James Rosewell writes:

I noticed a new phenomenon at Mobile World Congress this year: Beer O’Clock. Come 5pm Monday through Wednesday, companies with larger booths would break out the Cerveza, Vino, Cava and a small number of Orange juices. All very sociable and fun… until the music started.

Microsoft has revealed a customer preview of its new Microsoft Office productivity suite, which features familiar programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. It is designed to work with touch, stylus, mouse or keyboard controls and offers more social and cloud-based connectivity than previous versions.

A separate version of the software called Office Home and Student 2013 RT will be built into ARM-based Windows 8 devices, including the forthcoming Microsoft Surface tablet.

Yahoo! has appointed Marissa Mayer as its President and Chief Executive Officer with effect from tomorrow. The company says the move signals a renewed focus on product innovation to drive its user experience and advertising revenue.

Ms Mayer had been at Google for 13 years, most recently as Vice President of Local, Maps, and Location Services.

The Mobile Marketing Association has arranged over $1 million in funding to launch new global research into the impact of mobile marketing.

The project, which is believed to be the first global research project of its kind, will test real marketing campaigns to determine the economic value of investing in mobile channels compared to traditional marketing channels. It’s been named SMoX.me: Smart Mobile Cross Marketing Effectiveness.

Apps World 2012 takes place on Tuesday 2nd October and Wednesday 3rd October at the Earls Court 2 exhibition centre this year. It combines an exhibition with workshops and conference sessions designed for mobile developers, marketers, network operators, manufacturers and other mobile industry professionals.

In addition, there’s an award event - the Appsters awards - with a drinks reception and party at The Roof Gardens in Kensington on the Tuesday night.