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?

Paul Antoniadis, CEO of Best Buy Branded Operations – seen as the man running the organisation's UK business - has left the company just three months after the first UK store opened.

Meanwhile Andrew Harrison, CEO of The Carphone Warehouse, has been appointed Best Buy Europe Chief Operating Officer in addition to his current retail role. He'll report to Best Buy Europe CEO Scott Wheway.

Online electronics retailer eXpansys plc, which has Peter Jones CBE as its major shareholder and Deputy Chairman, says it plans to acquire two other Jones-controlled businesses to "build a global online technology superstore".

Data Select Network Solutions distributes SIM cards for mobile networks and MVNOs, while PJ Media is a web design and online marketing company. The total deal is worth £49 million and is subject to the approval of shareholders at an EGM on 23rd July.

This year’s Mobile Web Usage Forecast from mobile internet firm Volantis says consumer interest in social networks and mobile games will drive mobile internet in the UK and the USA.

The company's forecast shows that entertainment is becoming a priority...

eBay has acquired the RedLaser barcode-scanning application, which lets iPhone users identify products and find online information – including prices - simply by scanning the product barcode.

RedLaser was previously a chargeable app. It's now been turned into a free application, which is likely to see a dramatic increase in the number of downloads. The paid version had been downloaded over two million times.