Samsung and Apple have spent years in court arguing over who ripped off whom more, but some cases are more clear-cut than others.

For example, a just-granted Apple patent covers a "mini flexible edge display" not unlike the curved-side screens found on Samsung phones like the Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy Note Edge.

The patent, spotted by Patently Apple, could point to a curved or side-mounted display for the iPhone 7 (or whatever the next iPhone is called).

Context and possibilities

The filing describes a number of different possibilities, including flexible displays that extend onto the phone's sides and feature touch buttons and controls that, for instance, could theoretically replace the volume buttons on an iPhone's side.

The inputs could change contextually, becoming a camera shutter button or other useful feature when needed.

Apple even shows how virtual buttons on a device's side and back could be used as inputs for gaming, though that's a far more niche use for this technology.

The possibilities Apple describes are intriguing, but that doesn't mean these features will show up on the next iPhone - or at all. Nevertheless we'll keep an eye out for further clues.

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The Samsung Galaxy S6 is powered by a non-removable battery, and anecdotally speaking some people are very unhappy about that.

Customization has always been one of Android's strengths, and only those suckers with iPhones should be stuck with a non-swappable battery. Right?

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Good news: the Galaxy S6's battery can definitely be removed - as long as you don't mind taking a screwdriver to the next Samsung flagship and voiding your warranty.

The "hack" was discovered by users in the XDA developer forums, and - strangely - Samsung's own user manual for the handset has instructions on how to do it.

But you probably shouldn't

You'll have to remove several screws from under the S6's backplate, then take out the phone's circuit board, to get to the battery.

The process is, at best, inadvisable, and it also voids your warranty. But hey - at least the option is (sort of?) there.

Unfortunately, there's no hidden microSD card slot in there, so Galaxy S6 users will be stuck with the phone's onboard storage even if they are able to remove its battery.

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Two separate pieces of evidence point to a couple of nice new features on the LG G4: the rumored Android 5.1 update and a quad-HD resolution display.

The two sources, a Sprint user agent profile page and an html5test result spotted by MyLGphones, paint a picture of the next LG flagship, which is expected to launch in April.

As previous reports predicted, LG skipped the opportunity to unveil the G4 at this month's massive MWC 2015 conference, likely opting instead for the less announcement-crowded month of April (or possibly May)

If all the clues that have piled up so far pan out, the LG G4 will turn up sporting Android 5.1 Lollipop, a quad-HD display, a Snapdragon 810 chip, 3GB of memory, 16GB or 32GB of storage, a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), and 4K video capabilities.

Read more on what we know about the upcoming phone at TechRadar's LG G4 release date, news and rumors hub.

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HTC's latest flagship, the HTC One M9, is a high-end treat for smartphone users, but the company may also have a more reasonably priced alternative in the works.

Like it did with the plastic HTC One E8 and the high-end One M8, HTC might release a slightly-less-than HTC One E9, according to some reports.

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This week the Chinese branch of Upleaks published what it expects to be the specs for the HTC One E9.

The good stuff

According to the site the M9 alternative will sport a 2GHz MediaTek MT6795 64-bit processor, 3GB of memory, 32GB storage, a 20-megapixel rear camera, Boomsound speakers, and either a 4-megapixel UltraPixel or 13-megapixel front camera (possibly depending on region).

A lot of these specs are similar or identical to the One M9's, but a few are definitely inferior.

In addition the HTC One E9 will reportedly come in a dual SIM variant and in "white rose gold," "brown gold" and gray colors.

HTC revealed the One M9 flagship at MWC 2015 this week, but we're still expecting to see a larger version called the HTC One M9 Plus at some point down the road, and the E9's announcement could accompany that.

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It's been more than a year since Sony sold the Vaio brand to Japanese firm JIP, and now it seems the company is working on a Vaio smartphone.

There were hints about the Vaio smartphone in February, but some solid evidence appeared this week in the form of box photos (above) and certification by Japanese authorities, according to Phone Arena.

The Vaio phone, for now known as the VA-10J, was reportedly certified back in December, but this was just discovered.

As far as the photos, the phone's box was reportedly shown by Vaio executives themselves.

Impending release

This all points to the Vaio phone being released soon - at least in Japan.

Whether it comes to other regions after that remains to be seen, but you shouldn't get too excited even if it does; the VA-10J has middling specs, including a 5-inch 720p display, a quad-core Snapdragon 410 chip, 13- and 5-megapixel cameras, 2GB of memory, 16 GB of storage, and Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Vaio also announced a slew of other devices in the last month, including a laptop with 15-hour battery, so it seems the brand may be back in a big way no matter how you look at it.

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At MWC 2015 today French company Alcatel announced the OneTouch Hero 2+, a phone loaded with Cyanogen OS 11 that's headed to the US.

Cyanogen, as you may know, is the company that wants to wrest control of Android away from Google, and the Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2+ will be only the third phone to come with native support for Cyanogen OS (after the OnePlus One and the Micromax Yureka), reports Android Authority.

But besides the OS change, the OneTouch Hero 2+ strongly resembles the OneTouch Hero 2, unsurprisingly.

And in this case "resembles" means "is completely identical to," including the 6-inch display, octa-core processor, 2GB of memory, 13- and 5-megapixel cameras, and a built-in stylus.

The Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2+ is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of this year for only $300 (about £200, AU$385).

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Update 3/26: Some carriers - and HTC itself - have begun to announce their specific HTC One M9 release dates, and we've updated the article below with the most up-to-date info.

Update 3/18: HTC revealed during a Youtube presentation that the HTC One M9 will start to be available in the US on April 10, with the phone's actual release date varying by carrier.

The company also announced a new type of insurance for the device called an "Uh-oh" plan, by which they'll replace your phone for free if something really awful - water damage, smashed screen etc. - happens to it within the first 12 months.

And those who don't take advantage of the program get $100 toward the purchase of a future HTC phone.

That's about all we know for now, but we'll keep updating below with info from each carrier as it arrives.

Unlocked

Most sources won't get the phone until mid-April, but HTC announced that an unlocked version of the One M9 will go on sale at the company's website beginning at midnight on March 27 for $650.

The phone likely won't arrive on your doorstep before April 10, but buying directly from HTC is one of the earliest ways to pay for the One M9.

The official HTC site will also offer the carrier versions.

AT&T

AT&T announced right off the bat that it intends to carry what it refers to simply as "the new HTC One."

Most recently the carrier revealed that it will offer pre-orders for the handset starting March 27, with units shipping and in stores April 10.

The carrier is selling the 32GB version in gold/silver and gunmetal grey for $708.99 upfront, $200 on-contract or $23.64, $29.55 or $35.45 on a 240, 28- or 12-month AT&T Next plan, respectively.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile was also quick to announce its intent to support the HTC One M9, though it too had little else to share.

The un-carrier did share that its HTC One M9 will have Wi-Fi calling out of the box, however, and post the above video with a "first look" at the new HTC flagship.

T-Mobile says the HTC One M9 will launch "this sprint," which shouldn't come as a surprise.

Sprint

Sprint's HTC One M9 announcement got a little more specific: the carrier says it will launch the new phone "early this Spring."

That's still not much to go on, but it seems Sprint - along with every other carrier - will announce more as the HTC One M9 release date approaches.

Verizon, US Cellular and beyond

Currently that's all the info we have for the HTC One M9, as Verizon and US Cellular - the other major US carriers - have yet to announce anything.

When they do, we'll update this article, so be sure to check back later.

However HTC did share a few other sources for the One M9: it will be available at Best Buy, Target, Costco and Amazon too, with release dates again varying.

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We first learned of the BlackBerry "Rio" in 2014, but the latest leak indicates that it might not be the high-end "savior" we originally thought.

Word today from N4BB is that the phone code-named Rio will actually be called the BlackBerry Leap, and that it will have mid-range specs and - hopefully - an affordable price tag.

These alleged leaked images show a fairly stylish device, too.

According to the site, the BlackBerry Leap will rock a 720p 5-inch display, 8- and 2-megapixel cameras, a 2800mAh battery, dual-core 1.5GHz MSM 8960 chip, 2GB of memory, 16GB of storage, and microSD support.

They don't have any info on the price, but the site says it will be released in April or May.

It would make sense for BB to debut the Leap at MWC 2015, but until then these leaked images will have to do.

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Word is HTC will release an HTC One M9 Plus alongside the standard HTC One M9, and today the (possibly) larger phone's specs appear to have leaked in full.

The specs, revealed by upleaks, include the fingerprint scanner that's rumored to be coming on the M9 Plus and the 5.2-inch display size we learned of previously.

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The M9 Plus will also reportedly come in two variants: one with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chip, and one with an MTK MT6795 octa-core chipset for some Asian regions.

Other than the processor both versions will apparently feature the same specs: 3GB of memory, 32GB of storage, voice over LTE support, Android 5.0.2 Lollipop (not the rumored Android 5.1), BoomSound front speakers, a 2840mAh battery, dual main cameras with 20.7 and 2.1 megapixels and a front camera with either 4 or 13 megapixels.

Finally the M9 Plus will also reportedly come in three color variations: one with dark gunmetal on both sides, one with gold, and one with a gold face and a silver back.

Based on the many leaks and teases we've seen recently, the HTC One M9 and HTC One M9 Plus appear to be good and ready for their March 1 debut at MWC 2015.

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