Electronic payment solution provider VeriFone Systems has introduced a new US-based service that enables businesses to use smartphones to accept payments.

SAIL by VeriFone combines a plug-in card reader with a free iOS or Android mobile app and can be integrated with existing VeriFone countertop devices. It also offers banks, mobile developers and other businesses the ability to build their own payment or marketing solutions on top of VeriFone’s secure infrastructure.

The O2 More personalised media platform run by O2 Media now has more than 10 million customers, which accounts for almost half of O2’s total customer base.

Customers who choose to opt in are sent one promotional message every day based on their personal preferences and location. The service was launched in November 2009.

Mark Bridge writes:

I still have my Nokia 2110. When the world is taken over by cockroaches and the MRSA bug, my Nokia 2110 will still be in working order. The MRSA-infected cockroaches will probably use it to build their own cellular network.

I loved the Nokia Communicator. It was a real game-changer, a device that paved the way for today’s smartphones.

The mysterious “Samsung Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile phone” announced last year is going to be a Samsung Galaxy SIII loaded with a Visa PayWave application for NFC payments, according to a statement released today.

Payments will be handled by Lloyds TSB.

A new research report from Berg Insight has calculated that the total value of real-time mobile location-based advertising and marketing will grow from €192 million in 2011 to €4.9 billion in 2016.

That’s a compound annual growth rate of 91%, with the 2016 figure corresponding to 28.3% of all mobile advertising and marketing.