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In line with the waterproof Samsung Galaxy S5, reports out of Korea indicate that the next LG G3 smartphone could be waterproof and dustproof. So far, both Sony and Samsung are offering such smartphones while others are going for water resistant or dust resistant devices instead. The reports don't mention any other tech specs but the likelihood of LG doing this is quite high considering that every one else is. Do remember to take this rumour with a pinch of salt though as LG could just as likely go for a lesser water or dust resistant certification or have no proofing at all.

Offering a refresh of their Samsung Galaxy S3 mini, Samsung have since announced the Samsung Galaxy S3 mini Value Edition. While the design remains the same, the tech specs have been bumped up to a 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor along with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Going for about €180 (RM819) in the Netherlands, the price seems a bit high considering the tech specs of RM500 and above smartphones today, but it should eventually be available here in Malaysia as well.

If you can't beat them, then join them seems to be the saying many tablet makers are going for as they strive to overtake the Apple iPad tablets. Following that, HP have announced the HP 8, which is a 7.85-inch display tablet that looks exactly like the first Apple iPad mini. Having bought one of these clones myself already I can't help but wonder if everyone is getting the same aluminum unibody shell from the same supplier as the Apple iPad mini because everything looks nearly the same. Perhaps the iPad mini may have a bit more chrome trim but the design is nearly identical. Tech specs are the same in some aspects as well including the aforementioned 7.85-inch IPS display, which has a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution.

Having just covered the Lenovo Vibe Z we can understand what a performer it is but we balked a little at the still rather high pricing. However, Celcom are now teasing the Lenovo Vibe Z for just RM688, which is a much lower price point than the normal retail price of about RM1750. While there aren't any specific plan details, Celcom will offer the Lenovo Vibe Z starting from 16 March 2014 with the promo price of RM688 for every Celcom mPro or mPro Plus plan sign up. In addition, you'll also get an RM50 shopping voucher. Details of the launch are set at the Blue Cube, Sunway, Oasis Boulevard at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall. The launching is set at 15 march 2014 with the first 30 customers getting the promo price of RM688 for signing up with the Celcom mPro or mPro Plus plan. If you're under Celcom's LTE coverage then the LTE-enabled Lenovo Vibe Z should be a good deal for you. For more information, check out the Celcom site.

The Nokia Moneypenny or Nokia Lumia 630 was recently leaked, showing off a rather different design than the previous Nokia Lumia 620 and Lumia 625. Gone is the dedicated camera key and LED flash but the overall design looks to be thinner. Coming courtesy of @evleaks, it seems safe to assume that this is the real thing but other tech specs and features were not really available. The only thing we do know is that it will have Windows Phone 8.1 and that it may come as soon as April 2014.

One of the key limitations for smartphone integration is that it usually has to be with a newer car. Apple's CarPlay for example is just limited to the latest batch. However, Mercedes-Benz was reported as saying that an "after market solution" or some sort of Apple CarPlay kit could soon be coming to older Mercedes-Benz cars by the end of 2014. Tech specs, features or other details have not been made available yet but we expect it to be something more than just a simple plug-and-play stand you can install yourself. So far, only Mercedes-Benz has come forward about this but we expect other car makers to come out with similar announcements soon.

Up until now, there have been many GPS devices in the form of watches that track your kids. However, most of them look bulky and something most kids would try to take off the moment they could. The HereO GPS watch could change that by offering a slimmer and more colourful option, at least for kids who like to colour coordinate their wrist wear. The watch does look smaller and more likely to stay on a kid's wrist while showing time much like any other kid's digital watch. Tech specs and features seem to be limited to just that, allowing the kids to tell time while providing an alert which goes off if the device leaves a geo-fenced area pre-set according to the app it is paired with.

Smart bands look to be the straddling the gap between health trackers and more feature filled smartwatches with the Samsung Gear Fit being one of the latest smartbands from Samsung. A purely health tracker device from Samsung could also be coming in the form of the Samsung S-Circle which is basically the same as the Samsung S Band and Heart Rate Monitor Band. Basically a sensor on a wrist band, the S-Circle is expected to offer tech specs like Bluetooth LE and be relatively more affordable than your usual smartwatch. No specific Malaysia release dates or pricing details were available but we expect it to surface soon as it has already got Bluetooth SIG certification.

Goophone has a tendency to create nearly identical copies of leading smartphones and this time around is no different as they officially announce their Goophone M8. Now, what other smartphone has 'M8' in it's name? Right, the HTC M8 or the still unofficially named All New HTC One. While the smartphone it is copying still hasn't been launched yet, the GooPhone M8 looks nearly identical to the original aluminum unibody design. It may not have key features like the dual-camera dual-LED flash on the backside but it does look nearly identical at a single glance. You can also get it in gold too. Tech specs for the Goophone M8 aren't bad at all with a 1.7GHz octa-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage + microSD, 5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 12.6MP rear camera with LED flash, 5MP front camera and 3G connectivity. At just $230 (RM750) this phone is for those midrange users who like the All New HTC One design but not anything else. Check out the Goophone M8 site for more information.

In line with their new 4G LTE enabled DG SmartPlan, DiGi have also revealed new device bundles for the Motorola Moto G, Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy, Huawei Ascend G510, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung Galaxy Grand Quattro, Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia C, Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Sony Xperia Z1. These include the DG SmartPlan 50, DG SmartPlan 78, DG SmartPlan 108 and DG SmartPlan 148. Bear in mind that since these are postpaid plans you'll still have to sign up for the devices under either a 12-month or 24-month contract. However, DiGi have simplified this somewhat by having all contract device bundles under the DG SmartPlan set at 12-months while the other three plans are set at 24-month contracts. Check out the table below for more details: