A disagreement has erupted between Nokia and two UK mobile networks, O2 and Orange, over the manufacturer’s confirmation that it will be pre-installing the VOIP service Skype onto its latest handset, the N97.

Skype is a service allowing users to make free calls to other Skype contacts over the internet, as well as low-cost calls to other landlines and mobiles. The problem for the networks is that this could lead to more customers making calls through the free Skype service than through their networks, which will lead to a drop in revenues.

Both O2 and Orange have not come out with any public statements regarding their frustrations, but O2 has stated to Mobile Today that it is “currently working with Nokia” to “understand their Skype service”.

This is a tricky issue for the networks. They clearly don’t want to lose revenue through lost calls, but at the same time it would not be great PR for them to influence what users can and can’t have on their phones. The technology is there and it is only going to become more popular in the future, so they will have to get used to it sooner or later.

What is more strange is that other networks are not worried about the Skype application. T-mobile and 3 are both unconcerned, and 3 has even been involved with a number of phones that incorporate Skype in the past, including the INQ1 Facebook phone.

Nokia will not be in a hurry to affect adversely its relationships with the networks, but neither will it want to back down on its decision as this will not go down too well with consumers. Whatever decision is made, it is sure to have lasting ramifications for the mobile industry.

It really doesn’t seem that long ago that mobile phones were exclusive items that most of us could only dream about owning. The growth in popularity of mobiles over the last decade has been unprecedented, but new data has just come out confirming just how enormous the change has been.

According to a report by the United Nations, six out of every ten people in the world now have a mobile account. The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) has stated that in 2002 the number of people with an account was 1 billion, and that this has now gone up to 4.1 billion.

The uptake in mobile phone use across the developing world has been the biggest area of growth. Of all of the mobile phones in use, two thirds are now used in developing countries, compared to less than half back in 2002. Africa has seen the most rapid rise in mobile phone use, with the number of users in the continent going up from 2% to 28% since 2002.

The ITU said that the growth in mobile use has “made great strides” in “connecting the unconnected”, and it is no secret that mobiles are changing the developing world at a rapid rate. People who do not have access to a landline can now keep in touch with each other, sending money via text messages and receiving updates on market prices for their goods.

The report also looked into Internet access, and found that although 20% of homes in the developed world now have fixed-line broadband access, this figure is only 5% globally. Internet use has doubled since 2002, with 23% of the population having access, but in this area there is still a big divide between rich and poor.

A big shake up could be on its way in the UK mobile market. It has been announced in a few national newspapers that O2 and Vodafone are considering the possibility of sharing a network, rather than running off the two separate networks they use at the moment.

The news comes on the back of the government’s plan to provide the whole country with access to broadband by 2012. As a large area of the country cannot get broadband through copper wires, the Digital Britain report states that mobile broadband will play a large role in fulfilling this aim.

If the plan goes ahead as expected, not only will a greater level of mobile broadband be available in rural areas of the UK, but the number of base stations needed will be significantly reduced from the current number of 51,000.

But this move could have further repercussions, because if it goes ahead then it is thought that Orange is likely to join the network already shared by T-mobile and 3. If this happens then the UK will be left with just two networks being shared by the five biggest companies.

Although some have stated that this is a good thing for consumers because it will reduce costs for the companies and therefore for the consumers, there has also been concern voiced in terms of the reduced competition that could arise as a result, which could be a negative impact for the industry.

No announcement has been officially made as yet, but it is widely expected that it could come some time in the next few weeks.

Ryanair has created shockwaves throughout the industry by announcing that it will be launching the use of mobile phones on a number of its flights. At the moment the service is only available in planes based in Dublin, but over the next 18 months all of Ryanair’s planes will have the technology in place to allow passengers to use their phones.

Voice calls will be charged at £1.50 to £3, texts will be 40p and emails using a mobile will cost between £1 and £2. Incoming calls will also incur a charge, but incoming texts will be free. After the initial charges have been made, customers will then be charged their normal roaming rate.

However, this all flies in the face of recent research that suggests that phone calls are not wanted by passengers. Times Online Travel conducted a poll in January 2009 which showed that 87% of people did not want voice calls allowed on flights. The industry has also been split, with a number of major airlines saying that they are not going to introduce the service.

However, Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of the company, said that he had no patience with the “Luddite approach”, adding that “our services are not cathedral-like sanctuaries”.

Ryanair has joined forces with OnAir, a Swiss-based firm, to bring in the new technology, and it says the phones will not affect the navigation-bearing displays. The planes will use a light, just like that used for seatbelts, to announce when mobile use is permitted. For the time being, only six people at a time can use their phones, but next year this will go up to 12.

We are already starting to use our phones for more and more things in life. Music, cameras, videos, games, social networking and a whole host of other applications are all turning our phones into indispensable items that provide us with so much more than mere communication. But could they soon turn into our very own portable doctors?

Well, this could soon be a reality after a prototype handset was displayed at the International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference that claimed to be able to detect diseases in the user simply through breathing onto it.

The prototype has been created by AND (Applied Nanodetectors Ltd), which has teamed up with Nokia. It consists of a Nokia N95 handset complete with a chip containing sensors that can detect gases including CO2 and ammonia. It can then work out the density of each gas in the user's breath to see if there are any diseases present.

AND is a specialist in nanotechnology, and it has already released a list of the types of diseases the phone will be able to detect, which include diabetes, asthma, lung cancer and food poisoning. On top of detecting the disease, it will also alert the user’s doctor.

If it does get released, it will be nothing short of revolutionary. Oral odour level sensors are already available, but to be able to detect so many diseases, and to have the device fitted into a mobile handset, is a huge step forward.

It is all very much in its early stages and there are no release dates as yet. However, it provides an insight into just what we might be using our mobile phones for in the future.

With the recession biting and more and more of us having to think twice about what we spend, it will come as no surprise that the way we pay for our mobile phone usage is being affected.

Already more than half of all mobile phone users prefer to stick to a Pay As You Go plan rather than signing a contract. However, right now a staggering 6.5 million of us are thinking of changing and almost a further three quarters of a million are currently in the throes of changing.

The figures released recently in a report by Post Office Telecoms suggest that the present market share could increase to 65% in the near future. The Post Office is the second largest provider of mobile phone top-ups and some Post Offices are reporting an increase of a hundred percent in sales.

There are various reasons for people preferring a Pay As You Go plan to a contract and the top five mentioned in the survey were as follows:

1. 69% - you only have to pay for what you use
2. 59% - it allows more control over your spending
3. 58% - being tied to a contract adds pressure to your finances
4. 21% - it does not matter what your credit rating is
5. 15% - it is easier to understand than a contract

Those thinking of making the switch are in good company. Earlier this week President Obama promised that his administration would revert to “pay as you go rules” which families all over America use to manage their household budget. In his words "You don't spend what you don't have".

This has been the decade of the mobile phone. Something that was a real novelty at the start of the millennium has now become a necessity all over the globe. And if you needed any proof of this, you can just take a look at the latest figures to be released from the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association).

It has been claimed in the report that there are now four billion mobile phone connections across the world, with as many as six billion expected by 2013. One of the main reasons behind the huge surge in figures comes down to the enormous rise in mobile Internet connections, but also proving significant is the new generation of smartphones with HSPA (High Speed Package Access) connections.

However, the results are a bit misleading as it is unlikely that there are four billion individual mobile phone users in the world. Rather, many people have more than one connection, especially in the western world, and this makes up for a large proportion of the overall figure. On top of that, you have the fact that in developing countries one mobile phone may be used by lots of different people, and so it is impossible to put an exact figure on the total number of mobile users.

Michael O'Hara, who is the chief marketing officer at the GSMA, said that “industry initiatives” in such areas as mobile broadband and mobile lifestyle will lead to further “innovation and growth”.

Out of the four billion connections, 100 million of these are mobile broadband connections. Also of interest was the prediction by the GSMA that because of the developments that have taken place in mobile phones in recent years, they could become the main way of connecting people to the Internet over the next few years.

After much anticipation, the Zumba Phone has finally been officially announced, and it promises to be the first 100% accurate voice recognition handset. The news has come after the BBC launched a video detailing the product, but as yet this video is the only piece of information that is being provided.

Voice recognition is nothing particularly new, but the Zumba is set to pave the way for the technology to take over the way we communicate with each other.

A thin, credit card-sized handset, it works by plugging an earpiece into the back of the handset so that users can activate everything simply by using their voice.

Even text messages are being revolutionised. There’s no more playing around with fiddly buttons, and you don’t even have to look at the screen. Instead, the Zumba simply reads them out to you on the go with the click of a button, and then you can dictate your own text message to be sent right back without so much as looking at the phone.

What's more, according to IA Technologies, the developers of the Zumba, none of the contacts are actually stored on the phone, but instead are kept on a safe and secure website. This sounds a bit high-tech and perhaps unnecessary, but if it gets lost then it would be impossible for a thief to use.

Although further information on the Zumba is not yet finding its way out of the top secret location in Hereford where it is being manufactured, it is predicted that it should be on the shelves by the end of the year.

There’s more bad news to come out of the mobile phone industry this week as Vodafone has just announced that it is to cut 500 jobs. 10,000 people work for Vodafone in the UK, so this figure represents a 5% staff cut, which is sure to be a devastating blow to those who will be affected.

Things have been going badly for Vodafone since the onset of the recession. Handset sales have been hit particularly hard, and although telecoms companies have not being faring as badly as some other industry sectors during the recession, they still need to reduce costs if they are to keep their profits healthy. As well as Vodafone, BT, Virgin Media and Nokia have all had to cut staff in order to stay on top of things.

In figures released recently, Vodafone showed details of the three months up to the end of September 2008. This showed an operating profit down £109 million, and a 1.1% drop in service revenue. British revenue has been hit particularly hard, mirroring problems being faced across the developed market for telecoms companies.

These job cuts in the UK are part of Vodafone's plan to save £1 billion across its global business operations by 2011. The biggest number of staff to go from any one place will be 170 from the headquarters in Newbury, and other jobs will be cut across the country.

Vodafone was keen to point out that it wasn’t just losing staff, but was also employing other cost reduction methods. It released a statement saying that “The majority of savings will be achieved by taking operating costs out of the business”, but this will be little comfort for those losing their jobs.

Sometimes new ideas are announced that make you think, “Why hasn’t that been done already?” And the announcement that mobile phone manufacturers are planning to make all of their handsets compatible with a universal adaptor is one of them.

The deal has been arranged by GSMA, and it couldn’t have come soon enough. It is definitely a good thing to be seen to be green at the moment, with the number of eco-friendly devices and handsets appearing on the market increasing all the time, but it is the news of the imminent universal charger that could prove to be the most significant development of recent times.

It comes in the form of the micro-USB plug, which only consumes half the energy of a normal charger when on standby, and 17 manufacturers have already committed to making their phones compatible with it within the next four years. In fact, it is already available on the Blackberry Storm and on one Nokia smartphone. It is surprising that it took so long to come about, but GSMA said that actually it was rather easy in the end to arrange. All it took was the manufacturers agreeing on the technical specification and the charging current, and the deal was complete.

Every time you buy a new phone, you need a new charger. It is therefore great news that, in just four years time, we will probably not even have to buy a new charger with every phone because we already have a perfectly good one at home. And who knows, maybe this will catch on to devices other than mobile phones in the future which would lead to a huge reduction in the number of chargers required across the globe and would be a real plus for the environment.