Mark Bridge writes:

Last month, News Corporation's Rupert Murdoch said the News of the World had accounted for just 1% of his global business. It's a figure that put the overall size of News Corp into perspective.

This week, some analysis of Microsoft's financial results seems to suggest Windows Phone is only generating a similarly small percentage for its parent.

The latest version of the Windows Phone operating system - codenamed Mango - has officially been released to handset manufacturers and Microsoft's mobile operator partners.

Current Windows Phone handsets will be able to upgrade to the Mango update from the autumn.

WDS, which handles technical support for a number of mobile operators worldwide, is warning that varying hardware quality levels can cause problems for networks offering low-cost Android devices.

The open-source operating system offers more freedom than Windows Phone 7, which sets minimum hardware requirements, or Apple and RIM's in-house products.

Last month Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said that software support for Symbian phones would continue until 2016 at the earliest. It's now become clear why he was able to give that date with such confidence.

Nokia and Accenture have published details of their agreement for the outsourcing of Symbian software development and support activities, which was first announced at the end of April.

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s often said that timing is everything. Or is it size?  I’m never sure.

Both came into play this week as online giant Google announced the forthcoming launch of its much-rumoured mobile payment service. Expect Google Wallet to arrive on the Nexus S 4G in the USA this summer.