Three UK is extending its ‘all you can eat’ data deal to all smartphone customers with a ‘pay monthly’ contract.

The option, which was launched last December on a single tariff, will cost an extra £3 per month and will be available from 7th October 2011.

Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of IP security specialists Wick Hill Group, writes:

Smartphones are spreading throughout the business world. Their use is growing across organisations and at all levels.

According to Gartner, sales of mobile devices in the second quarter of 2011 grew 16.5% year-on-year. Smartphone sales grew 74% year-on-year and accounted for 25% of overall sales in the second quarter of 2011, up from 17% in the second quarter of 2010.

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m not a big fan of reporting on rumours - I’d rather wait until the real thing happens - but I thought these two stories were too big and too well-defined to ignore completely.

Firstly, it looks as though Amazon will be announcing an Android-powered tablet tomorrow. Called the Kindle Fire, it probably won’t be a direct replacement for the Kindle e-book reader but an alternative. Most commentators suggest we should expect a 7-inch colour screen, a focus on cloud-based services and a pretty heavily customised version of Android.

Samsung Electronics says its Galaxy S II Android-powered smartphone - also known as the GT-I9100 - has achieved 10 million global channel sales, just eight weeks after passing the five million mark.

JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business, said "Since its launch in late April 2011, the GALAXY S II has seen continued sales success, demonstrating Samsung’s industry-leading capabilities in - and commitment to - the smartphone market."

Premium rate telephone service regulator PhonepayPlus has started a ten-week public consultation on app-based mobile payments.

The regulator introduced a new Code of Practice on 1st September. It’s now planning to add a guidance document on ‘Applications-based payments’.