Stuart Henry left the position last month and has yet to find a new position. Hugh Symons business manager Bob Sweetlove is slated to take his place.

Henry has told industry people his role at Carphone was never intended to be long-term.

Henry carried out a 12-month review of Carphone Warehouses indirect businesses through Hugh Symons and Mobile Phone Express.

A statement from Carphone said: Our indirect channels continue to remain a key strategic part of our overall retail and distribution business and a priority for the year ahead.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Stuart for his contribution to the business over the last year and would like to wish him well in his new chosen role.

Sweetlove told Mobile News he was awaiting clarification on his position.

Some independent dealers are not happy with Henrys departure especially after his speech at Hugh Symons dealer conference in April in which he affirmed Hugh Symons and Carphones commitment to dealers and the need to calm conflict between dealers and networks.

Thornton Heaths Fone City director Akif Sadique said: Weve seen this too many times. They get up on stage and make promises and the next thing we know theyre history.

It negates everything Stuart Henry said at the seminar. His speech was a waste of time.

Carphone should sign his successor to a five-year contract. The fact that Henry didnt promise us the world probably makes his departure easier to swallow unlike (predecessor) Steve Fraser who made all sorts of promises.

Mehren Mehmood of Fonetec in New Maiden added: I just want someone to do something for us and not just talk for the sake of them making a quick buck. We need someone who will be committed towards independents. >

Faz Suleman of In2Mobiles in Peterborough added: Hugh Symons needs someone who understands our point of view. That has been lacking.

But Stuart Henrys exit wont make a lot of difference to dealers. It doesnt bother us. Well just carry on working with Hugh Symons as we always have.

Stuart did some good in the year he was there. He has benefited the industry. Whoever replaces him will have their own ideas. Well work with them too.

Tow took the top hot seat at Unique this week after an intensive series of interviews by Unique parent

IGB Group. He has been in the mobile industry for 22 years including 16 years at Vodafone.

They approached me a couple of weeks ago. Unique has a fantastic brand. My role is taking what;s there and taking it forward. There has been a £10.5million investment in a new HQ and warehousing in Hayes he said.

The new service will be launched in 2008 and will see both companies share technology to produce real-time information about the speed and direction of traffic travelling on all major UK roads.

Vodafone UK director of new business development and wholesale Tim Stone said: Thanks to the quality of our data UK drivers will soon be able to access up-to-the-minute traffic updates that will let them plan and navigate the fastest route for all their journeys.

Said Mobile News podcast presenter Iain Graham: Ians back page in Mobile News is well known for highlighting the funnier foot-shooting escapades in the mobile industry.

In this weeks show hes put down his pen and let his tongue do the lashing pointing out the lunacy behind some of the networks poaching nonsense.

To listen to the latest edition of the Mobile News podcast click here

Masson quit ET last month due to the uncertainty surrounding the now defunct companys future. Masson has extensive senior management experience in the industry having previously worked for T-Mobile as general manager of their dealer and distributor division.

When I was given the opportunity to join the Advantage group and having heard of its ambitions I was compelled to say sign me upsaid Masson.

Advantage will undoubtedly bring an aggressive but refreshing approach to the telecoms industry and I want to be part of the team that will have the privilege of creating it here in the UK.

The network will offer one of the simplest and most competitive mobile broadband services available in the UK with revamped roaming tariffs and more flexible pricing. A new generation of fast modems offering speeds of up to 7.2Mb are expected to be available (with limited coverage) in September. They will utilise HSUPA a go-faster version of Vodafones existing HSDPA technology which can pipe data at around 3Mb.

Vodafone has calculated that there are 1.3 million laptop owners who have a requirement for mobile data. The network already has around 181000 users signed to its data services so it believes it can target 1.2 million connections with the right offerings.

Sources close to Vodafone have told Mobile News: They are going full out to dominate this square of the puzzle. Its a seriously-full programme of transparent pricing generous bundles and pay-per-session options.

This is the biggest push into data weve ever seen from Vodafone. They are ripping up the data tariff rule book and going all-out to massively enlarge the market. I would say this will put them at least a year ahead of O2 which is their closest rival.

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Barton said: LG is a small business. If you focus on mobile in just the UK it is a tight-knit team and it is a testimony to our success that other businesses are looking to recruit from us. It is just sad there isnt always the means to provide the career paths for young talented individuals that you would like.

Barton suggested channel criticism of LG was down to commercial issues and counselled regard for a possible agenda among its network retail and distribution partners.

He defended its refusal to kow-tow in some cases to its partners on handset pricing. The primary concern for any business is profitability he said and suggested Motorolas Q2 results bear testament to the heavy price of pursuing market share at any cost.

We cant always bow to the needs or go to the particular price some of our partners want. You have to think of your business as a profitable enterprise and the fact one of the other major vendors has just reported serious financial difficulties is perhaps because it went to pricing levels that were not wise.

He added: We dont always just say yes to our partners. It has to be a good deal for both parties. If there is a sense of disaffection within the channel it is not something I have witnessed in bucket loads. Perhaps it reflects our inability to come to a deal. But those are commercial issues. It has nothing to do with trouble at mill.

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Unity partners will be given a gold silver or bronze status based on their quarterly performance and will be given unity benefits according to their level.

HSC business manager Bob Sweetlove said: Those dealers who are already part of the unity programme will continue to benefit as they always have but for those dealers who fall short of the historical criteria it will provide additional benefits to help improve their business.

We want to reward our partners for their hard work which is why the top tier of partners will receive even more from unity.

Recently the unity programme has seen the introduction of benefits such as car-kit installation services TalkTalk TomTom WORK and b2b marketing services.

HSC project manager Sophie Vincent said: The benefits are constantly updated to reflect the current business needs of the dealers. By introducing the new look unity programme we are supporting our valued partners and securing long-term business.

Customers who receive a scratch card stand a chance of winning tickets to see the UK premiere of The Bourne Ultimatum on 15th August including travel to London and hotel accommodation.

The MOTO Z8 includes new technology that displays video at 30 frames per second through a 16 million colour large QVA TFT screen which provides users with crystal clear viewing and sound when watching television.

Motorola has also signed a deal with BSkyB to allow its customers to download Skys Mobile content. Subscribers to the service will be able to watch an archive of sport entertainment and movies on demand. The service also offers customers the option of programming their Sky + box directly from their handset.

The MOTO Z8 is available from free on selected contracts from Vodafone O2 Phones4U or Carphone Warehouse.

The service can be activated via the Downloads option on selected Eseries devices initially the E61 and E65. Users must have a data package in their mobile tariff as ROK TV requires 10Mb of GPRS data per hour of streaming.

Two packages will be offered a five channel Strictly Business package for £5 a month with a strong emphasis on business news channels such as Bloomberg CNBC Europe Euro News and regional news channels presented in nine languages.

There will also be the 10-channel ROK All for £10 a month containing all the live business news channels as well as sports news music videos and comedy channels.

Customers can trial both packages free for the first two weeks.

Nokia business development manager for enterprise solution David King said: Nokia Eseries users tend to be professional people who seek instant information and entertainment so it is a logical step to offer our customers a business-orientated mobile TV service.

ROK chairman Jonathan Kendrick added: Were absolutely delighted to be working with Nokia on this exciting deployment of mobile TV.

We know there is a huge and as yet untapped market for live and instantly-available business and financial news amongst mobile TV customers.