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.

Mark Bridge writes:

We’re delighted to be a media partner to Apps World 2014. This year Apps World has outgrown its previous home and is moving to ExCeL London, alongside the River Thames. There’ll be over 350 exhibitors and even more workshops than before, with a number of free conference sessions alongside premium options.

Anton Faulconbridge writes:

It’s the latest tech update that everyone is talking about; for good or for bad, iOS7 is here and it’s something that all mobile app developers need to take into consideration. So, how have these changes to Apple’s system had an impact on third party apps?

Mark Bridge writes:

Can you trust a Chinese company to build a telecoms network?  Apparently not, according to the US House of Representatives. The “Investigative Report on the U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE” wasn’t at all impressed with the two companies, although most of the complaints appeared to be about a lack of cooperation rather than hard evidence. I wonder if any mysterious agents are planning to visit the new Huawei UK HQ before next year’s official opening?

Mark Bridge writes:

Call me naive or call me cynical - in either case you won’t be the first - but I was a little surprised to see a strong manufacturer presence at Droidcon UK last week. I’d assumed that manufacturers might be inclined to pick a popular operating system and then just start making devices.

Mark Bridge writes:

When I was a youngster, evangelists preached the gospel. Not the gospel according to Steve Jobs, Bart Simpson or Oprah Winfrey. The gospel of Jesus the Christ. That was all. That’s what the word meant.

In recent years, the word ‘evangelist’ has evolved to gain a wider meaning. We have Product evangelists. Customer evangelists. Developer evangelists. Technology evangelists. Even Word of Mouth evangelists (which sounds rather like being an ‘evangelism evangelist’, I reckon). Anyway, I’m sure you get the picture.

This week the team review the Samsung Ultra Music F300 and Nokia 6120 Classic, review the past 7 days mobile news, debate the merits of 6 and 24 month contracts, and reviews of Minimo & Air Traffic Controller 2007

An update from the past few weeks mobile news following our Easter break, plus a review of the Nokia 3110 Classic.

The team pick over the winners and losers of the Mobile News Awards, review the Alcatel OT-C825 and look at Midnight Pool & PhotoProfessional V2.20 for your mobile.

The team review the Nokia 6300, take a look the latest news including Virgin sponsoring Big Brother and the latest on Vodafone's deals in India. SiL a new games for Mobile and PC, plus Instant SIS allows you to move applications between mobile devices.

The discuss the rumours behind the Google Phone, plus review the Motorola F3 and Nokia 7390 and the latest happenings in the Mobile Phone industry.