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:

Some companies have saved their big announcements for the week of Mobile World Congress. Samsung and Nokia, for example. Others have issued a press release in advance.

Mark Bridge writes:

We started last week with a change of plan from BlackBerry. No, it’s not selling itself to Fairfax Financial. Instead it’s aiming to raise $1 billion from investors. Cynics might suggest there wasn’t enough interest for a takeover.

Mark Bridge writes:

I'll start with a personal comment. One of my friends has described my music taste as eclectic - and he didn't mean that in a good way. It probably explains why I've been sitting at my desk singing "melty head" to the tune of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face".

Mark Bridge writes:

There's one tech story that’s dominated the week’s news: Microsoft buying Skype. "Why?" and "Really?" appear to be the top questions; we'll do our best to answer them and provide some more insight in Wednesday's podcast.

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.