Canonical, the company behind the Linux-based Ubuntu open-source platform, has announced what it’s calling “the world’s first Ubuntu phone”.

The Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition is being produced in partnership with Spanish electronics and software company BQ.

ABI Research says consumers are suffering because conventional smartphone components are being used in smart watches, even when manufacturers claim otherwise.

Its ‘teardown’ service reports a lack of optimised smartwatch components, resulting in the end user experiencing sub-optimal battery life, unnecessary costs and a device that’s bulkier than it needs to be.

This year's Mobile World Congress was notable for the number of product launches by handset manufacturers. To get a better understanding of smartphone manufacturing, we spoke to Johan Lodenius of semiconductor company MediaTek.

He gave us a simple overview of how 'fabless' manufacturing works, discussed developments in smartphones and wearable devices, contemplated the end of the PC era and talked about the importance of driving costs down.

Even though the first mainstream 64-bit mobile processor was only launched towards the end of 2013, new figures from ABI Research show this type of chip will dominate the mobile market within the next five years.

Apple’s 64-bit A7 processor had been shipped in more than 36 million iPhones and iPads within the first three months of launch. It was followed by Intel, Marvell, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Nvidia all announcing their first 64-bit mobile processors at Mobile World Congress 2014.

Strategy Analytics has published information about the major companies producing applications processors for smartphones during 2013.

It shows that Qualcomm remains the leading producer of smartphone processors and is also the second-largest tablet chip producer as well.