Morley replaces Simon Thompson who stepped down in March to join lastminute.com. He will be responsible for Motorolas device marketing and brand communications strategy while pushing its current and upcoming device portfolio primarily the Z8 and RAZR 2.

A spokesperson said: This is a crucial time leading up to the Christmas period and were confident Andrew can play a huge part in helping Motorola once again challenge Nokia for top spot.

Morley joins from department store Harrods where he served as group marketing director. Prior to this he was chief commercial officer at Cable and Wireless and also held marketing positions at BSkyB and Ford of Europe.

Apple has set itself a global sales target of 10 million units by the end of 2008 but a single-network approach to Europe will cost it important market share claimed Ovum senior analyst Steven Hartley.

T-Mobile Vodafone and most recently O2 have been tipped to bring the iPhone over the pond. But Hartley said: If Apple signs an exclusive deal with a UK operator it means there will be a limited number of people they can sell it to.

In the US the iPhone is subject to a two-year deal with network AT&T. It is also available in Apple stores.

Hartley warned the lack of Apple stores in the UK and the volatile nature of the UK market demands a different strategy. He explained: It is difficult to see a $400-$500 (£200-£250) device hitting the right numbers in the UK with the US distribution model. If Apple does sign an exclusive deal in the UK it might be six months rather than two years.

There is speculation around the timing of the iPhones UK launch too. Retailers claimed last week that Apple could actually delay its shipment to the UK until after Christmas when a 3G version will be ready to roll. By its scheduled Q4 launch date its feature set will have been superseded already even if its iconic looks still draw in Apple loyalists.

All the UK networks that have been named in the speculation have kept their own council. It could be Apple decides to go with various networks in different European markets. In the UK however O2 is thought to be closest to signing with Apple. O2 maintains the reports are just rumour and speculation.

Nevertheless the speculation continues. Reports online claimed last week O2 has gone so far as to agree with Apple to install a new EDGE network solely to support the iPhone. Again O2 declined to comment.

A mobile expert for independent price comparison service uSwitch touted the supposed deal as an opportunity for O2 to become the network of choice for music fans and create attractive data tariffs and support services around music.

Arguably the opening of The O2 in London its Wireless Festival Cocoon music device and offers to O2 customers have already gone some way to lodge it in consumers minds as the network for entertainment.

T-Mobile also bolstered its music catalogue last week with the launch of its Jukebox service which allows customers access to over 500000 tracks for £1 each. Vodafone and 3 have also released music download catalogues although 3 is out of the running until Apple unveils a 3G version.

Whatever their current music brand associations there can be little doubt the link with Apple would do each the world of good. Said Hartley: AT&T has certainly benefited. In an intensely competitive market with four almost equally powerful operators you take what advantage you can get.

But perhaps some perspective is needed. However close it gets to its sales targets Apple will remain a niche player in the vicious world of handset manufacturing.

Ten million sales is still only one per cent of the global handset market Hartley noted. Nokia Motorola and Sony Ericsson have all got time to react and Im sure there will be devices in the pipeline.

There is also the issue of price for all but Apple die-hards. Hartley argues manufacturers could well benefit from an iPhone halo effect for a wide consumer audience through its emphasis on high-end multimedia features. But Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin predicts the iPhone will set the bar high for the incumbent manufacturers.

While consumer desire may be driven purely by the iPhone name its price remains a factor which holds doubts over its success. UK-based iTunes rival Omnifone combined with a straight handset-and-voice tariff would appeal to be a more economic punt.

Omnifone CEO Rob Lewis said the true cost of owning the device after contract and download costs could be more than $2000 over a two-year period. He said: The iPhone may be nicely designed and aesthetically pleasing but its not a fully-fledged next generation device. iTunes is not connected or integrated with the mobile network and it cant be accessed at any time. Operators and manufacturers have invested millions in developing music services and brands introducing the iPhone will dilute their investment.

Ovums Hartley also suggests music is hardly cutting edge and the rush for the iPhone will as a result be less hasty than in the US.

Nevertheless the Apple brand is a powerful thing. Said Hartley: The strength of the iPod brand cannot be underestimated.

The uptake of iPods is well documented and integration with communications functionality is a logical evolution.

The regulator has also revealed plans for the creation of central database of transferred numbers which will enable numbers to be transferred instantly. Ofcom hopes to have the database in place by December 2012.

It currently takes five working days for operators to transfer numbers but under the new proposals this time will be reduced to two working days by April 2008.

Ofcom CEO Ed Richards said: The UK was one of the first countries to introduce number portability and this has helped create a competitive mobile market in the UK.

However the original process is now out-of-date. We believe that the industry should introduce a new system which will stimulate competition and encourage consumers to exercise choice between competing suppliers with a minimum of inconvenience.

Less than two years after launching it O2 has announced that it is to phase out the i-mode mobile Internet service and will not launch any new i-mode handsets from July 2007.

O2 was one of the most recent mobile operators to adopt NTT DoCoMos i-mode mobile Internet package. Now it seems that O2 is also going to be among the first to drop it. said Delaney.

O2 has tried to position i-mode as a more Internet-like service than Active but the distinction is a rather subtle one. A distinction that has proved very easy to grasp though is that i-mode is available on a much smaller range of handsets.

In any case the i-mode service concept itself runs counter to trends that are emerging in the mobile Internet market. In the i-mode business model operators keep only a small amount of content revenue making most of their money by charging for data network usage.

But regular users of the Internet on mobiles will become increasingly dissatisfied with having the meter running while they surf and the trend is already moving in favour of flat-rate data tariffs. Moreover the user experience is constantly improving and people are becoming more comfortable with using the Internet on their mobiles.

O2 will still sell existing i-mode handset models. The operator says i-mode was successful with rich content and high satisfaction amongst users but a limited range of handsets has restricted its growth. O2 will continue to manage and serve any existing UK i-mode customers until July 2009.

Coca-Cola snatched the top position for the seventh consecutive year while Microsoft finished second and IBM clinched third place.

Nokia has risen one place since last years rankings and BusinessWeek estimates that the Finish firms brand value stands at $33696 million a 12 per cent increase from last year.

The NHS has teamed up with O₂ to upgrade the N3 network to carry voice calls using VoIP technology. The new system will allow the NHS to make free calls to other users of the system and make substantial savings on calls to mobile phones across all UK networks.

O₂ will also provide a mobile extension service that will enable the NHS to make reduced rate calls between company mobiles and also from mobiles back to the office.

O₂ UK General Manager of Business Sales Ben Dowd said: With such a significant proportion of its communications being made to mobile we will be able to deliver substantial cost savings to the NHS. We look forward to working closely with N3 to continue to enhance the service in order to gain further efficiencies and cost savings for the NHS.

The network has until Monday 23 July to begin routing calls to Truphone numbers. The ruling is the first time that interim relief has been awarded against a mobile network operator under the Competition Act.

The injunction will stay in place until either a mutual agreement between both companies is reached or a court makes a decision.

Truphone chief executive officer James Tagg said: To be granted interim relief means we successfully demonstrated that we have an arguable case to make at a full trial.

We didnt want to go to court but we had no choice: T-Mobile was effectively preventing the launch of the Truphone service so we had to take urgent action.

Backed by record labels Universal Music Group Sony BMG EMI Music and Warner Music International the tracks are available to download to 32 handsets both 2.5G and 3G on both prepay and contract.

The tracks are dual download so customers will receive a compressed version of the track on their handsets plus another version to their PC for the £1 fee.

T-Mobile stores all customer downloads on its My Music database so if a customer loses their phone their music can be recovered. T-Mobile is offering new Mobile Jukebox customers five free tracks through July.

T-Mobile head of entertainment Damien Byrne said: We want anyone who has a mobile phone to be able to access music the moment they want to at a simple price.

The device compatible with most mobile phones on the market consists of a small GPS receiver unit and mobile software application from Jentro which can be purchased from Carphone and installed on any compatible handset on any network.

The system connects to the handset via Bluetooth to transfer navigational data to provide full journey and support details for a chosen route.

In Car Solutions head Duncan Pickering said: Carphone Warehouse chose Jentro to provide a satellite navigation package because of its strong vision to create location-based experiences for everyone to enjoy as well as its technology excellence and market leadership in Europe.

The package costs £39.99 and will include 31 days free unlimited UK usage for the customer who then pay a usage subscription charge to suit individual needs.

The web-ordering and sales units of OneStopPhoneShop will be moved to Loughborough e2saves base just two years after Carphone paid £15 million for it. Redundancies are expected. OneStopPhoneShop employs more than 100 staff.

A Carphone spokesman said: The sales and web-ordering units of OneStopPhoneShop will be integrated with our e2Save business in Loughborough.

We can confirm that the restructure will result in a number of redundancies and affected employees are currently going through a consultation process.