Fancy pants smartphones are now outselling cheaper feature phones for the first time in history, according to new findings from research firm IDC.

Tracking shipments over the first three months of 2013, 51.6% of the 418.6 million mobile phones shipped were smartphones. The number of phones shipped for the traditionally slow quarter (Q4 2012, the holiday season, saw shipments hit 483.2 million) rose year-on-year too, with 2012's Q1 shipments peaking at 402.4 million.

"Phone users want computers in their pockets. The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

"As a result, the balance of smartphone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smartphones."

Samsung are shown to be the biggest mobile manufacturer for the quarter, shipping 115 million phones for a 27% market share, more than rivals Apple, Nokia, LG and ZTE combined.

Nokia sits in second place, with 14.8% market share and 61.9 million phones shipped, with Apple in third at 8.9% market share and 37.4 million phones shipped over the quarter.

Samsung's rolling in the dough, with profits revealed to be rising 55% in their Q1 2013 earnings call. And the Samsung Galaxy S4 is only just going on sale!

Samsung have filed a massive $7.9 billion (just over £5 billion) profit in the last 90 days, with strong smartphone sales making up the bulk of the profits.

"Highlighting the quarterly performance, the IT & Mobile Communications (IM) Division which comprises the Mobile Communications, Networks, and Digital Imaging businesses, achieved profitable results backed by strong smartphone sales coupled with reduced marketing expenses," reads the company statement on the results.

"Sound sales of GALAXY S III and GALAXY Note II devices aided profit margins for Mobile Communications."

However, Samsung are warning investors to keep expectations realistic, even with the launch of the Galaxy S4 looming, with the company expecting smartphone sales to "dampen" due to "heightened competition". Likewise, while smartphone sales are soaring, other areas of the company aren't doing quite as well.

"The January-to-March quarter again proved trying on the PC business," Samsung admitted.

"Demand for consumer electronics products in emerging markets stemmed further sales losses but weak seasonality and a sluggish economy took their toll on Samsung's sales of TVs and home appliances."

For a full look at Samsung's earnings breakdown, click here.

Mobile phone theft is the only rising crime in England and Wales, with virtually every other form of crime dropping since 2011.

"Theft from the person" (the police's fancy new way of saying muggings), under which header many mobile phone thefts fall, have risen by 8%, with 107,471 reported incidents in 2012 according to the Office for National Statistics. It was the only category of crime to rise in 2012, with 90% considered "stealth thefts" - pickpocketing situations where the victim is unaware during the event.

So what's causing the rise? It's likely simply down to the value of items we carry around with us. If you've got a smartphone and a tablet on your persons, you're likely walking around with £1,000 worth of goods on you. Factor in maybe a laptop too and a nice pair of headphones if you're commuting to work or college, and it's easy to see why you'd be a target for criminals.

So what can you do to protect yourself and your belongings? It's not easy, but try to avoid taking your valuables out with you, or at least getting them out in unfamiliar public places. It's also worth shelling out for insurance these days (worth it considering the cost of each gadget), and perhaps even consider registering your tech with Immobilise, the police force's database that will help recover your stolen goods if an arrest is made.

The Samsung Galaxy S4, the long-awaited smartphone successor to the company's world-beating Galaxy S3, finally goes on sale this weekend.

We've pulled together all the best deals for UK smartphone fans looking to pick up the Galaxy S4. Check them out below.

EE

The only provider offering 4G connectivity, EE is the way to go if you want the fastest mobile broadband available. But it will cost you. Two year, £31 a month deals with the handset at £269.99 gets you 500MB of data usage per mont. But you'll burn through that on 4G speeds. Cough up £46 a month and the up-front handset cost drops to £29.99 and the data usage goes up to a more reasonable 3GB.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile have popped the Galaxy S4 on their "Full Monty" plans, offering the phone on two-year deals. £36 a month gets the handset for £99.99 and bags you 2,000 voice minutes, unlimited data and texts. £61 a month gets you the handset for £19.99 and offers unlimited minutes as well as unlimited data and texts.

Orange

Orange are offering the Galaxy S4 on all their current plans, with the cheapest up-front option being "The Works 51" plan, which bags you the phone for just £19 on a two year, £51 a month contract. That gives you unlimited calls and texts, and a sizeable 8GB of data.

For £26 a month on a two year Orange deal, you'll see the handset jump to £269.99, with 500MB of data. Orange's Panther, Canary and Dolphin plans also offer the handset, but you'll have to look elsewhere for a free-phone contract.

Vodafone

To get the Galaxy S4 for free on Vodafone, you'll have to sign up for a two-year deal at £42 or £47 a month. Opt for the £37 a month option and you'll have to pay £69.99 for the handset. Vodafone are also offering a free phone on the £37 a month option providing you trade in select older handsets.

Unlimited calls and texts go across the board on these plans, with only data varying. £37 a month gets you 1GB, £42 bags 2GB and £47 gets you 4GB.

Three

Two year deals from Three start at £35 a month with a £49 upfront cost. That's for the "Ultimate Internet 500" plan, which offers unlimited data, 500 minutes and 5,000 texts. "The One Plan" is probably the contract to go for from Three, upping the monthly cost by just £2 to £37 a month with the same £49 upfront cost, offering unlimited data, 2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three-to-Three network calls and 5,000 texts.

Three also sell the handset on Pay As You Go plans. The handset costs £549 this way, with a £10 or £15 add on offering 500MB or unlimited data, 100 or 300 minutes respective of the add-on cost. 3000 texts are offered across each.

O2

Due to high demand, O2's are now warning that pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S4 have now run out for a guaranteed arrival on launch day, meaning you may have to wait a little now to get the handset from the network. They're still honouring the double data offer for all who signed up early however, providing 2GB of data for the price of 1GB on a 24 month contract. That costs £37 per month with an up-front charge of £69.99.

O2 are offering a "free upfront" option with each of its tariff levels, nearly all of which offering unlimited texts and calls, making data pretty much the only variable for the price.

For example, a 2GB option puts you at £47 a month, while £37 a month gets you 750MB of data. Keep in mind there's the newly-revealed O2 Refresh tariff too, if you're looking to split the cost of the handset away from the service and be eligible for early upgrades.

Tesco

Tesco, using O2's network infrastructure, have quite a fairly cheap option on offer. You can get the handset for free from them on a two-year deal for £30 a month, bagging 250 minutes of calls, 500MB of data and 5,000 texts. Going up in £5 increments for each contract beyond that entry level, Tesco top out at a £45 a month deal that offers 3,000 minutes of calls, 5,000 texts and 3G of data.

SIM-free

SIM-free, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is hovering around the £580 mark from the likes of Amazon and Clove. It's a fair whack of money to lay out all at once, but paired with the right SIM-Only network deal can prove the cheapest option over the entire course of a phone's lifetime.

Yoga fans, rejoice! LG have announced plans to launch a smartphone with a flexible OLED display before the end of the year.

Revealed during the company's financial results call, few details beyond a planned Q4 2013 release date were offered, though it does explain the comment made by Won Kim (LG's head of mobile marketing) earlier this year when he stated that "something different and something unique" would be coming later this year.

However, due to the complexity of manufacturing processes associated with building bendy phones, it's unlikely that the smartphone will be completely bendy. It's more likely that the phone will have a touchscreen that will wrap around the edge of the device and still be operational, not unlike recent prototypes from Samsung.

Corning, makers of the strong Gorilla Glass found in so many smartphones and developers of the flexible Willow Glass displays, have already warned tech fans not to expect rollable electronic devices for at least another three years. The company are however making "a lot of effort" to educate "very big name" companies, fuelling rumours of Apple iWatches and bendy smartphones from the likes of Samsung and LG being in development with intentions to end up with consumer products.

The curved screen trend will not be limited to smartphones either: LG have also recently announced that their curved screen OLED TVs will be commercially available during the second half of the year.

Taking the fight to the Facebook Home-packing HTC First Android smartphone and BBM-equipped BlackBerry handsets, Nokia have launched the social-focussed Asha 210.

A budget-orientated smartphone, the Nokia Asha 210 uses the ageing Symbian operating system and packs in a QWERTY hardware keyboard.

Perhaps its most interesting feature is its keen social focus. As well as having Facebook and Twitter deeply integrated, the handset has a dedicated WhatsApp button on the front, firing up the application instantly. The handset also comes with a lifetime subscription to the WhatsApp service, saving users a $1 (roughly 66p) a year.

On the back sits a 2MP camera - pretty much the standard for dirt-cheap phones of this ilk.

Two different versions of the handset will be available, with a single-SIM version capable of 46 days of battery life and a dual-SIM version managing 24 days of juice from a single charge.

Landing in June, the Asha 210 models will start at $72, around the £50 mark.

Can't someone cut HTC some slack? First it was struggling sales, then it was supply shortages. Now the ailing smartphone manufacturer has to contend with a set-back for its critically-acclaimed HTC One handset, as Nokia has won a ruling that will prevent HTC from using the microphone currently used in the construction of the phone.

Winning an injunction in the Netherlands that puts a ban on HTC's continued use of the microphone until March 2014, supplier STMicro will no longer be able to sell the mics to HTC. Nokia's engineers discovered that the microphones use patented Nokia tech intended exclusively for the Finnish manufacturer's handsets, and can be found in the Lumia 720.

While the current HTC One handsets in circulation will not be affected, the company will have to quickly source another supplier and mic module should they wish to continue production of the handset or face further legal difficulties.

"HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are consulting with STM and will decide whether it is necessary to explore alternative solutions in due course," said HTC in a statement.

It's possible that the planned launch of a black HTC One model will now be pushed back.

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The iPhone 5S, in true iPhone "S" edition tradition, looks set to be primarily a spec-bump up from last years iPhone 5, with rumour having it that it's only defining new feature is a potential fingerprint scanner. However, that addition could turn out to prove costly for Apple, as a new report is stating that its inclusion could lead to delays for the smartphone.

Reuters are reporting that issues surrounding finding a suitable coating for the fingerprint scanner could result in shipping delays, with the publication's sources claiming that coating so far used have interfered with the responsiveness of the scanner.

Production of the iPhone 5S was slated for June, but this issue is now causing worries that mass production schedules could slip, leading to a delayed launch for the handset.

As with all Apple rumours, we'll take this one with a pinch of salt, but the addition of a fingerprint scanner could be the marquee feature that the smartphone needs. It's particularly interesting when considered in conjunction with this Boy Genius Report article, which claims Apple are looking to push hard into business markets and the world of commerce, both areas where a fingerprint scanner (and NFC connectivity) could prove useful.

Other rumours surrounding the iPhone 5S have also included the possibility of a 12MP camera being featured, as well as faster processor speeds and the arrival of iOS 7.

Reuters also continue to fuel the fire around the potential for a budget iPhone model, with there sources claiming that a 4-inch iPhone with a plastic casing without the fingerprint scanner is also set to launch.

HTC have revealed the Desire L Android smartphone, a new mid-range blower intended to bolster the company's budget-end line-up.

Popping in a 4.3-inch display, HTC have equipped the Desire L with a 5MP camera, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 1,800mAh battery. There's a measly 4GB of storage included, but at least microSD support lets you boost that substantially if you require it.

Measuring 128 x 66.9 x 8.9mm and weighing a reasonable 118g, the Desire L runs Android Jelly Bean (4.1.2), the handset has a simple slate-like design with loudspeakers housed on the rear.

Both pink and black hues will be available at launch in Taiwan for the handset, but there's yet to be any announcement of global availability.

Which is a shame: HTC battling Samsung's Galaxy S4 with the HTC One at the top-end of the Android smartphone market, the Desire L looks capable of bringing the fight to Samsung's own mid-range Galaxy Ace line-up, as well as Nokia's competing Windows Phone 8 Lumia 720 handset.

A new malicious string of Android malware called "BadNews" may have been downloaded as many as 9 million times say mobile security experts Lookout.

Revealed in a Lookout blog posting over the weekend, the malware has sat hidden in 32 Android apps, with its creators avoiding Google's virus-tracking Bouncer software by only injecting the malware into the apps as post-launch updates.

The malware, which was hidden in downloads including games, dictionaries and wallpapers, contains code which harvests sensitive information including phone numbers and handset serials before relaying the information back to a server.

"You can't even say Google was at fault in this because Google very clearly scrutinized all these apps when they went in," said Marc Rogers, principal security researcher for Lookout, speaking to Ars Technica.

"But these guys were cunning enough to sit there for a couple of months doing absolutely nothing and then they pushed out the malware.

"This is a wakeup call for us in the industry to say: 'Bad guys are smart as well and they'll take a look at the security models we put in place and they'll find weaknesses in them. That's exactly what they've done here."

For more on the "BadNews" malware, check out Lookout Mobile Security's detailed blog posting.

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Google's Nexus 4 was one of the best Android phones available last year, putting top-specs in a cut-price handset. According to SIDHTech, it now looks as though Google are looking to give the smartphone a 2013 makeover, updating the storage and network capabilities of the sought after phone.

The original Nexus 4 came in only 8GB and 16GB sizes, but the rumoured new addition to the line will double the storage capacity up to 32GB. The Autumn launch of the handset also saw 4G LTE connectivity a bizarre omission, and that too now will be rectified in the 32GB version.

These networking upgrades will come compete with CDMA support, giving the handset compatibility with as wide a range of high-speed networks as possible.

The revised Nexus 4, which may well have been on the cards since the line's initial launch (itself beset by stock shortages), is expected to land during Google's annual I/O conference in May.

This year's I/O conference is also expected to see the unveiling of the latest build of Android, 5.0 Key Lime Pie, and it's possible that the revamped Nexus 4 could ship with the newest version of Google's mobile operating system baked in.

We loved the Google Nexus 4. Read our in-depth analysis on the top notch Android mobile by clicking here.

Nokia seem to have finally turned the corner, with the release of their Q1 2013 financial results showing solid sales of their Lumia line up.

The Finnish company has posted net sales of 5.85 billion Euros for the quarter, selling 5.6 million Lumias - a 30% increase over the last quarter. That results in a loss of €339 million, an improvement over the €1.57 billion loss over the same period a year earlier.

It's small fry compared to the wild profits being posted by Apple and Samsung, but considering the dire situation the brand was in just a year ago, it seems things are finally looking up for the veritable mobile manufacturer.

"At the highest level, we are pleased that Nokia Group achieved underlying operating profitability for the third quarter in a row. While operating in a highly competitive environment, Nokia is executing our strategy with urgency and managing our costs very well," said Stephen Elop.

"We have areas where we are making progress, and areas where we are further increasing the focus. For example, people are responding positively to the Lumia portfolio, and our volumes are increasing quarter over quarter. "

Elop also teased some interesting developments in the smartphone space are on the way from Nokia later this year, echoing the rumours we posted earlier. "Our Mobile Phones business faces a difficult competitive environment and we are taking tactical actions and bringing new innovation to market to address our challenges," he said.

Pantech's latest smartphone, the hardcore-sounding Vega Iron, looks set to catch your attention with its slinky thin bezel.

Packing in a 5-inch 1,280x720 display, the screen sits in a chassis with bezel edges just 2.4mm wide on each side. To put that in perspective, that's roughly half the width of the bezel on an iPhone 5, and makes the screen account for 75.5% of the phone's front-side surface area, sitting just behind the Xperia ZL's 75.8%.

Under the hood the handset sounds just as impressive, with a 1.7 GHz Snapdragon 600 processor backed by 2GB of RAM, in-cell LCD tech in the display and Gigabit Wi-Fi.

32GB of built-in storage is the only model set to be available, with expansion via microSD, while a rear camera is set to snap 13MP shots.

Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean is the operating system baked in, with a 4.2 update planned for the near future, while 4G is also supported. Battery capacity is 2,150mAh.

No word yet on a UK or US release, but this should be hitting South Korean stores soon. With Pantech looking to expand to Western markets, this wouldn't be a bad handset to get the ball rolling with.

Nokia are said to be working on a new Lumia smartphone to rival the Samsung Galaxy Note in terms of size.

Sources "with knowledge of the company's plans" have spoken to the Financial Times, who are reporting that the Finnish phone manufacturer is putting together a "phablet" device with a screen around the same 5.5-inch size as the Galaxy Note, but packing in "more advanced specifications" under the hood.

Nokia will also be launching a high-end camera phone with a massive 40MP sensor in July, using the same camera tech that was found in the unusual Symbian-based 808 PureView phone from last year. It seems this summer's phone is the rumoured EOS PureView device.

The new phones will be added to the quickly-growing range of Windows Phone 8 devices offered by Nokia, including the Lumia 520, 720, 820 and 920. With little more than size and camera setting all the devices apart considering how well the Windows Phone platform scales to less powerful hardware, these new rumoured handsets could prove interesting additions to the Lumia line up.

They'd effectively give Nokia three flagship devices; the all-rounder in the shape of the 920, the camera focussed EOS PureView and the tablet-like 5.5-inch device. With Samsung's Galaxy line saturating the Android market with more configurations than could possibly be needed, and Apple playing it safe with just the one new iPhone each year (forgetting the rumoured "cheap iPhone", of course), Nokia's range would seem to be covering a sensible number of bases and user requirements.

Samsung's galaxy looks set to extend further again following the leaked specs of a new Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 handset hitting the web.

Spotted on the GL Benchmarks site by SamMobile under the GT-S7272 codename, it looks like another mid-range Android handset set to replace the Galaxy Ace 2.

Packing in a 1GHz dual-core processor, it's running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on an 800x480 display, backed by 1GB of RAM.

There's also a 5MP camera on the rear with 720p video recording capabilities, as well as NFC tech.

No official confirmation from Samsung yet, but it's looking quite good for what's expected to be a fairly low cost handset. It's rare to find both NFC and the latest version of Android on the budget end of the mobile scale, and it's possible that the Galaxy Ace 3 could be a real steal on contract deals.

Samsung's top-end smartphones hit all the right...ahem...notes when it comes to internal hardware and software features. But ask any tech critic worth their salt what's holding back the Galaxy line and they'll bring up Samsung's choice to consistently use plastics over premium metals in the chassis design. The near-unanimous praise given to the classy HTC One design seems to have ruffled Samsung's feathers however, with the latest rumours surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 suggesting the company will be using a metal chassis in the super-sized phone line for the first time.

According to a SamMobile insider, "Samsung is planning to switch build quality for the next flagship device. He pointed out that the Galaxy Note 3 will not use the design guidelines of the Galaxy S4."

It's thought that aluminium would be used in the Galaxy Note 3, it being a lightweight and durable material, as used in the iPhone and HTC One designs. SamMobile continue that the Galaxy S4 had seen aluminium prototypes being made too, and was received well internally, but would have been too difficult to mass produce in time for launch with significant numbers.

Given the popularity of Samsung's current line despite the perceived design shortcomings, a premium-build Galaxy device could really hinder HTC's attempts to regain their footing in the Android market. However, given the already prohibitively high cost of the latest Samsung Galaxy S4 handset, we shudder to think what an aluminium-build Galaxy Note 3 could cost.

Pre-orders on the gigantic 7-inch ASUS Fonepad phone/tablet hybrid have now opened in the UK. Carphone Warehouse, Amazon and Sainsbury's will each be selling the Fonepad, priced at £179.99, due for release on the 26th April.

First revealed back at MWC 2013, the whopping handset is the same size as some tablets despite its call-making abilities, and comes complete with an Atom Z2420 processor, Android version 4.1, 16GB of built0in memory and space for microSD expansion.

"It is ideal to have a larger screen with entertainment, social media and other online activities now playing an increasingly important part in our mobile lifestyles," said Jonney Shih, ASUS Chairman.

"The incorporation of 3G mobile data with full telephony support, makes the Fonepad the perfect combination of a tablet and phone in one single device."

We're not sure who in their right mind would want a phone this size, but at least the price hasn't scaled up with the size - £179.99 is perfectly reasonable whether you see the device as a tablet or phone. Those looking for similarly-sized handsets from Samsung should turn their attentions to the 5.8 and 6.3 Samsung Galaxy Mega handsets.

Huawei have just revealed release date and pricing information for their budget wonder, the Huawei Ascend G510.

First spotted at this year's MWC 2013 show, it'll set you back a mere £130 on PAYG, or free on £13 a month contracts from Vodafone.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that at such low prices the phone wouldn't be up to much, but it's actually packing an impressive spec sheet for the price.

With a 4.5-inch display, it's powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, running Android Jelly Bean version 4.1 and even supporting wireless NFC tech.

4GB of storage is onboard, which can be expanded by microSD cards, while there's a 5MP camera on the rear and 1,750mAh battery under the hood. It's not too shabby then, though Huawei's Android re-skinning wont be for all tastes.

Launching on April 12th, Vodafone UK are the only announced carrier so far. Expect to see the G510 go up against other budget devices including Huawei's own Ascend W1 as well as the HTC Desire C, Orange San Diego and ZTE Blade 3.

PC shipments worldwide continue to slide in the wake of the tablet and smartphone revolution, with the first quarter of 2013 seeing only 76.3 million machines ship, resulting in the PC market's biggest ever decline.

IDC, which has tracked PC shipments since 1994, saw the number of devices shipped fall 13.9% over the same quarter in 2012; a far greater decline than the 7.7% forecasted.

Defining PCs as desktops, portables, notebooks and workstations (but not x86 servers or tablets), HP stayed on top as the leading vendor with a 15.7% marketshare. But even that was as part of a 23.7% decline in shipments overall compared to the previous year. Lenovo saw now growth in second place with a 15.3% market share, while Dell sat in third with an 11.8% market share and a 10.9% overall decline. Acer suffered massively, sitting in fourth place with an 8.1% marketshare and hit with a whopping 31.3% decline overall. ASUS round out the top five with a 5.7% marketshare and a 19.2% drop in growth.
"Although the reduction in shipments was not a surprise, the magnitude of the contraction is both surprising and worrisome," said David Daoud at IDC.

"The industry is going through a critical crossroads, and strategic choices will have to be made as to how to compete with the proliferation of alternative devices and remain relevant to the consumer."

While tablet and smartphone sales take most of the blame for the decline, poor marketing of Windows 8 is also raised as a potential factor by IDC.

"While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the UI, removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," said Bob O'Donnell at IDC.

However, even tablet market leaders Apple with the iPad have seen the tablet market spike have an adverse effect on their own computer sales. At the company's Christmas-season earnings call the company say Mac sales sitting at 4.1 million, down from 5.2 million the previous quarter.

ZTE have unvieled their latest smartphone packing an Intel chipset, the ZTE GEEK.

Powered by Intel's new 32nm Atom processor platform Z2580, it's clocked at 2GHz and is backed by 1GB of RAM.

Running Android Jelly Bean, it's fronted by a 5-inch 720p display, and comes complete with an 8MP camera, 8GB of built-in storage, a 2,300 mAh battery, which also supports wireless charging. 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity are included, but no 4G.

"Our recent collaboration with Intel on the ZTE GEEK builds off of the success of the Grand Series and further enhances our competitiveness in the high-end smartphone market," said ZTE EVP and Head of the Mobile Devices Division Mr. He Shiyou.

"This partnership also will improve customer experiences by providing them with more choices in the market."

A solid sounding device then, but that name's not going to win over the masses. It's almost bad enough to make it onto our list of the top 10 worst phone names ever.

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