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?

Yahoo! and Nokia have announced a 'worldwide strategic alliance' after five years of working together. The companies say they will use each others' strengths in email, instant messaging, maps and navigation services to provide consumers with 'world-class experiences' on PCs and mobile devices.

• Yahoo!'s maps will now be branded as "powered by Ovi", with Nokia becoming the exclusive provider of Yahoo!'s maps and navigation services.
• Ovi's chat and email services will now be provided by Yahoo! and branded as "Ovi Mail / Ovi Chat powered by Yahoo!"
• Both companies aim to eventually let consumers use a single Ovi/Yahoo! username across their services.

Sony Corporation and Google have announced an alliance that'll see the two companies working together on Android-powered entertainment products. In a statement, the two companies said they were "exploring the joint development of compelling new Android-based hardware products for the home, mobile and personal product categories".

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s time to take sides. Are you with Apple… or are you against them?  Sorry, sitting on the fence is no longer acceptable. Not sure?  Okay, try this one for size. Are you with Google… or are you against them?  Still undecided?

Right – here’s your third choice. Are you with the Rebel Alliance? 

With the first month of Apple iPad sales exceeding 1 million units, it's no surprise to hear that International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts there'll be 7.6 million media tablets shipped worldwide this year.

However, according to IDC, this is just the start of a trend that'll accelerate by a compound annual growth rate of 57.4% during the next four years. In 2014, the company says more than 46 million units will be shipped. That's equivalent to over 10% of the predicted market for portable PCs in 2014.