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.

Tony Blinard of Keys2iPhone.com writes:

Not too long ago, iPhone enthusiasts rallied the White House with an online petition to legalize out-of-contract iPhone unlocking. The Obama administration cast its support that generated only a lukewarm response from the industry. Not surprising: the top three U.S. wireless carriers - Verizon, AT&T and Sprint - have relied on contracts to sell cell phones for over a decade. With Apple's introduction of iPhone - the most expensive smartphone in history - the carriers could then generate lucrative profit margins on each and every phone sold under contract. And to make sure the customers wouldn't 'jump ship', the carriers locked in all subsidized iPhones.

Michael Bowman of voanews.com writes:

Top executives of American technology giant Apple faced intense questioning from U.S. lawmakers about the company's use of off-shore entities that allow it to shield billions of dollars in global profits from federal taxes. Apple’s chief executive admitted to no wrongdoing, but urged an overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

Anton Faulconbridge of RantMedia writes:

2013 promises to be an exciting year for the app industry. With the number of smartphone users almost on par with laptop, desktop and tablet users, this is a crucial time for app developers to bring fresh and innovative material to the table.

Whilst many industries are drying out, the smartphone technology sector continues to flourish and a wave of app developers who sit up and take notice of new trends are likely to do well compared with slapdash competitors. Let’s take a look at some savvy tips and tricks to stay ahead of the game in 2013.

Mark Bridge writes:

Unmanned drone aircraft are flown by pilots thousands of miles away, while hackers attempt to intercept their transmissions.

It’s clear that communications technology has transformed 21st century warfare. What may not be so obvious are the ways that wireless communications played a part in the First World War... and the concerns about security that remain with us today.

Mark Bridge writes:

Last year, the Google I/O developer conference gave us plenty of product announcements: Google Glass, the Nexus 7 tablet, the Nexus Q device and the Jelly Bean version of Android. This year’s announcements were less dramatic: a streaming music service, a Google-friendlier Galaxy S4 and some game development tools. Coincidentally (or perhaps not) Apple announced its 50 billionth app download in the middle of the event.

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.