Analyst firm Ovum has published its mobile payment and mobile advertising predictions for this year.

Ovum expects continued technology and service innovation, notably around location-based applications, in the mobile payments space in 2014. However, there will be increasing complexity within the mobile payments ecosystem this year, and on-going challenges around the business model for digital wallet services.

A new research report from Berg Insight predicts the total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market will grow from €6.9 billion last year to €27.9 billion (£23.4 billion) in 2018, which is a compound annual growth rate of 26%.

This would give mobile advertising 19.3% of the total online advertising market in 2018.

Mark Bridge writes:

HTC experienced a bit of Christmas cheer last week when the threat of a sales injunction against the HTC One mini smartphone and a number of other devices was lifted. Nokia had previously won a patent-related court case against HTC but it seems that a sales ban was deemed too harsh a penalty.

Online streaming music service Spotify has launched a free ad-supported player for smartphone and tablet users.

Previously the company’s mobile service was only available as a chargeable option.

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint made about online advertising for the Sony Xperia SP smartphone.

A page on the www.sonymobile.com website had described the phone has having “an exquisite aluminium frame”. However, a customer who’d bought the phone said the ad was misleading because he didn’t believe that the frame was made from aluminium.