Information is circulating about the possible partial departure of KPN from Belgium. The companies in question are Versatum Belgium, together with Tele2 Belgium NV., which were purchased by KPN Mobile International NV in 2007. That purchase involved 95 million Euros on a debt and cash-free basis. The goal of the purchase was to expand the regional distribution range of KPN's mobile daughter company BASE in Belgium, and of course to generate profit growth. Fingers are pointed at the culprit monopolist Belgacom. Belgacom’s dominant market position makes it nearly impossible for other companies, such as KPN, to make their investments viable.

The popular mobile internet site Nokia mobi has extended its offering with the launch of Here and Now, a new section that provides the latest world news, music, celebrity buzz, as well as information on Nokia services and products. Bookmarked in every new Nokia mobile device, Nokia mobi is accessed by millions of consumers across the globe. "By providing quality content to consumers from partners such as Reuters and Rollingstone, Here and Now allows consumers to get more out of Nokia mobi and mobile services in general," said Juha Rytkönen, Director of the Nokia mobile internet site.

“Sony Ericsson is excited to announce its membership of the Open Handset Alliance and confirm its intention to develop a handset based on the Android platform,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, CVP and head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson. “We believe Sony Ericsson can bring a wealth of experience in making consumer focused multimedia handsets with new user experience to the Alliance drawing on the successes of the Walkman and Cyber-shot sub-brands. Sony Ericsson is a strong supporter of open operating systems and we believe the Open Handset Alliance offers an exciting opportunity for a new and unique user experience only Sony Ericsson can deliver.”

HTC Corporation announced its plans to donate NT$50 million (approx. US$1.63 million) in support of the relief and reconstruction efforts in China’s Sichuan province following the devastating earthquake this past week. The donation is to include NT$40 million in funds donated directly by HTC and HTC Social Welfare Foundation and NT$10 million in personal contributions from HTC employees. “On behalf of HTC and our employees around the world, I would like to express our deepest sympathy to those affected by the earthquake in China’s Sichuan province,” said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp.

Sony Ericsson announced that five-time Grammy Award-winning artist Usher will headline Sony Ericsson’s Walkman music phone campaigns in North America. The partnership covers the United States and Canada, in addition to more than twenty countries in Europe and will include title sponsorship rights for Usher’s North American tour later in the year. Sony Ericsson will engage in joint marketing activities with exclusive wireless operator, AT&T in the United States. Usher will discuss the details of the partnership and make a surprise announcement at a press conference at the Sony Club at the Sony Building in New York City on May 28th.

Nokia has donated 350,000 euros to the Finnish Red Cross to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. There is an urgent need in the South East Asian country for housing, and the donation will allow for the provision of thousands of temporary shelters as well as a significant amount of tools and materials to help in the rebuilding of homes. The Red Cross says that in rural parts of the country up to 95 percent of all homes were destroyed.

Helping others by using a mobile phone changed the lives of five Samsung Mobile Phone Samaritans today. They were joined by former Olympian and NFL Great Herschel Walker as they had the opportunity of a lifetime carrying the Olympic Torch during its only U.S. stop through the streets of San Francisco.

The chief executives of MTS of Russia, SK Telecom of Korea, Telstra of Australia, Telecom Italia and Zain, which operates in 22 countries, have all joined the board of the GSM Association, the global trade association for the mobile industry. Leonid A. Melamed of MTS, Shin-Bae Kim of SK Telecom, Solomon Trujillo of Telstra, Franco Bernabè of Telecom Italia and Dr Saad Al-Barrak of Zain join other high-level representatives of the world's leading mobile operators on the GSMA's 27-strong board.

Sanyo announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with Kyocera Corporation (Kyocera) to transfer its mobile phone business. The definitive agreement reached today outlines the process of transferring Sanyo's mobile phone business operations to Kyocera. The business and its assets-included value have been agreed upon by both Sanyo and Kyocera at 50 billion yen. However, regarding the transfer amount, it will be calculated by subtracting the amount of outstanding debts accruing interest and adding the amount of cash and deposits to be transferred on the effective date. Therefore, the total value of the transferred business will be approximately 40 billion yen after these deductions are made.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications has announced that it has signed an exclusive four year sponsorship agreement with female tennis player, Maria Sharapova, to become the company’s first global brand ambassador. The stunning and talented Russian, who turns 21 in April this year, will undertake a series of innovative new consumer brand campaigns specifically designed to engage Sony Ericsson’s core target audiences and to utilise Maria away from the tennis court. Maria Sharapova will also be working with Sony Ericsson’s design team on a range of products and accessories.