Best Android Apps of 2012

Apple has already reeled off its best apps of 2012, and now Google has donned its retrospective specs and done the same for Android.

While Apple's chart is based on raw download numbers, Google has just opted for what it reckons are the best of its platform in the last 12 months. Some apps are brand new this year, some have just been updated. "From excellent tools to objects of beauty, each of these applications represents the best of Google play," it says on the App Focus page. So let's take a look and see what's impressed the people behind Android this year.

5 new GTA 5 screenshots out!!

Rockstar has wished us all happy holidays the only way it knows how: by giving us a fresh batch of Grand Theft Auto 5 screenshots to salivate over.

The screens were posted on the Rockstar site under the headline "Happy Holidays -- Enjoy". So it's not giving us much to go on. But still, who needs explanations when you've got sharks, planes, Rottweilers and more? Click through for the full gallery.

Sony Yuga, Just like the rest of the smartphones

The Sony Yuga seemed like a huge leap forward when we first got wind of it, just a few weeks ago. A 5-inch 1080p screen? Fantastic. But now it seems like more of the same.

Russian site Mobile Review has given the Yuga -- which will almost certainly be called something different when it's properly announced -- a thorough hands-on. It confirms the Yuga has a 5-inch Full HD (1,080x1,920-pixel) screen, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and a 12-megapixel camera.

Future Phones Will Smell To Check If You are sick!!

In just a few years, your phone will have one, two, three, four, five, senses working overtime. That's according to IBM, which reckons phones will soon see what you can't, taste what you like, smell when you're ill, hear what babies are saying and let you stroke someone's skin through your screen.

In its annual round of 5 in 5 predictions -- five things that could happen in the next five years -- IBM highlights the potential of hardware that would share your senses of sight, taste, smell,hearing, and touch.

Yota Phone with Second Screen at the back

The YotaPhone certainly has gotta lotta bottle. It's a prototype Android phone that solves the modern curse of rubbish battery life with a novel new two-faced design.

The YotaPhone boasts not one but two 4.3-inch screens -- one on the front and one on the back. The twist is that the traditional full-colour high-definition touchscreen is complemented by a low-powered ebook-reader-style black and white E Ink display on the other.

New Photos for Blackberry 10L series

The best photos yet have emerged showing off the first BlackBerry L-series phone -- and it looks a lot like the iPhone 5.

The snaps come from Vietnam, where leakmeisters Tinh te have got their hands on the new phone.

UK Government to rewrite web monitoring bill

David Cameron has been forced to go back to the drawing board on the government's draft Communications Data Bill after a committee of MPs and lords strongly criticised the proposed law's snooping powers.

The draft bill would force ISPs and phone networks to create "potentially limitless" records of digital communications -- who contacted whom and when, rather than the contents of those messages -- and enable the police and security services to look through these records whenever they suspected criminal or terrorist activity.

iPhone 5S to come in different colors

Colour us interested: the next iPhone could finally sport a coloured casing. Could a colourful iPhone 5S join the likes of the Nokia Lumia 920 in brightening up the mobile phone world?

Business Insider reports an industry watcher's predictions that the next generation of iPhone will be available in six or even eight colours. If true, it'll be the first time the iPhone shows off any colour other than black and white.

Apple and Samsung Arch Rival: HTC M7!!

HTC is going for its guns in the shootout with the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3. Reports say a new flagship phone called the HTC M7 will come out all guns blazing in 2013.

The magnificent seven is still unconfirmed, but rumours have begin to circulate that HTC intends to take the fight to the iPhone, S3 and other rivals. Industry rag Focus Taiwan reports that HTC has briefed suppliers of casings and semiconductors to prepare components for 4 to 5 million M7 phones.

Samsung Galaxy S4 With unbreakable screen

Unbreakable blower! The Samsung Galaxy S4 will have an indestructible screen when it arrives in the new year, according to new reports.

The follow-up to the smash hit Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S2 is expected in Spring, and could sport a screen made of plastic substrate that will fight off cracks and scratches even if dropped.

HTC 8S Remarkable Price!!

If you're looking for a cheaper way to hook up with Windows Phone 8 and its cheery live-tile lifestyle than Nokia's pricey Lumias, HTC is here to help. The HTC 8S -- or Windows Phone 8S by HTC to give its full perfume-inspired name -- is out now for £180 (plus top-up) on pay as you go from Three, and on pre-order from Expansys at £240 SIM-free.

That's at least £150 less than the most comparable Nokia, the £360 Lumia 820. We haven't reviewed the 8S yet, so I can't say exactly how they stack up, but let's have a look at what you get on paper.

iTunes download out Now

The new version of iTunes is finally here, following delays that saw Apple missing its original October deadline for the spangly new software.

The delay, the Wall Street Journal reports, was down to "engineering issues". Apple said at the end of October that it "wanted to take a little extra time to get it right". Never mind though, because now the much-needed iTunes revamp is available to download.

Microsoft PRO priced debuts at $899

Microsoft has pronounced a price for its professional high-end tablet. The Microsoft Surface Pro will start at £560 when it arrives in the new year.

That's the US price, though -- UK prices have not been announced. American tablet fans will have to pay $899 (£560) for the 64GB version or $999 (£622) for the 128GB model -- and the Touch Cover keyboard costs an extra hundred bucks on top.