Mobile browser company Opera Software has opened its Opera Mobile Store in more than 200 countries today.

The Opera Mobile Store offers a combination of free and paid applications for most mobile platforms, including Java, Symbian, BlackBerry and Android operating systems. Each user is shown a storefront that's customised to their phone OS, language and currency.

RIM's BlackBerry Protect security software, which was announced as a limited beta last year, is now available for anyone to try - but only if they’re based in North America and some parts of Latin America. Other countries will be added in the next few months, although there's no confirmation whether or not the UK will be included.

BlackBerry Protect lets users backup, restore and locate a BlackBerry smartphone wirelessly.

Nokia's Qt application and user interface framework business unit, which enables software to be deployed across different platforms without rewriting the source code, is being split. Nokia will continue to invest in the development of Qt for all users, while Finnish company Digia will acquire the Qt commercial software licensing and professional services business.

Qt is available under open source licenses and a commercial license.

Mark Bridge writes:

For the last couple of months we've been running a survey on TheFonecast.com with the title “What's the biggest challenge facing mobile phone manufacturers?”

The answer appears to be very clear. According to 60% of respondents, 'battery life' is the major issue for mobile manufacturers.

Canada-based IE Market Research says the UK mobile phone market will see Everything Everywhere's market share increasing to 38.5% by the end of 2012 - despite the Orange and T-Mobile partnership recently announcing a drop in customer numbers.

The IEMR forecast also predicts market share declines at O2 and Vodafone, falling to 27.3% and 19.7% respectively by the end of 2012. By 2015, IEMR anticipates the UK having 99 million mobile connections with around 40% on Everything Everywhere.