From 1st April 2010 Virgin Media will let its customers make free calls from their home phones to mobiles. The new deal will let new Virgin Phone customers and over four million existing fixed-line phone customers call Virgin Mobile users without charge. (Subject to terms and conditions that include a maximum 60-minute call).

The company points out that 10% of its customers subscribe to all four Virgin Media services - broadband, digital TV, fixed-line phone and mobile – which means nearly half a million people will be able to benefit immediately from free calls from their Virgin fixed-line phones to their own Virgin Mobiles. In addition, all Virgin home phone customers will be able to make free calls to anyone with a Virgin Mobile phone.

Following on from last week's report that said the worldwide mobile phone market had grown 10% year-on-year in Q4 to reach 324 million units, Strategy Analytics has released some smartphone-specific statistics.

It says the final quarter of 2009 saw global smartphone shipments up 30% year-on-year to reach 53 million units; a record figure for the industry and the strongest period of growth since Q3 2008. Annual smartphone shipments reached an all-time high of 173.8 million units in 2009, up 15% from 151.1 million in 2008.

Best Buy Europe, the retail venture that's 50% owned by The Carphone Warehouse, says it's creating up to 8,000 jobs in the UK over a five-year period. Up to a thousand of these roles will be with its 24-hour Geek Squad technology support service, with Geek Squad staff planned in every Best Buy store. In fact, Geek Squad – which launched in the UK in 2007 – says it'll quadruple its tech support team numbers during the next 18 months.

Best Buy is launching in the UK in Spring 2010, with the first stores in Hedge End Southampton, Thurrock and Merry Hill in the West Midlands. As well as selling mobile phones they'll offer multimedia equipment, computing technology, appliances, music, movies and games.

Mark Bridge writes:

I like a good conspiracy theory. A good one, mind you. None of this “Funny thing happened on the way to Mars” nonsense. Oh no, not me. And, despite occasionally mirroring Jerry Fletcher by balancing a bottle on the door handle, I’ve never been inclined to publish such a theory. Until now.

You see, it’s Mobile World Congress in a fortnight’s time. Which is when the great and the good of the mobile industry – along with their mates and hangers-on – head for Barcelona. Microsoft will be there. They’re holding a press briefing on Monday afternoon. And there’s a lot of talk about Windows Mobile 7 being (unofficially) on the agenda. But where’s the evidence?