Research from the International Data Corporation shows that consumers are moving away from using PCs as their default device for internet usage and are favouring mobile technology instead.

In 2015, IDC expects the number of consumers accessing the internet through mobile devices in the USA to exceed PC-based internet use. Western Europe and Japan are thought to be around two years behind this trend.

Microsoft has officially revealed Windows Phone 8, its mobile operating system that’ll be available on previously-announced smartphones from Nokia, Samsung and HTC from next month.

The company says Windows Phone 8 is built to work seamlessly with Windows 8 computers, Microsoft Surface tablet devices, the Xbox 360 game console and the SkyDrive cloud storage service.

Google has revealed three new Nexus-branded Android devices and an update to the Android mobile operating system. Its announcement was made online after a planned press conference in New York was cancelled due to the threat from Hurricane Sandy.

The new devices are expected on 13th November and will run Android v4.2, still known by the same codename as version 4.1: ‘Jelly Bean’.

Vodafone has chosen digital security company Gemalto to help manage its rollout of contactless mobile payments worldwide.

Gemalto will provide and operate Vodafone’s global Trusted Service Management platform and will help the operator deploy NFC services solutions.

Mark Bridge writes:

In many ways it’s been a week of big news without big surprises. Apple announced the much-rumoured iPad mini, which is just like an iPad but smaller. It also introduced a fourth-generation update to its larger iPad, promising more speed and more 4G connectivity.