America Movil, which is Latin America’s largest mobile telecom network operator, has invested $40 million in mobile music recognition and media engagement company Shazam.

The money will help accelerate Shazam’s growth as well as funding the development of new products.

Mobile payment business iZettle has launched its service in Mexico today and has appointed former Visa executive Luis Arceo as Managing Director of its Mexican operations.

It’s the first time iZettle has ben available outside Europe.

Nokia says it plans to move device assembly away from its factories in Komarom (Hungary), Reynosa (Mexico) and Salo (Finland).

It intends the three factories to focus on smartphone product customisation, while device assembly will to be transferred to Nokia factories in Asia.

Nokia has announced new plans to ‘align its workforce and operations’ that’ll see around 3,500 jobs being cut.

Nokia’s manufacturing facility in Cluj (Romania) and its Location & Commerce operations in Bonn (Germany) and Malvern (USA) will be closing.

Independent mobile ad network InMobi has published research that looks at the anticipated Apple iPhone 5, which is expected to be announced next week.

It’s found that 41% of mobile users in the USA, Mexico and Canada plan to buy an iPhone 5 - and over half of them expect to make the purchase within six months of launch.

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 Iain and Mark take a deeper look at mobile security and crime, they review the massive 4GB N91 from Nokia and look at a a budget video phone from LG.

As well as a brief look at the News this week the gang look at both ends of the new handset spectrum with the QTek 8500 and the BenQ-Siemens E61. James Rosewell provides an overview of how to get music and video to your mobile from DVDs and CDs.

In The Fonecast this week, industry veteran Iain Graham and tech enthusiast Mark Bridge take a close look at the ultra-slim Samsung D900, they pore over the Nokia N73 smartphone and they evaluate a couple of new software downloads. In addition, application developer James Rosewell joins them for a revealing conversation about mobile blogging.

In The Fonecast this week, Iain Graham and Mark Bridge review the new Nokia N93 and Sony Ericsson W850i mobile phones, guest James Rosewell takes a look at competition from VoIP, HSDPA technology is demystified and a couple of new software downloads are evaluated.