Research In Motion has announced that its official BlackBerry 10 launch date will be Wednesday 30th January 2013.

This event will see the new BlackBerry 10 platform launched as well as RIM’s first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones, although the availability of these devices won’t be known until the launch.

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has published its timetable for the forthcoming 4G mobile spectrum auction, along with reserve prices and final details of the auction rules. It’s described as the largest-ever sale of mobile airwaves in the UK.

The 4G services enabled by the auction will offer faster mobile data connections and more capacity than current 3G tariffs.

Mark Bridge writes:

We’re moving into that time of year where product announcements are replaced by promotional campaigns and sales figures. Apple revealed it had sold three million assorted iPad tablets in just three days, while Samsung said its Galaxy SIII smartphone had sold more than 30 million units since its launch in May.

Apple and HTC have issued a joint statement that says they’ve agreed to dismiss all current lawsuits and have put a ten-year license agreement in place to cover current and future patents. Full details of the settlement haven’t been revealed.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said “We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC. We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.”

Opera Software has introduced a new ‘one click’ service that enables mobile operators to offer their customers access to the web as a value-added option.

It’s called Opera Web Pass and allows operators to package mobile internet use in time or site-specific bundles.