Counterclockwise: iPhone 4, Lumia 1020, Galaxy S4 Active

Welcome to this week's edition of Counterclockwise ? our weekly article that looks back in time at what happened in the last few years. This week iPhones and Galaxys dominate the the discussion, but we have a surprise appearance by the grandaddies of smartwatches.

Four years ago Apple began the resolution wars ? the new iPhone 4 had a so-called Retina display with 640 x 960 resolution, or 326 pixels per inch. Few came close to that kind of sharpness at the time, but the floodgates were opened.

  
Apple iPhone 4

That was four years ago and the iPhone is still stuck at 326ppi, despite moving to a 16:9 screen starting with the iPhone 5. Android manufacturers meanwhile went bonkers and are already using QHD screens (1,440 x 2,560) with 534 pixels per inch.


Non-Retina and Retina displays compered

The iPhone 4 marked a few other firsts too ? it was the first iPhone with a camera that made the competition shake in its boots (a great 5MP shooter with 720p video capture) and it introduced the basic design that has been used since.

The iPhone 5 swapped the glass back for metal, but the overall looks are very similar. That might be coming to an end though, leaks of the iPhone 6 point to an iPod touch-derived design.

There's more ? Apple renamed "iPhone OS" to "iOS" to put the iPhone and iPad under the same umbrella and introduced FaceTime, a custom video call solution.

A year later in 2011 Apple unveiled the new iOS, version 5. It brought a notification shade and built on Apple's custom messaging formats with iMessage. It enhanced regular SMS messages by routing them over the internet and it allowed users to send photos, videos and contacts more painlessly than going through MMS.

Review: Nokia Lumia 630

With the Nokia Lumia 520 now the world's top-selling Windows Phone 8 handset, it's no surprise that Nokia and Microsoft are concentrating on strengthening their low-budget range as it tries to dominate an area of the market.

The Nokia Lumia 630 is the first Windows Phone to arrive straight out of the box with Windows Phone 8.1.

Price-wise the Lumia 630 slots into the bottom end of the range just above the Lumia 520, but it comes jam-packed with features thanks to the upgraded operating system, therefore you get a lot more bang for your buck.

Windows Phone 8.1 offers a lot more upgrades and additions than you would expect from the usual 'point upgrade', it's almost a complete overhaul of its predecessor.

All of the desirable features of Windows Phone 8 remain, however the upgrade pushes the OS closer to its competitors iOS and Android, replicating their existing features with the likes of the new Word Flow Keyboard and Action Centre.

Other additions to the new Windows Phone system are all focused on putting the smart back into smartphone as it focuses on getting you the most out of your features.