2014 week 9 in review: the news that you might have missed

Going through last week's headlines you almost couldn't find a title without the word MWC somewhere in it. This week took on a different tone, as regional release dates and prices have taken the place of the bevy of new device announcements we saw in Barcelona.

Let's take a look at all of the mobile news you may have missed in this ninth week of 2014.

The curved-display LG G Flex won the iF Design Gold Award as being the best among some 74 other products examined this year. The smartphone is also slated to get an upgrade in the camera department to 4K video as part of its Android 4.4 KitKat update.

Nokia's first taste of Android, in the form of the Nokia X, will be available in Malaysia seemingly before any other markets, as the device has been spotted on an online Malaysian retailer for RM 399, or about $120.

MWC's most anticipated device, the Samsung Galaxy S5, has been made available for preorder from a boatload of retailers in various countries, including Orange in Romania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, and the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is reporting that its S5 sign-up page has surpassed 300,000, and finally the device has been priced in India as well for INR 45,500 ($745).

Apple's iOS 7.1 is expected to make its way to iDevices by March 11, but that's just one reason the company has to celebrate next week. The latest in a series of Apple v. Samsung patent trials has concluded in the US, where Judge Lucy Koh awarded Apple $930 million in damages. It did not, however, got the sales ban against Samsung devices it hoped.

Speaking of Apple, the company announced its new CarPlay feature that integrates your iPhone with your car. It can be operated with the controls on your car or via voice, and provides turn-by-turn navigation (in select regions) through Siri. You can also listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks through your car's speakers.

Other launches include the LG L90, which went on sale Thursday in Russia and the surrounding regions. The L90 is the highest-spec'd device in LG's new L III series, and features the new Knock Code wake-up system that the company debuted at MWC.