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?

After a number of uncharacteristic leaks from Apple’s product development organisation, the newest Apple iPhone was officially announced by Steve Jobs this evening. It’s called the iPhone 4 and will be on sale in the UK and USA from 24th June. In addition, an 8GB iPhone 3GS model will go on sale at the same time.

US mobile operator Sprint says the HTC EVO 4G broke sales records when it went on sale last Friday, although it's not quoted any specific figures. It says Friday sales of the HTC EVO 4G, which includes 3G and 4G technology along with a 4.3-inch screen and 8 megapixel camera, were the largest quantity of a single phone model sold in one day ever for Sprint.

Wireless technology company Qualcomm has made what it's calling "a strategic investment" in Anteryon, which makes camera and laser projection modules for portable devices.

Netherlands-based Anteryon, formerly the optics division of Philips, produces miniature optical module production for mobile phone cameras and laser projection. Its factories currently produce millions of imaging units every month for mobile phone manufacturers. The investment funds will be used for Anteryon’s 'WaferOptics' optical module production technology and the expansion of its Asia production facility.

Nokia's Ovi Mail free email service now has 10 million activated accounts. The company admits that many people already have multiple email accounts but points out that Ovi Mail is particularly useful in parts of the world where mobile phones are more popular than PCs. It says 7 of the top 10 countries activating Ovi Mail accounts are in emerging markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, China, Kenya and Nigeria.

Later this year Ovi Mail is expected to be co-branded as "powered by Yahoo!".

Another day, another Android-powered Motorola smartphone. This one's the MILESTONE XT720, which includes an 8 megapixel camera, a Xenon flash and 720p HD video recording. It's just 10.9mm deep, has a 3.7-inch WVGA screen and runs Android 2.1. It's expected in Europe this summer.