The Isis mobile commerce joint venture from AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless is now available to use across the USA.

It was originally announced in November 2010 and launched pilot schemes in the states of Texas and Utah last year.

Mobile payment service iZettle says American Express has joined its list of financial backers. The latest funding round already included over £20 million from MasterCard and venture capital funds including Greylock Partners, Northzone and SEB Private Equity plus initial investors Creandum and Index Ventures.

iZettle will use the funding for product development and expansion into new markets.

The Google Wallet NFC payment app, which was launched in the USA last year, has been transformed into a cloud-based service.

Google Wallet was originally only available to customers who had a Citi MasterCard credit card or the Google Prepaid debit card.

Stockholm-based mobile payment service iZettle has announced it’s now able to accept American Express cards in Sweden and Finland. The company was already able to accept MasterCard, Visa and Diners Club payments via its card reader and app. 

iZettle’s reader plugs into an iPhone or iPad and turns it into a mobile payment terminal for ‘chip and PIN’ credit cards.

The Google Wallet mobile payment application, which was announced by the company in May, is now being rolled out to customers in the USA.

It’s currently only available on the Google Nexus S 4G phone to customers who have a Citi MasterCard credit card or the Google Prepaid debit card and are using the Sprint network, although Visa, Discover and American Express are also expected to participate in the future.

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 we're talking about two big announcements from BlackBerry: a luxury smartphone and some major management changes.

We also discuss the latest Samsung/Apple patent ruling, Vodafone's new mobile wallet, Android licensing, Doro's anti-virus deal, BYOD and the rise of the 'selfie'.

With more than half of all pre-teen children reported to be using text messaging as their main form of mobile communication, it's not surprising to hear that bullies are taking advantage of SMS to attack their victims.

But what can mobile networks do to help these victims of cyber-bullying?  Louise O'Sullivan of Anam Technologies explains why she thinks network operators are apparently reluctant to take action - and why other organisations need to get involved.

This week's headline-grabbing product launch is the Motorola Moto G, which promises a decent Android smartphone at a very attractive price.

We also discuss new rules about mobile phones on planes, a new campaign to ban hands-free calls in cars, falling SMS revenue, mobile wallets and BlackBerry's $1 million investment.

The past few days have been a good time for launches. Twitter has floated on the stock exchange, Kazam has revealed its smartphone range and EE has created a tariff with a million gigabytes of mobile data.

On the other side of the coin, Acer's CEO is quitting, Vodafone UK has missed its 3G coverage target and hackers can take control of your handset's camera to ascertain PIN codes.

It looks like BlackBerry is safe for the moment... but not with the takeover many had expected.

Meanwhile Google launches the Nexus 5, Nortel's patents are sent into battle, EE promises ever-faster 4G, the FAA allows electronic devices to be used throughout flights and we celebrate a record quarter for smartphone shipments.