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?

Mark Bridge writes:

Four months ago, Google unveiled a new way for consumers to buy an Android mobile phone. In fact, that’s pretty much what the first line of the press release said. The phone was the Nexus One and it was being sold online by Google.

You could buy it SIM-free or you could buy it with a contract – but you’d be buying it from Google’s online shop. You couldn’t buy it on a real high street.

The Carphone Warehouse has published its financial results for its fourth quarter of 2010, along with some figures for the full year and guidance for 2011.

It says its share of Best Buy Europe's net income to March 2010 was worth around £47 million, slightly more than had been predicted. In addition, its share of Best Buy Mobile US profit was around £46m, well ahead of initial guidance.

Best Buy UK says its new consumer electronics stores will sell much more than mobile phones, multimedia equipment and domestic appliances. Its new shops will have a 'GreenTech' area that'll offer electric cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles alongside energy-saving products. The electric Tesla Roadster will be on show at the new Thurrock store, while the Citroën C1 ev'ie city car will be available in all Best Buy stores to test drive and order.

Best Buy's first UK store is set to open next week at 7am on Friday 30th April at Thurrock in Essex. Stores in Hedge End (Southampton), Merry Hill (West Midlands), Aintree and Croydon are also due to open this year.