Mark Bridge writes:

It’s all gone a bit quiet. Is it the calm after the Mobile World Congress storm... or is it the knowledge that an Apple announcement will push anything else out of the headlines, even before the product itself has been revealed?

Either way, the last seven days have had significantly fewer news stories than the beginning of the month. But that’s not to say they’ve been completely news-free.

There's good news and bad news, as Best Buy Europe announces plans to close its 'big box' UK stores and Everything Everywhere cuts 550 jobs - while Jawbone UP hits the shops and the Simply Tap mobile shopping app goes live.

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m reminded of a sketch from BBC TV’s ‘The Young Ones’ in 1982. The four horsemen of the apocalypse are waiting around.

“What’s new?”, asks Pestilence. “Microchip technology”, replies one of the others. “That’s quite a new thing, isn’t it?”

Quite new. It’s probably the best description for much of last week’s mobile industry news.

The Mobile Money Network has launched its ‘Simply Tap’ shopping application for Android and Apple devices.

Customers who set up a Simply Tap account (including payment details) can then buy products just by entering a short code into the app. The sale is then confirmed, payment is taken and the product is delivered to the customer’s chosen address.

The Mobile Money Network, which was founded by Charles Dunstone, Monitise plc and Best Buy Europe last year, says it'll reveal details of its first service tomorrow.

New non-executive Chairman Sir Stuart Rose is set to announce Simply Tap, a service that'll allow consumers using any mobile phone on any network to buy anything from retailers signed up to the platform.