Varty and co-founders Sacha Visram Sally Chatrejee have set up the Com Mobi Group to target distinct mobile segment groups defined by ethnicity or sexual orientation.
The Com Mobi Group is currently in discussions with potential host networks with a view to a mid-2007 launch of Desi Mobi the first spin-off. A full branding billing and support service will be offered to subscribers.
Desi is a term used within the Asian community to refer to people of South Asian origin. Visram said: It s designed by UK Asians for UK Asians sold by UK Asians and to UK Asians .

Vodafone also announced an exclusive three-year deal with remote access provider Fiberlink last week to give enterprise customers in the field secure access to office applications.
Vodafone s Kyle Whitehill director of its enterprise business unit said the two service providers would be run as autonomous business units in the same way that wholly-owned Manchester service provider Yes Telecom operates.
Vodafone has taken on all of Isis s 90 staff based in Ealing and all Aspective s 120 staff based in Staines.
Said Whitehill: We like what both Isis and Aspective are doing and want them to continue to do it. But at the same time both would have struggled with resources to expand their businesses. We have acquired both but we want them to remain as they are because we want a nimble and flexible service to our customers. Just like we acquired Yes Telecom but kept the operation as it was because we have enormous respect for [Yes Telecom managing director] Keith Curran so we ve taken on these businesses.
Isis gives Vodafone better service capability in fleet management and billing according to Whitehill. Isis is considered to be strong in the financial services sector with most of its business concentrated in the City of London.
Isis managing director Peter Johnston said: The services offered by Isis are unique and complement Vodafone s offerings. We look forwards to making our services available to a wider range of Vodafone customers.
Aspective is the market leader in mobilising office applications according to Whitehill.
He said: Aspective does all the work. Vodafone has always been able to go in and talk about it and to take a chunk of revenue but we weren t able to offer a real consultancy service and integrate services fully. We ve acquired those CRM applications with the acquisition of Aspective and brought that skill-set in-house.
The Fibrelink deal will enable Vodafone dealers to provide corporate customers with mobile access to office IT programmes.
Fibrelink provides an access screen which can be Vodafone-branded or issued as a white-label interface that automatically selects for the best connectivity method whether that s via 3G Wi-FI or broadband.

He joined MPRC formerly part of the Caudwell Group in 1990 from Granada and intends to retire from full-time work.
I intended retiring at the end of 2007. Caudwell s departure meant the changes have allowed me to exit earlier he said.

Blackman joined Mobile News as reporter in February 2004 after a two-year stint in Mexico running a regional listings magazine.

The Emblaze Touch 7 has a 1.3-megapixel camera with flash Bluetooth MP3 and MPEG-4 video playback and an expandable memory. It is available in pink or black and has a slider with a depth of 16mm.
Laurence Alexander CEO and president of Emblaze says: We re delighted to launch the Emblaze Touch 7 through Currys. The handset is part of our strategy to make Emblaze Mobile become a brand name in its own right in the consumer handset market.
Jon Lyngra head of trading
and communications at Currys and DSG international added: Working with Emblaze Mobile has enabled us to add depth and choice to the range of consumer handsets we can offer our customers.
DSGi is currently in a transitional period assisting O2 in managing the sale of The Link stores anticipated to continue until March 2007. The process is being led by Nick Wood as managing director of the Group Communications Division.

Cave has spent 18 months in the strategy department running the Experience O2 programme. Prior to that she was head of sales within O2 retail.
One of the challenges she faces is successfully integrating staff from The Link within the O2 operation. Understandably she told Mobile News people are going to be feeling a bit unsettled but that s to be expected with any major change.
Cave said: It s the spirit that underpins the whole experience that makes a retailer stand out from the crowd.
O2 has also appointed Cheryl Black as customer service director. Black is responsible for all O2 s call centre staff which number around 7000.

LG Mobile has struck a deal with fashion brand Prada. It will launch its first handset in collaboration with Prada in March and promises it will look like no other handset on the market.

The Prada phone follows other fashion-led LG handsets including its Chocolate phone which has sold more than six million outside of its home market South Korea and its Shine handset which launches in the UK in the first quarter.

LG Mobile marketing manager John Bernard said: The design of this handset will be revolutionary in the same way that the design of the Chocolate was a first. It will look like no other handset on the market. In the same way that the Chocolate was utterly unique in its design because of its heat sensitive keypad the Prada phone will also be unique in its design.

Bernard said that no exclusive deals had yet been struck with either retailers or networks but that one of each should get a limited exclusivity period on the device. It just depends on who is hungriest he said.