Smartphone users are increasingly using their phones for instant messaging and accessing social networks, with a 60 percent growth in connection to the Internet from mobile phones in just 12 months by users worldwide.

Opera, the world’s ‘other’ browser company famed for smartphone and feature phone browsers (including iPhones and Android phones), the Nintendo Wii browser and PCs, Macs and Linux boxes, says Gen Y is going gaga for the mobile web: bravo!

Telstra wants to tempt the many pre-paid mobile broadband users, some of whom are experiencing dial-up speeds in heavily populated areas on competing networks, with a new “Telstra Turbo” Next G USB modem and affordable no-contract pre-paid per gigabyte pricing, although naturally still at higher prices than the competition.

“Going forward” is Telstra CEO David Thodey’s pet phrase for the future – it’s somewhat ironic as that’s the one thing the company can’t do while it remains embroiled in negotiations with the Federal Government over the National Broadband Network.

Yep, it’s that time of the year again, when Apple iMania rocks a world rapt with anticipation that Steve Jobs will, yet again, blow our minds with a brand new iDevice that, just like James Dyson, re-invents the everyday and transforms it into something truly amazing.

A new survey from ChangeWave Research suggests surging interest in smartphones powered by Google’s Android OS, but when you look at the survey results and when the survey was done, it seems clear that the Motorola Droid launch and rumours of the Nexus One has skewed the results far too much for this survey to be taken all that seriously. Read on…

There’s a huge amount of sound and fury over Google finally having the balls to release its own singularly branded phone, rather than hiding behind the skirts of its OEM partners, but ultimately, does it all signify nothing?

With the iPod Touch trouncing sales of Microsoft’s Zune HD media player, is Microsoft just in a holding pattern until it releases the mythical ZunePhone?

Google is poised to extend its domination of search to the mobile phone market with news an official Google phone may be on sale as early as January 5th. The handset will be for sale unlocked and without contract and will use data, not voice.

UPDATED: Telstra, Australia’s dominant telecommunications company, and admitted serial overcharger, has finally delivered some of the price cuts its CEO, David Thodey, recently promised, and while any price cut is always welcome, has Telstra really done enough?