The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - part of the the US Department of Transportation - has told airlines they can allow passengers to use portable electronic devices during flights.

Individual airlines can choose how to implement the rules but it’s expected than many will allow devices to be used ‘gate to gate’ by the end of this year. Each airline needs to complete a safety assessment and obtain FAA approval before changing its policy for electronic devices.

Technology manufacturer Dell has moved from being a publicly-traded company to a privately-owned business this week.

Michael Dell, who founded the company and is its current CEO, has worked with investment firm Silver Lake Partners to complete a deal valued at approximately $24.9 billion.

Google has announced a new Nexus smartphone that’s been developed in partnership with LG.

The Nexus 5 has a 4.95-inch HD display, offers 4G connectivity and combines a 8 megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation. It runs Android on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.3GHz processor.

While smartphone shipments for the past quarter are reported to have risen by over 38% year-on-year, the growth of tablet sales hasn’t been any less dramatic.

Figures from the International Data Corporation show tablet shipments up 36.7% year-on-year (and 7% from the previous quarter) to 47.6 million units.

Figures from the International Data Corporation show that worldwide smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2013 reached a new record for the second consecutive month.

Total smartphone shipments were up 38.8% year-on-year and up 9% from the previous quarter to 258.4 million devices.