Mark Bridge writes:

Where did it all go wrong?  When did the mainstream mobile industry start to slide away from innovation and into repetitive nonsense?  For a while I suspected the downloadable ringtone was to blame. Just days after hearing 'Barbie Girl' on the mobile phone of a man from Vodafone Value Added Services in the late 1990s, I'd downloaded a poptastic tune to my own Nokia 2110. Soon, the entire mobile world was focussed on 30-second instrumentals instead of technical innovation. It was the beginning of the end.

The latest Simmons Connect panel from Experian Marketing Services has shown that the average smartphone user in the USA spends 58 minutes on their device every day.

Just over a quarter of this time (26%) is spent talking and another 20% sending text messages.

EE has launched a range of 30-day SIM-only tariffs for its 4GEE service.

The deals, which are available alongside the network’s existing 12-month SIM-only tariffs, are available in-store, via the EE online shop and from EE telesales.

Tony Blinard of Keys2iPhone.com writes:

Not too long ago, iPhone enthusiasts rallied the White House with an online petition to legalize out-of-contract iPhone unlocking. The Obama administration cast its support that generated only a lukewarm response from the industry. Not surprising: the top three U.S. wireless carriers - Verizon, AT&T and Sprint - have relied on contracts to sell cell phones for over a decade. With Apple's introduction of iPhone - the most expensive smartphone in history - the carriers could then generate lucrative profit margins on each and every phone sold under contract. And to make sure the customers wouldn't 'jump ship', the carriers locked in all subsidized iPhones.

Samsung Electronics has announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, a smaller and lower-spec version of its multi-million selling S4 smartphone.

The Galaxy S4 mini has a 4.3-inch display and runs Android v4.2.2 on a 1.7GHz dual-core processor.