we wonder how much we'd actually use it day to day.
Browser
The BlackBerry browser has also had a refresh for BB10, bringing it in line with the minimalist style of current offerings on other devices, and the location of the URL bar at the bottom of the page is reminiscent of Internet Explorer on Windows Phone.
Even though Adobe has already ditched future support and upgrades of its Flash platform, RIM has made sure it's built in support for the dying format, allowing you to access all your favourite Flash built sites and videos of Korean men dancing on invisible horses.
There seems to be a partnership with a particular search engine, allowing you to search via the URL bar, as well as pulling info into other applications, but RIM are currently not in the position to disclose whether they've opted for Google, Bing or something a little more left field.
Sweep from left to right while in the browser and the 'peek' functionality comes into play again, this time showing various internet-centric options such as History, Bookmarks, New Tab and currently opened tabs.
There's also a Reader mode built into the new browser, which lifts article text and images from a web page and displays it in a more manageable and easy to read format, stripping out fancy ads, menu bars and any other clutter which gets in the way of actually reading something.
Comparison tests have shown the BlackBerry 10 web browser to be faster than its equivalent on Apple's iOS 6 and the new version of Windows Phone - we'll reserve proper judgement until we have a final handset in our sweaty palm, but at least this is a positive sign.
Battery life
As we've mentioned briefly earlier on, RIM is promising that BlackBerry 10 will help to deliver decent battery life, even with the big touchscreen and those lovely 'Active Frames'.
RIM has even gone as far to say that's its two BB 10 launch devices, one fully-touchscreen and the other sporting the famous Qwerty keyboard, will offer up a full days battery life, thanks to a lot of hard work by the QNX team on power management in the core of the BlackBerry 10 platform.
Obviously we were unable to put this claim to the test during our brief hands on viewing, but we'll be sure to push the new BB10 devices to their limits once we get our review units in.
Early verdict
Although the BlackBerry 10 operating system is in development, we must say that we were impressed with how smooth and slick the interface felt under out fingers – seamlessly zipping around without fuss.
BlackBerry assured us that is smooth experience would still be present in the final product, thanks to the clever integration of the HTML 5 system, which optimises the performance of the software. We certainly hope they're right.
There are plenty of features of BB 10 that are exciting - the gestures work very, very well after a few minutes, the powerful messaging ecosystem is still there and even the on screen keyboard is great.
What does strike you about the new OS is how the phone is so integrated - Facebook, Twitter, Email are all available, connected to your friends or easy to share to throughout the phone.
It's a much more complex OS than iOS or Windows Phone, but there are only so many ways to re-invent the smartphone wheel; in the case of BB 10, RIM has gone for usable power over rows of easy to use icons.
It's a bold move, and one technophiles will love. If the hardware is decent too, there may be enough BB fans out there willing to use the finger-flicking platform... but with so many things to learn, it will take some serious and quick eduction to get users up to speed.
Though the iPad mini has been on sale for only a few days, rumors are already circulating about its replacement.
The story goes that the iPad mini 2 will have an even sharper display of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels packed into the same 7.9-inch space.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman - who was in China visiting chip companies in mid-December 2012 said: "iPad Mini Gen-2: Apple's gen-2 iPad mini is getting pulled-in, and is likely to have several new suppliers, with TXN gaining content."
So could that mean the iPad mini 2 release date is early 2013?
It seems like Apple has been surprised by the iPad mini demand, although there are no real sales numbers for the device from Apple as yet. iPad mini supply will be short until the new year it seems.
iPad Mini 2 display
That is the same resolution as the grownup iPad 4 with Retina display, and the next mini should either have that Retina tech or something similar.
Since the mini is much smaller, it means even more pixels can be cramped into every inch; the mini 2 is said to have a crisp 324 ppi density.
Upping the screen resolution isn't the most surprising upgrade for the potential iPad mini 2.
The biggest criticism of the current iPad mini so far is its 1,024 x 768 resolution. Critics wonder why a Retina display wasn't incorporated into the first iPad mini to begin with.
Cynics will say Apple went with a lower resolution so it had some low hanging fruit to grab for the next upgrade. Production problems surrounding the iPad mini might also be the culprit.
Anand Lal Shimpi and Vivek Gowri of Anandtech suggest that there are three things Apple has to do to bring a retina display to the iPad mini.
iPad mini 2 price
Just a few weeks ago, reports said the iPad mini's steep price point of $329 (£269/AU$369) was due to manufacturing difficulties.
The new GF DITO touchscreen technology that helps make the mini so small is reportedly one of many production hurdles.
AU Optronics (AUO), the company that produces the current iPad mini LCD panels, was also having yield issues with the mini screens at first, so a Retina-like display could have caused additional production headaches.
However, AUO claims it smoothed out production problems surrounding the current panels, already resolving the light leak issues that held up fabrication.
Despite construction constraints, there are still plenty of the present iPad minis to go around.
iPad mini 2 release date
The mini went on sale last Friday to a lukewarm reception, and though Apple sold out of the tiny tablets in some places, they are still fairly easy to find.
It seems like Apple might have to do a little more than pump up the screen resolution to get consumers excited for the next pint-sized iPad.
With production of the sharper screens projected to start by the later half of 2013, Apple has the iPad mini 2, or whatever Cupertino decides to call it.
Every year we think the evolution in smartphones must have finished. Every year we're wrong. Very wrong.
2012 saw quad-core processors become the norm among the high-end Android world, while Apple finally yielded in the screen size arms race by launching the taller, bigger iPhone 5.
Even Nokia broke a few boundaries with its high-spec imaging technology, sticking unbelievably powerful camera equipment in its latest phones, giving us access to mobile technology that even a couple of years ago would've seemed impossible.
So what can we expect to see in 2013? Will any maker be mad enough to launch a phone with an "octo-core" processor? Will Samsung expand the Galaxy Note's enormous screen by another inch or two, forcing trouser manufacturers the world over to expand pocket sizes accordingly?
Some things are guaranteed. There will be an iPhone update of some sort and Samsung will launch a few thousand differing Galaxy models, but what will be the big movers and publicity-grabbers of the 2013 smartphone scene?
1. 1080p displays and 5" screens become the norm
We've seen a few models arrive with 1080p resolution displays, such as the international HTC Butterfly, and with phone power and size surely about to reach a plateau we expect display resolution to be one area where makers can still out-boast each other next year. By the end of 2013 we'd expect most flagship models to come with 1080p displays. One of the recent Sony rumours, for example, claims it's working on a phone codenamed Yuga, which should offer a 5" display running at 1080p resolution. There will be plenty more.
2. Samsung Galaxy S4 to dominate
This one's a banker. Samsung's absolutely crushing the world with its Android models, with the Galaxy S flagship range an annual winner when it launches each spring. Last year's Galaxy S3 was a smash, teaming Google's Ice Cream Sandwich software with Samsung's own complex and feature-packed user interface. It was a bit light and flimsy and nicked plenty of features from other hardware makers, but had enormous amounts of power and was a joy to use.
Early rumours suggest the Galaxy S4 will arrive with either an updated quad-core processor or even an eight-core brain, and with screen sizes inching ever higher, expect it to be bigger than ever. Literally.
How big can Samsung go in 2013?
3. Windows Phone takes off
Yes, seriously. The latest Windows Phone 8 handsets are looking very impressive, with the recent Nokia Lumia 920 and the decent HTC 8X proving that it is possible to build a glamorous, exciting smartphone around Microsoft's software. All Windows Phone needs now is the public to fall out of love with Apple and Android and give Old Man Microsoft's ecosystem a fair trial. Which is a big ask, but anyone who's used HTC's 8X will know that it's definitely possible.
4. 64GB of onboard storage becomes more widespread
Samsung's been working on enhancing its memory chip production, resulting in newer, smaller memory chips with 64GB of capacity. For those who are yet to switch their media storage to the cloud, that's going to be a big draw. Samsung's recently made a 64GB version of the Galaxy S3 available for order, so expect this high-end storage option to feature heavily in 2013.
Apple has been leading the way in offering 64GB versions of its iPhone, although users after storage space on a budget will still opt for a rival model with an SD card slot and save a couple of hundred quid.
5. iPhone 5S
Another absolute cert for 2013 is an iPhone upgrade , although early rumours suggest we'll be seeing a minor iterative update akin to the iPhone 4S, rather than a full-on redesign and refresh. Could we see another bump in screen size? The iPhone 5 was bordering on the perfect from an Apple user perspective, with its safe software and lack of thrilling innovation the only downside. What's left for Apple to tweak with the iPhone 5S?
Apple's fans will be milked again, but will it be a worthwhile upgrade?
6. Flexible displays
One of the most consistent tech rumours over the last few years has been the coming of flexible displays. It's unlikely a flexible screen would lead to a bendy phone you could fold up, as a bendy phone would require bendy batteries, a bendy processor and bendy circuit boards, but if a more flexible screen would help a phone survive a drop on to the kitchen laminate, that'd be a feature worth paying an extra £1.50p a month for over a two year contract.
7. Tougher than ever
With pretty much all smartphones now offering great levels of power and performance no matter what price point they're pitched at, we should start to see makers differentiate their models more based on hardware sex appeal. HTC started this trend in 2012 with its gforgeous and innovative HTC One X and HTC One S, which combined power and the latest software with a physical design that helped the phones stand out from the crowd.
More crazy space-age composite materials from the future, please
8. Bigger batteries
2012 finally saw phone makers give us what we wanted, with several models like the Razr Maxx featuring bigger batteries that enabled them to stay alive significantly longer. Hopefully shipping something with a 1,500mAh battery will soon become a crime, with quite a few of the Android hardware makers backing up their ever-growing displays with bigger, longer lasting batteries, as Samsung did with the 2,100mAh unit inside its Galaxy S3. We'd happily trade a couple of millimetres and gain 20 grams of weight for a phone that won't leave us bored and disconnected by 4:30pm.
Hopefully we'll get more fatter phones with usable power reserves
9. Budget models to dominate
Gone are the days when the sub-£100 category got a you barely usable piece of rubbish. Today's budget models along the lines of the Huawei G300 offer great power and the very latest operating systems, with the trend set to continue in 2013. Huawei's Ascend G330 brings dual-core power to the bargain bucket, while Chinese rival ZTE is set to be preparing a 5" monster to challenge Samsung's premium Galaxy Note range. 2013 will be the year you pay less and get more. In the phone world, at least.
10. A Blackberry blip
RIM's set to launch its BB10 models in 2013. While any new BB is unlikely to challenge iPhone or the high-end Android models when it comes to capturing the hearts and minds of modern smartphone users, the latest Blackberry phones and hardware are bound to capture a few dihard RIM fans. What we've seen of BB10 so far isn't groundbreaking, but clever touches like RIM's software keyboard ought to counteract the doom-mongers who claim BB10 will be dead on arrival. We give it at least three or four months.
