The device provides similar functions to the original Galaxy S, but with the addition of a 1GHz dual-core processor. Its launch comes ahead of the Mobile World Congress, but the gadget will initially be launched in Russia before being rolled out on an international basis.

JK Shin, president of IT and mobile communications at Samsung, announced the launch: “The Galaxy S Advance adds to the successful track record of the Galaxy smartphone range with a phone that combines power and style with all the versatility of Samsung’s Hub services.”

In addition to its powerful processor, the smartphone will benefit from HSPA 14.4 Mbps network operation, as well as EDGE and GPRS networks. Meanwhile, its curved glass screen clocks in at four inches – providing a good quality viewing screen boasting AMOLED technology to ensure crisp image displays.

When it comes to features, the Galaxy S has a five megapixel digital camera and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing unit. Bluetooth, USB 2.0, WiFi and a range of sensors are also included.

Referencing data from GfK, RIM stated that its over-the-counter sales accounted for an average of 27.7 per cent of the smartphones sold in Britain in each month of 2011. In December, BlackBerry handset represented 26.3 per cent.

However, these figures have been reported by RIM and GfK is so far not due to reveal the statistics of the other major providers, such as Apple and Android.

Whether or not BlackBerry took the top place in the UK, it is still struggling to keep a hold of its market share around the world. RIM's stock price has fallen by around 75 per cent in a year, and a number of release deadlines have been missed, further damaging its reputation.

Its co-founders Mike Lazardis and Jim Balsillie recently stepped down in order to allow new leaders to take the firm forward and hopefully improve its global standing, although they will remain involved in the business for some time to come.

The Full Monty package is aimed at first-time users who are keen to pay a single subscription charge without any unpredictable extra data payments. This makes it the first smartphone contract deal to truly provide unlimited calls, text and data, without being restricted to a fair-use policy.

Prices start at £36 a month. However, these will obviously be higher for users looking to access higher-rate smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone 4S. In addition, the contracts are for a minimum of two years, but this is not unusual given the recent trends for longer deals.

It is expected to be particularly attractive to heavy internet users who might want to link their phone up with other devices to turn it into a WiFi hotspot without having to worry about going over their monthly allowance.

The deal is available on all handsets in the T-Mobile store and will be on offer from 1 February to new and upgrading customers. Meanwhile, existing customers who are yet to reach the end of their current contract can move across but they will lose out on the bundled handset.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Google Online Retail Monitor for the fourth quarter of 2011 revealed that total retail search volumes grew by 24 per cent in comparison to the same three months in 2010.

However, searches conducted on mobiles and tablets were up in volume by 169 per cent year-on-year, suggesting that people are at least researching what presents to buy while on the move and that they may be actually making purchases as well.

Stephen Robertson, director-general at the BRC, commented: "For a fourth successive quarter, the number of retail searches from smartphones and tablets has nearly trebled compared with the previous year.

"During December, one in five retail searches came from a mobile device and on Christmas Day this increased to more than one in four."

He added that it was clear that cash-strapped consumers are making use of technology to hunt down the best bargains and offers while on the move.

Pre-Christmas searches were shown to have peaked on 4 December for mobile and tablet devices and a week earlier on 30 November for overall online retail searches.

Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie resigned as the firm continued to lose market share to the Apple iPhone, as well as growing competition from Android-powered handsets.

Thorsten Heins, the chief operating officer, has now been named president and chief executive of the firm.

A statement from Mr Lazaridis issued on Sunday read: “There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognise the need to pass the baton to new leadership.”

He added that the company needed a new leader to take it into a new phase.

RIM was once one of the leading players in the smartphone market, managing to capture the attention of the business market, as well as consumers and younger people. However, many of their recent endeavours have fallen flat.

The RIM PlayBook tablet, for example, was a commercial failure as consumers deemed the Apple iPad to be more desirable. As a result of this and other business problems, including an email outage, the company has seen its shares fall by almost three quarters of their value over the past year.

Conducted by Bloomberg, the poll of 22 analysts saw projections ranging from 800,000 to two million, with just the one analyst predicting sales of under one million.

The figures are likely to be welcome news for Nokia, which is likely to see much of its future success stem from the Lumia handset as it retires its own Symbian and MeeGo devices.

Investors had initially expressed doubt in the Finnish company's endeavours with Microsoft, especially given the competition from Apple's iPhone and the numerous Android handsets.

Espen Furnes, Oslo-based fund manager at Storebrand Asset Management, told Bloomberg: “The numbers look promising.

“If Nokia is able to have a strong launch and surpass at least one million and keep that type of momentum, this would help put them in a credible position that is crucial to winning back investors.”

So far Nokia has refused to give an official sales forecast for the Lumia smartphone, suggesting that the company is taking a long-term view of things.

Speaking at the CES event, vice president of product innovation at Samsung, Kevin Packingham, remarked: "[From] when you wake up to when you go to bed, we don’t want you feeling anxiety about your battery life."

He added that the firm is planning to optimise the way in which its smartphones use power, as well as improving the size of the battery to start with. Combined, these two approaches should deliver some noticeable improvement.

And such changes are certainly needed, with modern phones now being developed with larger screens and a huge array of functions and capabilities. Internet access, for example, and music players can be a massive drain on battery life and require a new approach to ensure the handsets remain functional.

Samsung enjoyed a successful year in 2011, but it is hoping that the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3 will take it further this year and allow the firm to be a genuine competitor to Apple, which is a dominant player in the market with its iPhone releases.

HZO, a business in attendance at CES 2012, have already developed the ability to waterproof a phone. But it is starting to be taken more seriously now that major players, including Apple and Samsung, have held discussions with HZO's representatives.

The technology, dubbed WaterBlock, works by coating the inside of an electronic device with a nano-thin film that repels water. Such technology will not make any smartphone suitable to take scuba diving, but it will mean that common accidents, such as dropping the phone in a puddle or accidentally sending it for a spin in the washing machine, will not destroy the gadget.

Paul Clayson, president of HZO, recently told the Los Angeles Times that the first consumer electronics coated with the WaterBlock technology should be on the market by this summer.

He added: “I think it will take a little bit of time to adopt. I think it will go in the higher end of consumer applications first, but I think two years from now it will be a ubiquitous offering in consumer electronics.

"Once consumers know it can be done, they will demand that it be offered in all devices.”

Anybody using a mobile phone or handheld device with internet access is now able to use many of the group's online banking service features. However, this month also saw the launch of an app specifically designed for use with the iPhone or the iPad, which will provide a single platform for accessing current accounts, savings and credit card information.

Charlotte Hogg, retail director with Santander, commented: “We want to make banking with Santander as easy and convenient as possible for our customers, wherever they are in the world, and we've spent considerable time developing our mobile banking service and iPhone and iPad app with this in mind.

“Customers will be able to do almost as much on their mobile phone as they can with our full online banking service and in the coming months we expect to be able to provide an even greater range of mobile services for customers.”

The service also boasts a secure messaging service to allow people to get in touch with Santander through their smartphone without having to worry about their information being observed.

Lead by Richard Balding of the University of Worcester, the study looked at over 100 volunteers, including students and professionals. They discovered that the more stress people became, the more often they checked their phones. This went to the point that those under extreme stress would imagine phantom vibrations even when there was no message or call received.

The fact that smartphones can be used to receive work emails, as well as texts and phone calls, seemed to increase the level of anxiety experienced by the volunteers, despite the fact that the majority of users reported feeling that using a smartphone made their lives easier.

The authors observed: “Smart phone use is increasing at a rapid rate and we are likely to see an associated increase in stress from social networking.

“Organisations will not flourish if their employees are stressed, irrespective of the source of stress, so it is in their interest to encourage their employees to switch their phones off; cut the number of work emails sent out of hours, and reduce people’s temptation to check their devices.”