The government has cut $12 million a year from its mobile phone bill after signing the three major players in a public sector-wide deal.

The first mobile phone recycling and recovery scheme to offer consumers cash for their old and unwanted handsets is open for business and confident of success.

Money4Mobiles.co.nz, was set up by logistics system solution provider Boomerang Logix.

Director John Wilson told the National Business Review that past mobile phone recycling programmes failed because they didn’t offer any cash reimbursement.

Google has released an early developer build of version 2.0 of its Android cellphone software. Here are the new features that are getting fanboys sweaty with excitement.

The code is a (highly unstable) early version of the final product which is codenamed “Donut”, and is released so developers can test and build applications for it.

Developers and fans alike are salivating over the list of key new features which include:

The merger of two American companies will enable smartphones such as BlackBerries, iPhones or Windows Mobile devices to become voice and text translators.

San Francisco-based Dial Directions makes voice recognition and activation software used for driving directions on cell phones, while Virgina-based Sakhr focuses on Arabic language and speech technology for US government agencies amongst others, ComputerWorld reports.

All mobile phones in Europe will be able to charge off a single universal charger within two to three years, according to European Commission for Industry vice president Gunter Verheugen.

An agreement was reached with mobile phone makers where they will pursue a universal charger for all phones, with compatible devices to appear in Europe starting from mid next year Computerworld reports.

A Belgian company has invented a product it claims can protect against the potentially harmful effects of mobile phone radiation.

Omega Pharma has unveiled a microchip that it says can offset electromagnetic radiation from phones, which has been singled out as causing a variety of symptoms.

It claims that tests showed it caused a reduction in symptoms such as headaches and loss of concentration that can be associated with mobile phone use.