Carphone Warehouse has completed its planned acquisition of Best Buy’s 50% share of the CPW Europe business, bringing an end to the joint retail venture.

From next month’s AGM, Andrew Harrison is stepping up to become CEO of the Carphone Warehouse Group. Roger Taylor, current Group CEO, will become deputy chairman.

Carphone Warehouse is planning to take over the European business that bears its name, which is actually a 50/50 joint venture set up with US-based retailer Best Buy in June 2008. It’s agreed to pay £471 million for the 50% of CPW Europe it doesn’t already own.

This 50% share in Carphone Warehouse was originally sold for around £1.1 billion as part of Best Buy’s European expansion.

American technology retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. has confirmed that it’s received a letter from Richard Schulze, the company’s founder and former chairman, outlining an offer to acquire all the Best Buy shares he doesn’t already own. Mr Schulze resigned as chairman in June this year.

His offer of $24 to $26 per share is significantly above the current trading price for the company’s shares, which are trading at around $20.

Carphone Warehouse Group plc has published a trading update for the fourth quarter of its financial year.

Revenue at CPW Europe - the company’s 50% joint venture with Best Buy - were down 5.5%, while total connections were down 19%. Postpay connections were up in the UK, although the company estimates that the overall prepay market in Q4 was down 30-40% in the UK.

The UK-based Mobile Money Network, which is behind the Simply Tap mobile shopping app, says Visa Europe is planning to take a 15% stake in its business. Visa Europe will join the MNN’s three founders: Monitise, Best Buy Europe and Charles Dunstone.

The two businesses aim to implement a number of m-commerce initiatives in the UK in 2012.

Mark Bridge writes:

So, dear reader, let’s start at the beginning. Once upon a time, a mere five years ago, there was SpinVox. A company created with help from entrepreneur Christina Domecq – whose surname offers a clue to her family’s background – and Daniel Doulton, the man behind the Psion series 5. (Sherry and portable computers; two of my favourite products. But I digress).

The company’s promise was simple: to turn voicemail messages into SMS text messages.

Mark Bridge writes:

In my last article I looked forward to a world of cyborgs… but feared that decent battery life could stifle my dreams. And this week I’m on a similar theme, despairing that the UK’s mobile coverage problems probably won’t be solved before the Silver Jubilee of Vodafone and Cellnet’s networks.

To illustrate my worries, let me tell you a story.

Iain Graham writes:

When you get up tomorrow morning and get in the car, why don't you screw up three £20 notes and lob 'em out of the window?!  Oh, and whilst you are at it, take out your driving licence, and put three points in the penalties column!!

Why would you do that, I hear you ask?

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m an optimist. I’m not quite sure why I’m wired that way but I’m perfectly happy with it. Much as you’d expect, I suppose. And although I tend not to tap-dance in the gutter when it’s raining, I firmly believe that life is like a musical.

That’s probably why I’m such a fan of what’s become known as ‘the Singularity’; a point when technology and evolution are expected to combine. As computers become smarter, so they’ll be able to build smarter computers themselves – and before you know it they’ll be repairing people and improving the design. If all goes well I’ll look like a combination of Robocop and Jude Law.

“Fascinating”, I hear you say. “Bring on the medical nanobots. But what’s all this got to do with mobile phones?”

James Rosewell writes:

Anyone involved in the mobile industry will have hardly failed to notice the hype surrounding mobile application stores led by Apple. Application stores provide a really simple way for consumers to install applications on their mobile phones. They’re so simple I heard Iain Graham had used one the other week!

However they don’t solve the fundamental problem of handset compatibility.

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.