The Power Matters Alliance (PMA) has announced that Microsoft Corporation is its newest member.

Originally formed in 2012, PMA is an organisation working towards global interoperability for wireless charging. Board members currently include AT&T, Duracell, Starbucks and the US Government’s Energy Star programme.

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile World Congress is just a week away, with lovers of mobile technology preparing to be wooed by manufacturers, networks and developers. But if MWC is like St Valentine’s Day, then LG has been behaving rather like the world’s worst boyfriend.

The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA) have signed an agreement aimed at enabling these wireless power standards to work with each other.

PMA has previously focussed on inductive wireless charging technology, with installations in some Starbucks and McDonald’s stores, while A4WP - which uses the Rezence brand - has developed a magnetic resonance technical specification.

The Power Matters Alliance, which is committed to developing an open standard for smart wireless power, has announced that HTC, LG and Samsung have joined as members.

All three manufacturers have also used the rival Qi wireless charging technology in their devices.

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?

This week the team review a new phone from Sagem, a bluetooth headset that cancels out background noise from Qstik, the introduction of .mobi domains and the latest games to keep you entertained.

This week the team explore the real cost of Mobile Internet, review the latest Blackberry with a camera, the O2 Ice, and Lego meets Star Wars in the latest mobile game.

This week the team discuss mobile pricing, review the LG KG810 and MDA Vario 2 from T-Mobile along with Rogue Trader the latest game from RockPool as well as a joke management system called Pass-It-On-Jokes.

This week we review the Sony Mylo, a phone that may rival the Blackberry in the form of the E61 from Nokia, Insaniquarium the latest game to make the leap from web to mobile and the LG U400 phone for DJs.

After the summer break the Fonecast team is back with a review of 2 new mobiles from Motorola, a stylish new phone from BenQ-Siemens, advice on protecting your voice mail plus all the mobile news from the last month.