Everything Everywhere, Telefonica UK and Vodafone UK have announced plans to create a standalone m-commerce joint venture. It'll combine the expertise from Orange, T-Mobile, O2 and Vodafone to speed the development and delivery of new mobile marketing and payment services.

Subject to regulatory clearance, the joint venture will provide a single point of contact for advertisers, marketing partners, retailers and banks. It's aiming to launch by the end of 2011.

Former Vodafone deputy CEO Sir Julian Horn-Smith has been elected to the board of Acer for the next three years.

He's one of two 'independent directors'; the other new board member is Dr F.C. Tseng, who co-founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

The Vodafone Foundation charity has launched the EU Smart Accessibility Awards, offering a €200,000 prize fund to application developers who help improve the lives of older people and people with disabilities across the European Union.

There are €50,000 prizes for the best Android application in four different categories:

Mark Bridge writes:

Watch almost any American TV show from the 1960s - I'd recommend a good police procedural - and at some point after a few episodes there'll be a scene in a restaurant. One of the main characters will be dining and their meal will be interrupted by a waiter bringing a telephone to the table. The phone will probably have an implausibly long cable, although there may be a telephone socket nearby.

There are a lot of appeals going on at the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Vodafone and Everything Everywhere say Ofcom's cut their mobile termination rates by too much, while Three UK and BT say the rates haven't been cut enough.