Wallets at the ready: pricing for Samsung's Galaxy S4 handsets has just been revealed. And it's just as expensive as we all expected.

According to Unlocked-Mobiles, an unlocked, contract-free Samsung Galaxy S4 will cost you a whopping, £529.98 - a few pence more expensive than an iPhone 5 and £10 more than a HTC One. Just how this will affect contract prices remains to be seen, but it seems the plastics used in its build (derided by HTC) have not pushed the price down low.

The site also pins the S4 release date down for April 26, giving the HTC One enough time on the market to establish itself before its behemoth Android rival lands.

There's still no word from any source on pricing of the 32GB and 64GB models. When it comes to the 64GB edition, we wouldn't hold our breath, as the Galaxy S3 saw its 64GB model ship months later.

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Basking in the reflected glory of Sony's well-received Xperia Z smartphone are two new Xperia devices today. Forming ranks in the low-to-mid range categories, Sony have today unvielied the Sony Xperia SP and Sony Xperia L smartphones.

Of the two, the Xperia SP is the more advanced phone. 4G-enabled, it pulls together elements of last year's Xperia S and Xperia P, popping a 4.6-inch 720p display with Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine 2 tech up front, powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor.

Packing in 8GB of internal memory, the Xperia SP also features an 8MP rear camera, NFC connectivity and a 2,370mAh battery.

Running Android Jelly Bean, the handset again features a translucent panel that glows different colours to give you at-a-glance information on what notifications are awaiting your attention.

The Xperia L on the other hand sits firmly at the entry level. It's running off a 1GHz dual-core processor, with a 4.3-inch FWVGA screen up front. 8GB of internal storage and an 8MP camera again feature, alongside Android Jelly Bean, NFC and a 1,750mAh battery pack. No notification light bar here, though a standard LED for notifications does feature.

Both handsets also feature removable batteries and microSD storage expansion.

Heading out in the second quarter of the year, you'll be able to pick both handsets up in white, black and red shades. No word on exact release dates or pricing yet, but we'll keep you posted.

We're pretty sure that Apple have a Retina display-packing iPad Mini 2 waiting in the wings in their Cupertino R&D labs, and now there's suggestion that Google may be lining up a high resolution tablet of their own.

According to new research by industry analysts DisplaySearch, Google are working on a HD revamp of their popular (and cheap!) Google Nexus 7 line. The seven-inch tablet would sport a resolution of 1920x1200, making it slightly higher resolution than a full HD 1080p slate.

If true, it'd be a screen to match the Retina Display said to be coming to the iPad Mini 2. Apple's Retina screen would be a 2048x1563 panel with a pixel density of 324 pixels per inch (ppi), replacing the current 1024x768 iPad Mini. Given the Nexus 7's smaller screen size, its rumoured HD screen would offer a sharpness of 323 ppi, putting it on a par with the iPad Mini.

If true, it'll certainly make choosing between the two new tablets a challenge. Filed in the rumour category for now, we'll be keeping a close eye on the smaller tablets in the coming months. We'll be sure to keepy ou posted with any new developments.

As well as revealing the new Samsung Galaxy S4 handset last night, Samsung also revealed a slew of new accessories to accompany the flagship smartphone. One in particular, the Samsung Game Pad, caught our attention, but not necessarily in the way Samsung intended.

Pictured above, it's a Bluetooth game controller with NFC pairing for playing Android gaming apps, letting you use physical controls instead of just touchscreen ones. Aside from the obvious aping of the Xbox 360 controller, there's not a lot new here - there are plenty of third-party Bluetooth game controllers.

What is interesting however is the supported screen sizes. Though currently being sold as an accessory for the Galaxy S4, the Game Pad supports screens as large as 6.3-inches. With the Samsung Galaxy S4 only having a 5-inch screen, are Samsung future-proofing the device to be compatible with a 6.3-inch Galaxy Note 3 handset?

The only way is up in terms of screen size for Samsung's Galaxy Note line, with the first generation housing a large 5.3-inch screen and the Galaxy Note 2 packing in a monster 5.5-inch display. Though initially seen as something of a novelty, the stylus-packing Galaxy Note range has sold incredibly well, with consumer confidence in the oversized "phablet" design leading many to believe the Note 3 will be upwards of 6-inches in size. The Game Pad certainly supports such a suggestion.

We're expecting to see more on the Galaxy Note 3 in the Autumn. Check back in the coming weeks and months to see if it'll fit the Game Pad as more on the forthcoming handset is revealed.

Samsung have revealed that it's quite likely that the Samsung Galaxy S3 will eventually get many of the software features being shown off in their brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 device.

"Anything that we can do that's not dependent on hardware like infrared, we'll definitely bring to all the flagship devices," said Nick DiCarlo, vice president portfolio planning, Samsung in an interview with PC Mag.

In other words, it seems that features such as S Translator translation services, Smart Scroll eye-tracking for page panning and the S Health hub could make their way to the Samsung Galaxy S3.

It's an interesting, and not necessarily wise move, at least from a business perspective. While Galaxy S3 owners will jump with joy to see their beloved ageing handset receive brand new features, Samsung will have to be careful to keep some distance between the two smartphones. If it appears that the Galaxy S3 hardware is more than capable enough of supporting the new software features, and Samsung indeed supply an update that provides them, what's to stop consumers buying the Galaxy S3 over the Galaxy S4, given its inevitable price drop?

We put the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy S4 spec-sheets in a head-to-head battle last night, which you can read here. While the Galaxy S4 won out, it was mostly due to new software features. If they're all set to come to both devices, frugal smartphone buyers may be able to pick up an S3-shaped bargain.

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HTC have joined Apple in going on the offensive against Samsung and the newly revealed Samsung Galaxy S4, slating the handset for what it claims is a lacklustre build quality.

"With a continuation of a plastic body and a larger screen being the most obvious physical change, Samsung's new Galaxy pales in comparison to the all-aluminium unibody HTC One. This is more of the same," the company announced.

"HTC remains the best option for those people looking for the best technology wrapped in premium design. Our customers want something different from the mainstream, who appear to be the target for the Galaxy. Our customers want original cutting-edge technology, mouthwatering design and a premium feel from their mobiles, which is why we created the HTC One."

The HTC One's unibody aluminium build certainly is a design to lust over, but with Samsung yet to reveal pricing for the Galaxy S4, it may prove to be that Samsung chose to use less expensive materials than HTC and pass the savings on the consumer. Only time will tell.

Even if the Samsung Galaxy S4's design didn't impress the HTC big-wigs, even they couldn't turn their noses up at its internal specs. A 1.6GHz Octa Core processor powers the device, backed by 2GB of RAM, with a 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display up front.

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Time to crown a new Android king, or is the Samsung Galaxy S4 a pretender to the Galaxy S3's throne? After a long old wait, and more leaks than a boat made of Hula Hoops, we've finally got the Samsung Galaxy S4.

But was it worth the wait and, more importantly, is it worth your money? We put the latest Samsung handset up against its predecessor to see if any major improvements have been made over last year's impressive model, and whether or not it's worth investing in the Galaxy S4 or picking up a bargain-priced Galaxy S3. Based on what we've found out tonight, hopefully this guide will help you pick between the two if you're stuck.

Design and Build Quality

Galaxy S4
The Samsung Galaxy S4, at least in terms of aesthetic design, looks almost identical to the Galaxy S3. Available in "Black Mist" and "White Frost" colours, it measures just 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm and weighs only 130 grams, making it a tad lighter than the S3. Still rocking a plastic polycarbonate build rather than an aluminium one (likely to keep costs down), the handset plonks a giant 5-inch 1080p display on the front, making it .2 of an inch larger than even its sizeable S3 older brother. Slim enough to fit comfortably in a trouser or jacket pocket, it's still a very large device that will put off some people looking for a smaller phone. It does have its advantages though, especially when browsing the web and watching video. 4G download speeds are also included, while there's also an IR blaster for controlling home cinema kit.

Galaxy S3
Thin at just 8.6mm and light at 133g, the Galaxy S3 feels great in the hand, and slips almost invisibly into a pocket. Available in Pebble Blue and Marble White, as well as other exclusive shades depending on your carrier, Samsung said last year that its curved edges are meant to conjure memories of nature. However, its plasticy "Hyperglaze" finish lacks that premium feel, and some may decide the Galaxy S3 is a little flimsy, albeit unfairly. The Samsung Galaxy S3 also has NFC features, as well as including 4G connectivity.

Winner - Though very similar, the slimmer, lighter, more-feature packed S4 wins it

Screen

Galaxy S4

Phone screens rarely come bigger than the one packed into the Galaxy S4. A massive 5-inch display sits up front, with a Retina-beating 441ppi full HD 1080p resolution. The handset uses Samsung's Super AMOLED display technology, which should also keep images and videos bright and vibrantly colourful on the handset, as well as offering wide viewing angles. It'll be a great phone for consuming media on or browsing the web with as a result, and even features screen tech that will let you use its touchscreen features whilst wearing gloves. Sturdy Gorilla Glass 3 is also used in its construction.

Galaxy S3
A 4.8 inch Super AMOLED HD display sits on the front of the Galaxy S3 and it's gorgeous. Though its extra size and resolution mean it "only" hits a 309ppi pixel density, to the naked eye that won't make a difference. Vibrant and colourful, it's still one of the finest displays on the market, but it has been surpassed in both size and definition by the S4.

Winner - Galaxy S4 is easily superior, providing you want an even bigger screen

Processor

Galaxy S4

Samsung have opted for their 1.6GHz Exynos Octa 8-core processor in the Galaxy S4. Seeing as even quad-core chips clocked considerably lower than the beast of a processor found in the S4 normally see Android apps and software features ticking over nicely, the Galaxy S4 looks to be a real powerhouse of a phone. It's arguably even overkill - we can't think of a single Android feature that would truly be able to capitalise on such a chipset.

Galaxy S3
Samsung popped a quad-core 1.4Ghz Exynos processor in the Galaxy S3, and there isn't a stutter or hang to be seen with it. This remains one powerful phone, best presented by the Pop Up Play feature that offers true picture-in-picture multitasking, offering windowed HD video playback. Impressive is an understatement.

Winner - Galaxy S4

Storage

Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 will come in three different sizes: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Each handset can also be expanded with microSD cards, up to an additional 64GB, making for plenty of flexibility when it comes to storage options. It's not yet certain whether or not the Galaxy S4 also includes the Galaxy S3's 50GB free Dropbox cloud storage promotion - it'll be a shame if it's lost this nifty feature.

Galaxy S3
Samsung's generous storage options are seen in the Galaxy S3 too. For starters, you've got 16GB and 32GB handset options. A 64GB model was also touted, though released far later into the handsets life cycle and is a little hard to come by. The S3 too had the option of popping in as much as an extra 64GB from a microSD card, not to mention a superb 50GB of FREE Dropbox cloud storage that comes as standard with every Galaxy S3 purchase. Either way, the Galaxy range is hard to beat when it comes to generous storage options.

Winner - For now we'll give this one to the S3 based on the Dropbox functions. If the S4 is confirmed to have it too, we'll change this verdict to reflect it.

Battery

Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 includes a whopping 2,600mAh battery. That's over a fifth larger than the battery found in the Galaxy S3, and it's removable too, meaning you'll be able to hot-swap batteries on the go if you're running short on power. However, we'd imagine both that screen and processor churn through power at an incredible rate, so you may not see a dramatic jump in battery life despite the capacity bump.

Galaxy S3
Samsung popped in a 2100mAh battery for the Galaxy S3. It's a sturdy performer, but even it struggles to get a full day's use out of a single charge. Remember there's a massive screen to power, as well as a quad-core processor draining juice all the time. Touches like the Smart Stay tech keep battery usage as low as possible, but not by much.

Winner - We're going for the S4, hoping that the additional capacity is enough to improve its battery life despite the added bells and whistles.

Software and Apps

Galaxy S4

The Galaxy S4 runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the latest build of Android while we await the launch of Key Lime Pie later this year. When it comes to apps, Android has grown remarkably over the last few years, with virtually every major app present on iOS now available on Android too. Android, unlike iOS, also comes with Google Maps as the default mapping provider, the premier mapping application on the planet. Jelly Bean also offers the Google Now service, which offers at-a-glance information provided by Google's search engine based on your interests and location. Everything from bus timetables to sports scores to local restaurant reviews are covered. It's a great feature.

Android is however a far less user-friendly OS, but what it lacks in dummy-proofing, it excels with customisation options. You can make your Android device look and act pretty much however you want it to, freely adding widgets and personal touches throughout the device, and even adding custom ROMs that totally change the way Android looks and feels.

Samsung have included plenty of their own software features through their own TouchWiz UI reskin too.For instance, there's a feature called S-Translator that can translate languages automatically. You type words out in English and the Galaxy S4 then speaks them in one of nine languages, making it a valuable travel buddy. The camera system can also recognise text in foreign languages and translate it.

Smart Scroll web-page eye-tracking and Smart Pause media pausing are also included, with the front facing camera following your eye movements and angle of the handset in your hand to pan pages automatically, or pause videos if you look away from the screen. The screen's "Adapt Display" will also kick in automatically, adjusting settings such as brightness depending on the apps you're using and ambient brightness so that it is comfortable to your eyes.

The S4 also has Group Play, a shared music feature which lets users sync and play music on up to eight devices simultaneously, while video calling has been enhanced so it now works with up to three people - or you can have a video call but show an image.

S-Health is a suite of health and fitness related features. It will tell you how many calories you are burning, gauge your heart rate and sleeping patterns. You can also monitor your blood sugar levels with an add on.

The TouchWiz UI however isn't as easy on the eye as stock Android, now anywhere near as attractive as Apple's iOS.

Galaxy S3
The Galaxy S3 shipped with Android Ice Cream Sandwich, though a 4.1 Jelly Bean update has slowly rolled out from many carriers. Even if you're stuck on Ice Cream Sandwich, it's still a great OS without the Google Now features, and is just as highly customisable as Jelly Bean. The Galaxy S3 also saw the debut of many now-standard Samsung Galaxy features, including picture-in-picture Pop-Up Play and Smart Stay screen sleep tech. It wouldn't be an unprecedented move for Samsung to eventually roll out some of the Galaxy S4's headlining software features to the Galaxy S3 over time either, which would further extend the possibilities of the handset.

Winner - Galaxy S4, as it has everything the S3 had and more.

Camera and Video Recording

Galaxy S4

The S4 sports a 13 megapixel camera, a significant spec-bump up from the 8 megapixel one found in the S3. 1080p video recording is also onboard.

Plenty of nifty shooting software features accompany the now-standard HDR, panoramic and photo filter shooting options.

For instance, It also includes a "Dual Camera" record feature, letting you shoot videos or photos from both the front and rear cameras at the same time, enabling you to be in the picture if you are taking the image. You can also add voice to an image as it can capture a few seconds of audio simultaneously.

The S4 also has a feature called "Drama Shot" that can snap 100 images in four seconds, and then make a composite of the most interesting moments captured. All these images and videos can then be stored in the "Story Album" gallery, that automatically makes a library of related shots based on date and location data.

Galaxy S3
Though many of the Galaxy S3's best camera features are now in the Galaxy S4, it's still a very capable snapper in its own right. The Galaxy S3 camera is an 8MP offering, with impressive start up speeds of 990ms, and the ability to fire off 3.3 photos a second. A 20 in a row, six photos per second burst mode also features, alongside Best Shot, which takes 8 pictures and picks out the best based on framing, lighting and blur, as well as elements such as open or closed eyes on the subject.

Then there are the facial recognition features. Snap a friend, tag them in one photo, and every subsequent picture you take of them in the future should automatically be tagged accurately by the handset. Groups of people appearing in the same shots can also have group tags associated with them, making organising large photo libraries incredibly easy. Images can quickly be shared via email or social networks using this feature too.

Elsewhere, more standard features like High Dynamic Range (HDR), panorama, Smile Shot and Beauty Modes are onboard too, as well as plenty of manual settings for things like exposure values.

1080p video recording is also onboard. Just like the S2 before it, the results from our tests look a real treat, with video stabilisation options working superbly. Up front, a 1.9MP camera for video calling and shooting 720p video is also available.

Winner - Galaxy S4

Price

Galaxy S4

Pricing has yet to be revealed, but expect it to be a lot more than what you can currently grab an S3 for.

Galaxy S3
Unlocked, the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S3 now sits at around £350, with the 32GB available at around £400 if you're willing to shop around a bit. Those are bargain prices considering how well the phone still performs. 24 month contracts sit at around £30 a month - depending on the deal you may even get the handset for free, though expect most of the time to spend a £30-£50 upfront cost, depending on the nature of the contract. With the S4 now out in the wild however, expect even these relatively low prices to drop further.

Winner - Galaxy S3

Verdict:

Was there ever really going to be any winner here other than the Galaxy S4? As a major update to Samsung's leading smartphone range, it of course ups the ante over its predecessor in pretty much every department. From screen improvements to a faster processor, cool new software features to nifty new camera tech, it's the superior handset in almost every way.

Of course, it does mean however that the Galaxy S3 is about to get very, very cheap indeed, and in the coming days and weeks expect it to hit bargain basement prices. If that proves true, you could be picking up a really excellent handset for considerably less than the S4 will sell for. If you don't mind being just a step behind the cutting edge, the Galaxy S3 still comes highly recommended.

For more Samsung Galaxy S4 launch news, click here

Here's an interesting little find - Vietnamese website Tinh Te, who seem in possession of a near-endless supply of mobile phone leaks, have just posted a hands on review of a mystery Motorola phone, which you can see in the video above.

Packing in a 4.65-inch 720p screen, it's running off a Snapdragon S4 processor and Adreno 320 GPU, with 2GB of RAM and a 2200 mAh battery.

Running Android Jelly Bean, it's curved edges and touch-only buttons make it look reminiscent of the LG Nexus 4, with a matte finish on the rear and a gloss finish up front.

However, the video also briefly shows off an unusual feature of the screen. At certain moments, the reflection and lighting of the video appear to show the screen to have two vertical ridges across the display. Is this a feature of the screen, a defect in the handset that Tinh Te have perhaps dubiously acquired, or simply a reflective trick of the camera? We're not sure.

Is this the Google/ Motorola X Phone? We'd say that's unlikely. By all accounts, the X Phone is the next flagship Android device, and the mid-range specs on show here don't necessarily line up with that. Just yesterday we saw what were claimed to be leaked specs of the rumoured X Phone, which seemed far more impressive with its Key Lime Pie version of Android, Full HD 1080p screen, a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4i processor, a 16MP rear camera and a 5MP one handling eye-tracking up front.

We all know the old saying; "it doesn't rain, it pours." That must be just how HTC chairman Peter Chou feels right now. Not only is his mobile company struggling to hit sales targets (with the company's sales down 44% year-on-year over February), but now he has to contend with his latest flagship device, the HTC One, facing delays.

The handset, due out this Friday, will now not reach customers hands until 29th March, according to a blog post from gadget retailer Clove.

HTC have since issued the following statement:

"We will start fulfilling pre-orders by end March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April."

Though the delay is a fairly minor one, the timing couldn't be any worse - not only do HTC need the HTC One to sell lots, and fast, in order to turn around their flailing fortunes, but they also need to beat Samsung to the punch, who are set to reveal their eagerly anticipated Galaxy S4 handset tomorrow.

Depending on what's revealed tomorrow, it's totally possible that Samsung could reveal and launch the rival Android handset before HTC's flagship - revealed last month - even makes it's way to stores. That'd be disastrous, given Samsung's stranglehold and consumer loyalty in the Android market already. For HTC's sake, lets hope the S4 launches with enough space between it and the HTC One to have some breathing room. We'd hate to see HTC really suffer, as the HTC One looks to be a great phone, as have all the company's recent devices.

All eyes may this week be on the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch, set to break cover this Thursday, but there's another Android phone we should all be keeping our eyes on: Google's rumoured Motorola X Phone.

Set to be the first real fruits of the Motorola/Google partnership, Android World have got their mitts on what they claim to be the handsets specs list.

If accurate, the X Phone will land not only with the latest Key Lime Pie Android build, but also eye-tracking for scrolling web pages, a feature expected to be headlining the Galaxy S4 launch this week. Could the Galaxy S4's most intriguing rumoured feature be about to become baked into stock Android anyway? With the X Phone posed to be the device to showcase the latest Android innovations, it certainly seems so.

On the hardware front, the X Phone is said to have a 4.7-inch Full HD 1080p screen, a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4i processor, a 16MP rear camera and a 5MP one handling the eye-tracking up front.

It'll even manage to shave a few millimetres off the slim RAZR MAXX HD chassis, measuring 131.2 x 66.7 x 7.9 mm.

Of course, take the rumoured specs here with a pinch of salt. But with the HTC One launch wrapped up, the Sony Xperia Z and the forthcoming launch of the Galaxy S4, it's looking quite the year for Android.

Samsung have revealed a teaser picture ahead of this Thursday's Samsung Galaxy S4 launch, giving us our first official glimpse of the eagerly-anticipated handset.

The shadowy image appears to show the top of the Galaxy S4, with rounded edges bringing to mind the look of the company's last flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S3.

It also looks very similar to the images leaked from Chinese forum 52Samsung yesterday, which you can see below, suggesting that it may indeed be the real deal.If that forum leak is accurate, you can expect to find the Galaxy S4 packing a 13-megapixel camera (listed as 12.8-megapixel, 4128 x 3096), Android 4.2.1, Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen, 1.8GHz processor, and 2GB of RAM.

All will be revealed on Thursday when Samsung lift the covers off their new toy at a glitzy New York launch event. We'll have all the confirmed details then, but in the meantime why not check out our extensive rumour-round up?

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We're just a matter of days away from the March 14 Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event, but it seems that the big reveal may have already been snatched from under Samsung's noses. Posters on the Chinese forum 52Samsung claim to have the first photos of the device, which you can see above.

Carrying the S4's alleged GT-I9502 model number, the white, plastic backed handset looks very close to the design of the S3, should the leak prove to be true.

But number of the photos even show off the S4's specs, including a 1080p display and quad-core processor, ringing true with what we've heard from previous leaks. Android 4.2.1 still appears to be the operating of choice here, while 2GB of RAM and a 13MP camera also feature.

However, there's no mention of the eye-scrolling tech rumoured last week, which may or may not rule out the inclusion of the intriguing new feature.

Of course, all leaks like this must be taken with a pinch of salt. The photo's could quite easily be a top-notch Photoshop job. But given the proximity to the S4 launch event, it's likely that there's a few of these handsets now out in the wild. And the pictures above could be our first good glance at them.

Head back to Tech Digest on Thursday evening for more Samsung Galaxy S4 news, when we'll be brining you all the official details on the eagerly-anticipated Android handset.

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The pressure is really on now for the new HTC One flagship smartphone to perform well. The Taiwanese firm's latest sales and earnings figures have been revealed, and it seems HTC has yet to clamber off the slippery slope it has found itself on in recent times.

February saw the company's smartphone sales drop a dramatic 44% year on year, making just NT$11.37 billion (around £255 million) compared to NT$20.3 billion (£453 million) over the same period in 2012.

HTC will be hoping that its drop in sales will be down to potential customers holding out for the release of their new premium HTC One flagship smartphone, which goes on sale next week.

And they'd do well to do so: our hands-on time with phone revealed it to be an impressive handset, with a superb camera and clean, engaging new Sense 5 UI Android re-skinning.

However, HTC have another mountain yet to climb, and that's fending off the competition from Samsung's Galaxy S4 handset, the other smartphone vying for Android dominance this year. With the Galaxy S4's launch a little over a week away, HTC will likely be waiting with baited breath to see if consumers side with their device or that of their South Korean rivals.

Remember those Google Play store gift cards we wrote about that looked set to land in the UK soon? Well they've now arrived.

Available in shops and supermarkets including Tesco and Morrisons, they come in £10, £25, and £50 values.

You can click here and enter your postcode to find the nearest retailer selling the cards, and its worth remembering that retailers often put deals out on gift cards, meaning in time you might find some cheap Google Play credit bargains waiting at the till after your supermarket "big shop".

More evidence backing up a potential eye-tracking "Smart Scroll" feature in the Samsung Galaxy S4 has been uncovered by SamMobile.

The page navigation system, first spotted by the NYT, would see a user manipulate and scroll through pages and emails just by having their eye movements tracked by the phone's front-facing camera.

Now, new screengrabs that are said to be from the Smart Scroll settings screen adds further weight to the claims. They show options to adjust the acceleration of eye-controlled scrolling, as well as a choice of which apps to allow Smart Scroll eye-tracking to work within, with the S4's out-of-the-box web browser and email clients listed, alongside Gmail and the Chrome browser. There's also mention of a Smart Pause feature that would pause a video clip if you look away from the screen.

The images also back up claims of a 1080p display being present in the smartphone.

While without confirmation from Samsung it remains difficult to verify the validity of the leaks, it's the sort of headlining feature (and a natural progression from the Galaxy S3's Smart Stay sleep settings) that we can imagine being included in the phone.

As to how well it will work, we're not so sure: with smartphones offering so many distractions and notifications, our eyes must be darting around pages all the time. It'll be interesting to see how the system identifies between a desire to scroll a page down or just a quick dart of our eyes momentarily onto another detail on the page.

See that tablet above? That's the Amplify, built by the News Corporation-owned company of the same name, an educational unit of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

A 10-inch Android tablet, it's been designed with public school classrooms in mind, aimed at both teachers and pupils, and will be launched officially at a SouthBySouthwest Education event today, the New York Times reports.

It's being headed up by Joel Klein, News Corp. executive vice president and former chancellor of New York City's public school system, who has a keen interest in bringing classrooms up to date with tech and gadgetry.

"We understand technology and we understand education," Klein told the Times. "A lot of people who understand technology don't understand education."

Two models will be available, a $299 Wi-Fi model and a 4G Amplify Tablet Plus model costing $349 aimed at kids working from home.

Each Amplify device also comes with a pre-loaded curriculum costing $99 for a two year subscription, mixing traditional teaching methods with tech-assisted learning. There's also new tablet-orientated discipline techniques built into the tablet, such as an alert that flashes an "eyes on the teacher" warning to distracted kids. It's not exactly the cane, but maybe kids will pay more attention to the scolds of an inanimate object than their tired teachers?

Only aimed at the US school system at present, some analysts have pointed out potential conflicts of interest in Klein's involvement.

"You can't at the same time go out and present yourself as a civic citizen talking about how public schools right now are horrible and then say, 'Oh, I have a product that is going to make it better,'" said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Even if this is a locked bespoke educational UI, with kids often far tech-savvier than their elders, we expect it to be just a matter of hours between kids getting their hands on these for the first time and then figuring out a way of getting Angry Birds on there. Now THERE's an incentive to get kids to go to school...

Newly released benchmarking stats seem to confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will indeed sport an eight (or "Octo") core processor.

Sam Mobile have acquired an Antutu benchmarking test from someone reportedly in possession of a Galaxy S4, powered by Samsung's Exynos 5410 chipset.

It reveals eight cores running at 1.8GHz clock speed, backed by 2GB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX 544 graphics processor. The results also suggest a 4.99-inch display at full HD 1080p resolution, with Android 4.2 being the phone's OS. There's also a 13MP camera listed, alongside GSM and LTE, suggesting a 4G launch handset.

Scroll down for the full benchmarking comparison table, putting the handset leagues ahead of rivals the Nexus 4 and the Optimus G. With the handset launching on March 14th, we're now just under two weeks away from verifying the validity of months of rumours.

The US has been enjoying pre-paid Android Play app store gift cards for some time now, but UK Android owners have only been given a whiff of a useless "redeem" page to date, with no actual gift cards to redeem on it.

It looks however as though that's about to change. Android Authority has been trawling the Google support pages, where they've found mention of UK prices.

It seems that we'll soon be able to buy £10, £25 and £50 gift cards for the Android Play store, which can be redeemed on app, music, eBook and movie purchases.

Though there's still no set release date, the launch can't come soon enough. Apple's App Store and iTunes gift cards have been littering the gift card racks of supermarkets for years. Gift cards would be another great way that Google could assert Android as a mainstream, app-centric platform to casual UK users, as well as nabbing a few quid from less tech-savvy grannies out to buy birthday gifts for the grandkids.

That said, Nan, if you're reading, I'd still just prefer the cash, thanks.

New mobile browser benchmarking scores, reportedly from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 handset, suggest that Samsung's new flagship Android handset will tear through web page load times at speeds that'd make Usain Bolt quake.

The results, spotted by GSM Arena, are for a handset codenamed the Samsung GT-I9500, widely expected to be the Samsung Galaxy S4. Testing the handset's browser with the Browsermark 2.0 benchmarking tool, the alleged S4 managed a score of 2710, with Chrome 25 as the browser.

Lined up against competition from the LG Optimus G, HTC One, Sony Xperia Z and Google Nexus 4 (as seen in the chart above) it suggests the Galaxy S4 will be one of the fastest smartphones on the market when it comes to loading up web pages, and miles beyond the speeds capable from a Samsung Galaxy S4.

The Browsermark test goes so far as to call it "superior to 99% of all phone browsers".

Of course, benchmark tests rarely have a bearing on the feel of using a device in a real-world situation, but if the tests do indeed relate to a Galaxy S4 handset it is a promising start.

The Galaxy S4 is set for a big launch on March 14. We'll have all the details from the event here on Tech Digest, so keep checking back to see what Samsung have in store for smartphone fans.

In the meantime, why not check out our Samsung Galaxy S4 rumour round-up?

HTC's slick new HTC Sense 5 Android re-skin looks set to land on older devices as well as the company's new flagship HTC One handset.

At least some of the new functions offered by the new UI will be making their way to the HTC One X, HTC One X+, HTC One S and HTC Butterfly, according to a new Facebook post from the company:

"HTC will be offering upgrades to some of its existing devices in the next few months, including global variants of HTC One X, One X+, One S and the HTC Butterfly. Also, note that some features enabled by the new HTC One hardware will not be available in the software updates."

So what's likely to make the jump to older handsets? We'd say BlinkFeed, the content aggregation service that HTC signed up so many partners for for starters; all parties involved their will likely be looking to maximise the reach of that feature (HTC will want to increase visibility of the headline feature of their new UI, while content providers will look to push their wares to as many users as possible).

Likewise the new clean fonts and stripped back design sensibilities will likely make the jump, as will tweaks to customise the app drawer.

However, it's highly unlikely that the Zoe camera features will make the jump. The new ultrapixel camera technology won't work alongside older camera systems.

No word yet on the roll out of the updates, but it expect it to be some time after the HTC One launches on 15 March. Find out more about BlinkFeed and HTC Sense 5 by clicking here.