Accessories manufacturer Parrot has teamed up with auto accessories chain Halfords to offer drivers affordable hands-free kits to comply with new legislation on the use of mobile phones on the road.

From tomorrow (Tuesday) drivers caught using their mobile phone while driving will be fined £60 plus three penalty points.

Halfords is offering the Parrot CK3000 Evolution Bluetooth hands-free kit plus free installation for £99.99. Halfords is also stocking Parrots 3200LS-Colour handsfree kit and the Parrot Minikit handsfree speakerphone.

Later in the year it will range the forthcoming Parrot MK6000 music hands-free kit.

Parrot director of UK sales Chris Roberts said: Through our partnership with Halfords we are offering drivers who are concerned about their safety their comfort and about complying with legislation a fully fitted professional solution to meet their needs and expectations.

Sony Ericssons K800 Cyber-shot phone won best handset at the GSM Associations 2007 awards at 3GSM in Barcelona recently.

Sony Ericssons corporate executive vice president and head of sales Anders Runevad said: Our Cyber-shot portfolio has made mobile imaging a reality for millions of people and we are very proud that the industry has endorsed our achievements.

Sony Ericssons Cyber-shot handset range was introduced in 2006. More than 4.5 million have been sold worldwide claimed Sony Ericsson. The 3.2 megapixel K800 was the first Cyber-shot phone.

Reports claim that the woman had been charging her phone for 10 minutes when a fireball came out of the handset and struck her in the face. The battery inside her phone was a BL-D3 series and is not one of the 46 million that Nokia recalled last month.

Nokia are currently investigating the incident but believe that the battery in question could be a fake.

Nokia communications director Mark Squires told Mobile News: Investigations are currently underway and laboratory analysis are being conducted by a separate authoritiy. At the moment we have no further information but we believe the battery could be a counterfeit product.

Nokia batteries have five levels of protection and explosions of this kind are extremely unlikely. But we are taking this claim seriously and would like to stress that our customers safety is paramount.

Mainline has appointed Marlon Morgan as southern regional sales manager.

Morgan will head up a team of field executives Mainlines revamped dealer manager team for the region and three members of Mainlines dealer support team. He has been tasked with establishing new dealer accounts in the south.

Morgan said Mainline is investing more heavily to support its dealer base than rival distributors.

He said: Mainline like few other companies is always looking to invest in its customer base. I will focus on providing dealers with comprehensive support packages and value-added propositions that will help them maximise their Orange business.

Mainline managing director Andrew Boden said: Marlon has a vast amount of experience in dealer channels as well as direct sales.

His knowledge and sales expertise will prove invaluable to all our dealers looking to enhance their business.

Morgan has 14 years experience in the industry. He was part of the pre-launch sales team at One2One (now T-Mobile) and has also held senior sales positions at Xerox Pitney Bowes NTL NTT Communications and Caudwell Communications.

Yes Telecom claimed last week it is the top UK service provider for BlackBerry.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) refused to comment on its UK partners.

Yes said it had connected over 15000 BlackBerry data subscribers with an average revenue per user of £84. It connected 1900 in November and December an increase of 1537 year-on-year.

Virgin Mobile has practically exited the independent channel including high street retail because of the cost of acquisition. It aims to boost its meagre contract subscriber base by signing 400000 customers this year from parent company Virgin Medias base which numbers around five million. Sales to group customers will be direct and see it pull back further from the channel.

Meanwhile Virgin Mobile has restructured its marketing team ahead of the arrival of new managing director Graeme Oxby next week.

Jonathan Kini who ran Virgin Mobiles supply chain and logistics has taken the role of director of commercial. Kini takes over responsibility from former Virgin Mobile sales and distribution director Rob Shardlow for all commercial contracts including network relations and handset purchasing. Shardlow has taken the role of group sales director at Virgin Media.

Under Virgin Media Kinis job will differ from former Virgin Mobile commercial director Joe Steels role with much of the slack taken up at group level.

Likewise the role of Virgin Mobile managing director which Oxby takes on September 3 is reduced in terms of administrative and financial scope.

Tim Dowling who was in charge of prepay and contract has been appointed director of the consumer proposition.

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Voice and data B2B dealer Azzurri Communications was number 45 on the Sunday Times Buyout Track 100 list published on February 18 and sponsored by Deloitte.

The Buyout Track 100 is a league table that shows the top 100 private equity-backed mid-market companies in the UK with the fastest growing profits over two years.

Network infrastructure company Aircom International was listed at number two.

Azzurris chief executive officer Martin St Quinton said: Our placement in the Buyout Track 100 is fantastic news for everyone at Azzurri and we are delighted to have the endorsement of an internationally respected company such as Deloitte.

This research shows the success that companies such as Azzurri have had in Britain and further backs up Azzurris commitment to excellence and growth.

Aircom chief executive officer Margaret Rice-Jones said: Aircom is now firmly on the radar.

SMS provider LogicaCMG last week confirmed the sale of its messaging and voicemail business to private equity firm Atlantic Bridge for £265 million.

LogicaCMG provides SMS MMS and voicemail service platforms to service providers and telecoms operators worldwide. Atlantic Bridge plans to revamp the business under the Acision brand.

About half of the funds from the sale will be returned to shareholders through a share buy-back.

LogicaCMG CEO Martin Read said: This divestment allows LogicaCMG to focus on its core strengths in IT and business services.

Ovum research director Jean-Charles Doineau said: The SMS centre market has become a commodity. Transition to IP-based messaging has proven uneasy to manage in developed countries.

Mobile phone recycling company Eazyfone Group has established FoneAid which will donate money to grassroots UK organisations in exchange for old handsets.

FoneAid will give £3 to participating charities sports clubs hospitals and youth organisations that donate their old mobile phones. For every 100 phones handed in they will also receive £100 in high street gift vouchers.

Handsets will be used in developing countries or recycled.

FoneAid is the third brand in the Eazyfone stable alongside Envirofone and Fones4Schools.

Bluestreak Technology has released a new version of its media content platform for manufacturers and network operators. The original version ships on all phones sold by Orange.

The new version MachBlue Mobile enhances graphics and functionality for networks programming rich-media content such as mobile TV and video on to their handsets.