The new devices will make the service 10 times faster than the original 3G service that was launched in 2004.

From September 3 Vodafone customers can benefit from quicker laptop connectivity speeds by purchasing either a new plug and go USB Modem or a next-generation ExpressCard. Prices for both products start from £49 and come with an 18-month contract.

Vodafone will upgrade its mobile broadband network to support download speeds of up to 7.2MB. But initially only customers located in central London and major UK airports will able to access optimal speeds. The operator will offer typical speeds of 1.7MB to 5.5MB to customers in all other areas.

Vodafone UK enterprise business unit director Kyle Whitehill said: More than ever the speed of our Mobile Broadband service is helping people make work work around them wherever they are.

These devices are fast but they are also future-proofed – they are ready for our new upgraded network and they are ready for the latest PCs or laptops.

The deal covers 5500 voice and 3000 data connections mainly used for the AAs breakdown service fleet in the UK.

The initial agreement was signed in July 2006 and general manager for business sales Ben Dowd said the four-year extension will see O2 ramp up its data services to the AA.

McNeil whose position was based at the companys Dubai headquarters said he had personal reasons for leaving.

Trevor Mais will act as finance director until a replacement is found. McNeil who joined i-mate in January will remain in the job until September.

Its new £12.7 million site in Hayes Middlesex will increase its warehouse resources significantly he said. Unique has purchased two warehouses side-by-side at the Hayes site.

I cant see anything that will stop us from getting involved with any distribution deal said Tow. These are exciting times for Unique. Theres just over 100 warehouse staff at the company at present and the new warehouses will be able to hold 160 workstations. That shows our long-term plan to expand the business.

Unique is expected to announce a significant handset fulfilment deal in the coming weeks following its move from its present site in Abingdon. Unique will also move its sales function headed up by Jolyon Bennett from Abingdon to Hayes.

IT and telecommunications equipment will be fitted into the new offices next month. Two weeks of testing will follow before the move is made permanent.

Designed as a showcase for its premium consumer products it will feature blue Nokia signage with floor and ceiling in silver birch. There will also be LCD screens displaying Nokia brand messages and product advertising.

Nokia said it will stock live working demo versions of all its handsets. The interactive LCD screens will also offer customer advice on each product. In addition the store will range Nokias luxury product line Vertu.

Samsung launched its new E590 prepay handset which has a threemegapixel camera in Carphone Warehouse earlier this month. The E590 candybar has a metallic finish and 70MB of internal memory.

Samsung is looking to hike its UK market share from 23 per cent to 25 per cent by the end of the year with a fuller prepay range.

This year we have been strong in prepay said Samsung UK head of channel marketing Susan Land. High end premium contract phones are still a focus but we need to make sure were strong in the prepay sector leading up to Christmas.

Meanwhile dealers reported strong sales of Samsungs U600 handset which includes a 3.2-megapixel camera. Intek managing director Manny Hussain reported demand had outrun supply. He said: Sales have been down generally but the U600 has sold well. It has been the standout handset and there have been some stock shortages.

Future Mobiles proprietor Antony Nathanson added: Its a big seller. The only other mass market handsets that compare to it for camera quality are the Nokia N73 and Sony Ericsson K810i and consumers prefer the design of the U600.

At the same time LG Mobile UK sales director John Barton said the forthcoming 5.1-megapixel cameraphone the LG KU990 Viewty will trump similarly specced handsets from rival manufacturers.

It is a touchscreen handset and introduces the worlds first 120fps video recording feature on a cameraphone.

Five-megapixel cameraphones are already available in the form of the Samsung G600 and the Sony Ericssons K850i.

But Barton said: The KU990 will defeat rival devices by virtue of all its other features.

He acknowledged the five-megapixel handset LG launched on 3 in the UK last year the LG U990 had failed to hit the mark.

It shows that as a challenger brand you cant always make [such ambitious devices] stick in peoples mind he said.

LGs new prepay devices are the KE500 KG290 KG130 and KG275. The KE500 has a 2MP camera and the KG290 a 1.3MP camera.

All will be available for less than £100.

Samsung is pitching the F210 as an affordable prepay music phone to 16-24 year-olds.

Samsung UK head of channel marketing Susan Land said the F210 was Samsungs key music device for the Christmas quarter.

The F210 builds on the old Blush handset with a stronger metallic casing. Samsung has also scrapped the old condensed keypad from the X830 in favour of a conventional keypad after complaints the X830 was cumbersome to use.

It also features a jog wheel to select music tracks FM radio 1GB internal memory memory card slot and two-megapixel camera.

It will be available from all retailers and networks in October with colour exclusives to follow.

The new features are part of Nokias expansion of its Internet services called Ovi meaning door in Finish. As part of Ovi the group will launch the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage which will enable users to download all the latest music and games.

The Nokia Music Store will allow customers to download music via their computer or directly from Nokia devices beginning with the new Nokia N81 and Nokia N95 8GB.

The Music Store will contain millions of tracks from popular artists and thousands from worldwide independent labels. Customers can download single songs for 1 EUR or albums for 10 EUR they also have the ability to stream their favourite tracks. Users can also transfer purchased songs between Nokia devices and PCs without incurring any additional costs.

Nokia head of music activities Tommi Mustonen said: The Nokia Music Store brings together a powerful combination of great music and great devices in an easy to use way. You can select from a huge range of music including local music from your country and download it directly to your Nokia device.

You can choose between purchasing tracks a la carte via your Nokia device or computer or you can stream an unlimited number of full length tracks to your computer. The unlimited streaming is a great way to discover new music and the integrated mobile and PC download service is a fantastic way to build a music collection that is always with you.

The N-Gage service allows users to buy the latest games directly to Nokia devices as well as previewing upcoming releases and download free demos. Customers can either purchase games by entering credit card details or by adding it to their monthly phone bill.

Nokia head of games business Jaakko Kaidesoja said: The N-Gage service combined with powerful devices world class titles and brands and interactive social networking features takes the mobile gaming experience beyond traditional boundaries.

It is also offering free mobile calls to 40 countries until the end of 2007 to anyone who signs up before the end of September. VoIP text messages will be free to other Truphone users and 7p to regular mobile numbers.

Truphone CEO James Tagg said: We were the first to demonstrate SMS-over-IP and weve been delighted at the feedback.

The Federation of Technological Industries (FTI) is set to lead more than 140 traders in potentially the largest judicial review in UK legal history.

The objective of the group action is to speed up HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) decision-making process over VAT repayments to traders. As it stands HMRC argues under the extended verification rule that it can withhold VAT repayments until proper verification of traders accounts has taken place. But HMRC has yet to pay out under the ruling and traders have gone out of business as a result.

Birmingham based Dass Solicitors which is handling the case reckoned the total withheld VAT will run to hundreds of millions of pounds.

Alias Dass partner at Dass Solicitors said: This is potentially the largest judicial review in UK history. The calculation hasnt been done but it is going to run to hundreds of millions of pounds.

FTI chairman Fred Howarth who took over from Anthony Elliot-Square before Christmas said he had read through 30000 documents from traders. He said: The picture it has given me is appalling.

Howarth will meet with traders individually next week and then hold a trader conference for the group action near the end of the month.
At the time of going to press the grounds for the claim were being finalised.