When it comes to technology we're like Jason Statham in the Crank movies, always seeking something that'll keep our hearts pumping. Last week we were mainlining CES 2015, and this week we're getting excited about new Nintendos, VIP smartphones and Sony speculation. Not only that, but we've been playing with the Apple Watch and we've given TechRadar itself a bold new look.
Nintendo's nifty new handhelds
We knew they were coming, but we didn't know when - so it's good to know that Nintendo's new 3DS and 3DS XL are coming to the UK on February 13. Bad news for our American readers, though: they're only getting the XL. Both handhelds feature a new second thumbstick, NFC, better 3D and better performance too.
Is Sony going to sell the family silver?
It's already sold off its Vaio division. Could Xperias and Bravias be the next to go? That's what Reuters is reporting, citing internal sources who say that "no business is forever". It's no secret that Sony's been struggling of late, and while its PS4 is selling by the truckload, other products aren't doing so well.
Google goes gaga
Remember Word Lens, the clever real-time translation app that Google acquired last year? It's back, and it's now baked into Google Translate as part of a major update. The new app for iOS and Android translates English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and Google promises to add more languages soon. It also offers text-to-speech translation, with predictably hilarious consequences.
Eye of the Tizen
After three years of waiting, you can finally get your hands on a Tizen-powered Samsung phone - or at least, you can if you live in India. The excitingly named Z1 is designed to grow Samsung's sales in developing markets, and that means a modest handset with an equally modest price. That, says Samsung, is the tip of an affordable iceberg: the firm promises "a flood of devices" running its own OS, which it says is "lighter" than other operating systems.
Get your hands on the Apple Watch
Fancy a go on the Apple Watch? All you need to do is click your mouse. No, Apple hasn't launched a free giveaway. But there's a browser-based emulator you can try to see how the OS looks, feels and works. The watch's companion app for iOS has also leaked, providing an insight into details such as storage (it has some), customisation (you'll be able to personalise it with digital monograms such as your initials) and notifications (including haptic feedback).
Samsung's S6 is simple
Samsung's next flagship, the Galaxy S6, is a really important phone for the company - and the good news for existing owners is that in its drive to make the latest phone as silky-smooth and speedy as possible, Samsung's going to give TouchWiz a damn good kicking. In addition to a less bloated operating system you can expect a metal body, a dual-edge screen and "a new type of surface treatment technology". Your guess is as good as ours. We're expecting to see more in February and for the Samsung Galaxy S6 to be the star of MWC 2015.
Google's billion-user bug
If you're running a version of Android before 4.4 KitKat, it's time to panic, or at least, upgrade your OS. It turns out that there's a rather nasty bug affecting Jelly Bean and older Androids – in fact it's so serious that, er, Google isn't going to do anything about it. Maybe that's because it's spending all its time on Project Ara, the project that's essentially the Build-a-Bear Workshop for cutting-edge tech. The modular phone will have a soft launch in Puerto Rico this year, and Google has developed an app called Ara Configurator that will enable you to choose which bits you'll use and what you want them to look like. We're cautiously excited about this one.
