UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.

By incorporating advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities, AI can help to optimize a smartphone's performance, providing users with a faster, more efficient and user-friendly experience.

Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

Mark Bridge writes:

James Rosewell shows me a colourful roll of paper that's the width of an iPhone but well over three metres long. When I look closer, I can see it's a printed copy of the Wall Street Journal's mobile website. That's a lot of scrolling to do... and a pretty unfriendly user experience for anyone reading the news online. Why does it work so badly?

The LG Optimus 3D will launch exclusively at The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy this spring. It’ll later be available to other UK retailers.

The phone, which was announced at Mobile World Congress in February, has an auto-stereoscopic 4.3-inch display that avoids the need for 3D glasses.

Last night's Mobile News Awards ceremony at the London Hilton on Park Lane saw major wins for some of the industry's best known names.

Vodafone's Sure Signal femtocell won the Innovative Product award, the HTC Desire won Innovative Handset, Best Buy's 'Walk out working' picked up the Innovative Service award and 20:20 won Innovative Distributor.

The Amazon Kindle eBook reader is now available at all Best Buy UK stores and around 400 Carphone Warehouse shops as well. Pricing is the same as buying the device directly from Amazon; £111 for the WiFi-only version or £152 for the WiFi/3G Kindle.

Best Buy’s US operation has been offering the Kindle since last year.

Ofcom has issued a consultation about a number of changes it needs to make by 25th May 2011, which is a deadline set by the EU for new telecoms laws to be in place.

These include mobile number portability, SMS access to emergency services and contract terms.

This week's edition of The Fonecast includes its regular look at the latest mobile industry headlines - and it also returns to last week’s GSMA Mobile World Congress.

New shops from Everything Everywhere, mobiles on the tube, the ever-increasing interest in tablet devices and the future of applications are all up for discussion.