Cityphone managing director Barry Donaghey confirmed Cornhill had gone.

Graham was employed on a consultancy business. The immediate deal was to get the shops open again and the old management team in place and to get the business running as it had been. There were no promises from either side beyond that.

Cornhill says he plans to remain in retail but not necessarily in mobile phones.

Talk4all had a different retail culture to what I believe in he told Mobile News.

There was no falling out. I helped with the integration of the former WAP stores in to Talk 4 All. Once that was achieved I had served my purpose.

I wish them every success but I can see them having a rough ride ahead. There is no future for independent retailers. The market is all being controlled by networks.

Any independent has to think about the future because the networks want to move away from independent dealers.

Networks are all strapped for cash. They think they can upgrade customers themselves. They are closing doors to prevent the same old business being passed around. I will remain in retail because that is what I am good at. But Im questioning as to whether it will be mobile phone retail.

TRS recently won the Repair and Service category in the recent Mobile News Awards. TRS repairs around 50000 phones a month and claims to be one of the leading mobile phone repair companies in Europe. The company has grown from a workforce of four in 1994 to almost 300 today.

He left just weeks after an 8 million investment by a UK private investment group saw the arrival of new chief executive officer Paolo Fidanza.

Fidanza said: Paul has made a significant contribution to Vanguards success and he makes this move with our fullest support.

As part of the changes Vanguard sales director Ian Heritage becomes business development director.

Vodafone customers in 12 countries including Belgium France Germany Greece Ireland Italy The Netherlands Portugal Spain

Sweden Switzerland and the UK will be able to access services such as corporate email intranet and personalised information on their phones laptops or PDAs over GPRS.

Vodafone intends to expand GPRS roaming to cover other networks including all remaining

European Vodafone operators and partner networks by the end of the year.

There is no requirement for customers to input additional service access codes to use its services.

Vodafone customers will be billed on a volume basis for accessing their data services over GPRS while roaming in Europe (see Webwatch P50).

PDA manufacturer Handspring has started its first European marketing campaign for its Treo combined GSM phone and handheld computer. A trio of promotion girls (pictured) will demonstrate the Treo at major

London railway stations.

Customers pick the new handset they want and call 17298 from their existing Vodafone pre-pay mobile to transfer their old number to the new SIM card and handset.

When changing their phone customers will also receive an upgraded SIM card that allows access to all the latest services.

If customers take their mobile phone overseas the updated SIM means it will automatically log on to the local Vodafone network so that features like voicemail work as they do in the UK.

Customers can choose from a range of handsets including the Sony J6 Siemens C45 Nokia 8210 and Samsung A300.

Vodafone is also giving people who upgrade their pre-pay phones and remain on the Vodafone network a 20 loyalty credit.

This is according to ICM

Research which interviewed a random selection of 1000 adults last week 67 per cente of which had a mobile phone. per cent

The proportion of concerned mobile phone owners was highest amongst owners aged 18-24 (45 per cent) and female mobile phone owners (43 per cent).

Awareness of the function of the IMEI number was highest amongst male phone owners (58 per cenet vs. per cent 39 per cent).

The need to make a note of the IMEI was highest amongst younger phone owners with 33 per cent of those aged 18-24 saying that they had made a note of the I.M.E.I. number for future reference. per cent

These figures may well give mobile phone operators retailers and handset manufacturers some concern said ICM Researchs Matt Burn. per cent

Firstly if a substantial proportion of phone owners are using their mobiles less freely then they were then the implication could be that they are also using them less often which will impact on the Networks call and data revenues.

Secondly phone buyers may be less likely to consider splashing out on a new flashy phone fearing that an expensive phone may draw unwanted attention and be costly to replace.

The caution expressed also highlights the need for retailers to place additional emphasis on the security aspects and options available wit their handset and price plan.

The survey also showed that 30 per cent of mobile phone owners say that their phone is insured against loss theft or damage

Around 20 per cent had specific mobile phone insurance and 10 per cent covered their phones on house insurance.

Almost 49 per cent of contract owners had insurance for their phone compared to 21 per cent of pre-pay owners according to the survey.

Vodafone has sponsored the Derby meeting since 1995 and in that time has developed a very close association with the event.

Vodafone boss Chris Gent said:

The Vodafone Derby fits extremely well into our current sponsorship portfolio and we are particularly pleased with the way it has developed and prospered over the past few years.

Saturday is now well established as the big race day the huge crowds on the hill are back and a new agreement for the BBC to provide the television coverage is in place.

This years Vodafone Derby takes place at Epsom after the Jubilee Bank Holiday on June 7-8.

Called Talkshare Plus the plan rewards customers for their combined loyalty to the Orange network with lower-cost calls and text messages simpler billing and monthly subscription.

Talkshare Plus allows up to four people to have their own Orange phone and number while sharing the same talk plan based on 200 inclusive minutes of talk-time.

Under Talkshare Plus a primary account holder has the opportunity to share monthly talk plan savings with up to three sharers as well as offering lower call rates and a single itemised bill for the whole household.

Calls between members are always charged as off-peak at just 5p per minute. There are 200 inclusive minutes for a group to share.

A 50 per cent discount on text messaging between sharers means messages are charged at just 5p each.

The bundle also includes one year of Orange Care for the account holder and all sharers who get one itemised bill.

Orange research has shown that a significant number of households have more than one handset| said Orange commercial director David Taylor.

Talkshare Plus is an exciting new service that recognises this and meets the needs of our customers by allowing them to share a bigger talk plan with lower call charges. It rewards customers for their loyalty to Orange.

The new commercial tastefully shows a man who admits he pads out the crotch of his pants with a pair of socks but is ashamed of his out-of-date mobile phone.

The first ad in the series of five featured a man who showed no shame about airing his soiled washing in public but was highly flustered about the state of his old-fashioned mobile phone.

Account director Mark Harrison at ad agency CBJWT said:

Our challenge was to develop Phones 4Us profile further with a treatment that carved a very clear identity for the brand in what is a cut-throat and crowded marketplace.