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?

Nokia made a few changes to its organisation last year – and it's reorganising again in a bid to "accelerate execution and innovation". From July, Nokia will introduce a simplified company structure for its devices and services business. There'll be three units: Mobile Solutions, Mobile Phones and Markets.

The new Mobile Solutions unit will concentrate on Symbian smartphones and MeeGo mobile computers. The Mobile Phones unit will focus on Series 40 feature phones – and the Markets unit will be responsible for Nokia's 'go-to-market' activities.

Apple has published UK price plans for 3G service on iPad devices. O2, Orange and Vodafone are all offering tariffs for Apple iPad owners when the device becomes available on 28th May.

Pricing is pretty similar between all three networks, although O2 is the only network that lets customers connect from the device without making a phone call or visiting a store.

Nokia says it has filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin. It's alleging that Apple iPhone and iPad 3G products infringe five Nokia patents that relate to enhanced speech and data transmission, using positioning data and innovations in antenna configuration.

Paul Melin, Nokia's General Manager of Patent Licensing, said "Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices. We have taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia's innovation."

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.