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When the Samsung Galaxy Grand first came out, it offered users a mid-range smartphone with average processor and a big but rather low resolution screen. Nearing the end of 2013, Samsung have officially announced the Galaxy Grand 2 which not only packs in a better processor but also a marginally bigger screen. This time around the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 packs in a 5.25-inch screen with a bit more respectable resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. In terms of looks it now has a plastic artificial leather-like backing just like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Other tech specs and features have also received an upgrade with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB storage with up to 64GB microSD support, an 8MP AF rear camera with LED flash, a 1.9MP front camera and a much larger 2600 mAh battery. No 4G LTE support but it does have a GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, dual-SIM and a couple of S applications like S Health and S Translator. The Grand 2 measures in at 146.9 x 75.3 x 8.9mm and 163g. It should come running Android 4.3 in black, pink or white. No news about Malaysia release dates or pricing but we expect the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 to come soon.

Many in the tech industry feel that Windows RT and subsequent Windows RT-based devices lack many of the capabilities and features of more capable Microsoft operating systems and devices. Rumours about the death of Windows RT have circulated for quite some time at practically every chance. But so far, most of the rumours have been from third-parties, this time around, we have a comment from within Microsoft itself that could indicate Microsoft officially killing off Windows RT. The comment comes from Julie Larson-Green, who is Executive Vice President of the Devices and Studios and one of the big movers in Microsoft. Her comment was:

"We have the Windows Phone OS. We have Windows RT and we have full Windows. We're not going to have three. We do think there's a world where there is a more mobile operating system that doesn't have the risks to battery life, or the risks to security. But, it also comes at the cost of flexibility. So we believe in that vision and that direction and we're continuing down that path."

The LG G Flex is one of the first smartphones to sport a flexible display using a more durable plastic substrate. However, many people are saying that a flexible display is the same as an unbreakable display, which would be awesome for those of us who tend to drop our smartphones a lot. The guys at Android Authority managed to get their hands on one LG G Flex and proceeded to do a drop test, checking to see if a flexible display actually does mean an unbreakable display which you can check out in the video in this article.

A metal frame for a smartphone has recently surfaced, and while it isn't an aluminum unibody, it could be the metal frame for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Measurements for the frame come up at 143.8 x 72.3mm which indicates that it could get a 5.3-inch display, matching up with the incremental screen size increase of previous versions. This leak comes courtesy of nowhereelse.fr, which is quite famous for mostly accurate leaked images and tech specs. However, certain aspects of the frame don't match with current features of the Samsung Galaxy S range. These include a corner camera placement as opposed to the standard center camera placement along with a 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom as opposed to standard practice where Samsung smartphones have the 3.5mm audio jack on the top. Then again, this could be a frame for the new premium Samsung Galaxy F line of smartphones. In any case, this is still very much a rumour, so do take it with a pinch of salt. No other tech specs, pricing or Malaysia release dates were available but the Samsung Galaxy S5 is said to come in January 2014.

Maxis has recently opened up teaser images of the Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display. Unlike Celcom and DiGi, Maxis isn't opening any registration of interest forms just yet, but rest assured that they will be offering the tablets with Maxis 4G on their SurfMore data plans. This also means that if you're looking to get either an Apple iPad Air or iPad mini with Retina Display from Maxis you can expect to get the 4G LTE Cellular models that also come with the same prices. Unfortunately, Maxis did not reveal any pricing or Malaysia release dates but many are expecting this to come up in early December 2013 so people can get their Christmas shopping done. Check out the Maxis Apple iPad Air and Maxis Apple iPad mini with Retina Display pages for yourself.

In today's connected life, many times parents would consider giving their young school going children mobile phones and even smartphones to stay connected and protected. However, most parents and schools feel that this is not the best idea as your standard mobile phone or smartphone opens up possibilities of games, texting or calling during class and much more (like the super dangerous Internet). One of the more interesting solutions is the FiLIP,  which is a silicon encased phone watch that can only call up to five preset numbers, cannot text or install games and has a built-in GPS. What makes the FiLIP different is that children can use it to make calls back, perhaps to tell the parents to come pick them up or some other emergency. Parents can also call and send one-way text messages or locate them via GPS (they can also set a safezone) using the smartphone app.

Quite a few people are looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S5, including those who can create a reasonable concept render. This concept render of the Samsung Galaxy S5 appeared from the folks at O2 Guru TV sporting a curved screen from top to bottom, much like the LG G Flex. While this looks pretty and all, what is really interesting are the tech specs coming with the concept render. These Samsung Galaxy S5 tech specs include:

• A 64-bit octa-core processor and chipset
• 3GB RAM
• 5-inch Curved Super AMOLED display (2560 x 1440 pixel resolution)
• 16MP rear camera (4K video recording)
• 4000 mAh battery
• Android 4.4 Kit Kat + updated TouchWiz
• 4x front facing speakers

Despite recent successes in the smartphone market like the LG G2 and the notable LG G Flex, LG is apparently shifting their focus from smartphones to more successful industries. Despite positive response for these latest of smartphones, LG will be shifting their focus to TVs and related industries as these are getting better overall response. This news comes courtesy of Korean media who say that this will result in less LG employees working on smartphones and more on HDTVs. While this doesn't mean that LG will stop production completely it does mean we're less likely to see cutting edge smartphones from LG in the near future. However, LG are likely to continue development on flexible screens as curved and bent OLED screens are just as likely to be used in the TV industry as they are in a smartphone. Rather than be a player in the smartphone field, LG are likely to become parts suppliers instead. Here's what one analyst had to say about it:

"With the premium market slowing down and Chinese companies charging forward in the sluggish mid-to low-priced market, there is not much choice for LG Electronics. For starters, it may be better off to improve its financial status by increasing its TV sales, and then invest properly in the smartphone business."

BlackBerry has officially announced the Porsche Design P'9982. While you may think that this is just a rebadged BlackBerry Z10 (and the tech specs are the same) the P'9982 is actually made with premium materials which include an Italian leather backside and a stainless steel frame. Each device has it's own BBM Pin number for extra exclusivity. The use of premium materials means that the P'9982 is actually thicker by 0.5mm and heavier by 2.5g compared to the Z10 it is based on. Tech specs remain the same though and include a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, 4.2-inch display with 1280 x 768 pixel resolutions, 1800 mAh battery, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera nad support for 4G LTE. The user interface has been customized as well for the price of 1500 pounds (RM7600+). It can be bought through the Harrods and Porsche Design online Store but for more information go check out the main site. Check out the video and links in this article.

There have been quite a few smartwatch announcements recently and one of the latest is the Neptune Pine smartwatch. Originally a Kickstarter crowd-funding project (which is still running and has already met it's $100000 goal), the Pine smartwatch is a standalone device that packs in the tech specs and hardware of an entry-level smartphone into a rather chunky smartwatch that you can remove from the dock like strap to take pictures. This is because the Pine has a 5MP rear camera to go with a VGA front camera as well, both complete with LED flash. Other tech specs include a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, 16GB / 32GB of storage and a 2.4-inch screen with 320 x 240 pixel resolution. The Pine supports Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and even 3G along with voice calls and SMS. While it runs on Android 4.1, Neptune devs are currently working on an Android 4.4 update. Check out the videos, images and links in this article.