Vodafone has announced that it is in discussions with Australian operator Telstra over the potential acquisition of its New Zealand subsidiary, TelstraClear. “Discussions are continuing and there is no certainty as to whether an agreement will be reached. A further announcement will be made in due course, if appropriate,” Vodafone said in a statement.

Telefónica subsidiary O2 has become the first operator in the UK market to launch a mobile wallet offering. The service offers price comparison for online shopping, person to person money transfer and allows the user to digitise cards linked to existing bank accounts, or load money onto an O2 stored value account.

VHA, the joint venture which operates the Vodafone and 3 brands in the Australian market, has announced the recruitment of Bill Morrow as CEO, replacing Nigel Dews. Morrow is a Vodafone veteran, having previously led the firm’s operations in the UK, Europe and Japan. Morrow’s most recent telecoms industry post was as CEO of US WiMAX player Clearwire, from which he resigned citing personal reasons in March last year.

Japanese electronics vendor Fujitsu has announced its intention to launch smartphones and tablets into the European market just as mobile operators are looking to reduce the number of device vendors they work with. Fujitsu has a 20 per cent share of the Japanese mobile device market, according to Robert Pryke, director of Fujitsu’s European device business.

Some applications available through Apple’s App Store are failing Vodafone’s internal quality standards, accessing APIs that are non-essential for the applications’ functions, according to the international carrier’s group director of content services, Lee Epting.

Vodafone and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have announced a partnership that will see the UK headquartered international carrier become the ‘preferred partner’ to provide connectivity for the 3G version of Sony’s forthcoming portable gaming console. The deal extends across Europe, taking in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Vodafone’s Partner in France (SFR), as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

UK based carrier Vodafone is addressing the problem of swollen app stores, which it sees as a daunting experience for consumers due to the overwhelming numbers of apps. This week the company followed up on its own portal within the Android Market, with an own branded and curated app store that exists in its own right.