Ofcom's Online Nation 2021 report shows that adults in the UK spent 3 hours and 37 minutes online each day in 2020. That’s over an hour longer than people in Germany and France – but an hour less than adults in the USA.

UK communications regulator Ofcom has launched a government-backed information campaign to help mobile users and broadband customers to get the best from their connections.

The Immobilise.com online database, which helps people to store their mobile phone’s IMEI number and record other valuable items, has had a significant security flaw fixed this week.

Users are able to see an online ‘certificate’ that includes their name, address and details of the property they’d registered.

However, security consultant Paul Moore discovered that changing the numbers in a web address for this certificate could reveal information about other people’s valuables.

Microsoft has introduced two new Nokia-branded feature phones: the Nokia 215 and the Nokia 215 Dual-SIM.

Pricing is expected to be $29 before taxes and subsidies (£19 excl. VAT; £22.80 incl VAT).

New predictions from technology research company Gartner have shown how we’re increasingly relying on mobile technology.

It’s forecasting that by 2018, more than 50% of users worldwide will go to a tablet or smartphone first for all their online activities.

Mark Bridge writes:

I've previously talked about my Google Nexus S and the challenges of synchronising it with Microsoft Outlook. Well, more like the problem of finding anything that'll do the job.

Mark Bridge writes:

So there I was with my Nexus S, a cup of tea and the challenge of synchronising calendar, contacts, tasks and notes from Microsoft Outlook. I’d found Syncdroid.net and its list of suggestions… and then an email arrived on my phone from the ‘Android Team’

Mark Bridge writes:

So, I’ve just upgraded to the Google Nexus S. The Samsung i9020. That was pretty easy. The local branch of Carphone Warehouse had one in stock.

It’s my first Android phone. In fact, it’s my first upgrade for a few years.

Mobile World Congress is the mobile industry event of the year. It takes place in Barcelona from 14th February this year – and The Fonecast will be heading there to listen to the keynote speeches, attend the briefings and interview many of the visitors.

 

Mark Bridge writes:

Every year since we started podcasting in 2006, we've used our last regular show of the year to make some predictions for the following 12 months.

This year's podcast on 22nd December was no exception.

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.