The growth and popularity of smartphones could mean that people are finding a personal digital assistant (PDA) redundant, according to an industry expert.

Shane Wright, IT director of eDigitalResearch, said that it is a sign that the world is moving toward more pervasive computing where access to a network and to electronic information is always with us.

He added: “I think smartphones have developed and succeeded where users ‘need’ to carry a mobile phone, but do not ‘need’ to carry more gadgets around and their charging paraphernalia.”

Mr Wright also commented that PC manufacturers could bring desktop expectations to the mobile market, helping to drive interactivity, network integration and packages that help bridge the gap between the two platforms.

His words came after data from research firm Gartner showed that smartphone sales will grow by 29 per cent year-on-year in 2009, with PC vendors looking to break into the sector in the coming years.

The days of separate chargers for mobile phones could soon be over after a universal device was approved by an industry body.

A ruling by the International Telecommunication Union approved the charger, which will eliminate the range of chargers on offer today.

Brian Turner, executive director of phone advice website MobileWire.co.uk, said that the new device would prevent the generation of hundreds of tons of electronic waste material in the future.

He added: “Additionally it will help reduce mining pressures in environmentally sensitive areas. Any move that seeks to minimise waste from mobile phone manufacturers makes a lot of environmental sense.”

Mr Turner also commented that it was important to realise that the universal charger would not have any affect on future design features with mobile phones.

Furthermore, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, a body which represents the phone industry, said that the introduction of the universal device could lead to a 50 per cent reduction in standby energy consumption.

A UK version of the Amazon application has arrived in the App Store, a year after its US launch.

The Amazon Mobile App which is available free of charge to smartphone users, links people to their online account and allows them to search for items, keep a check on watch lists, place orders through the website’s one-click ordering system and then track the delivery afterwards.

A new feature called Amazon Remembers has also been included which lets people take a photo of an item while they are out shopping and upload it to the firm’s servers.

Amazon will then try to find a matching item in its stock and send an email notification within 24 hours if successful.

eBay also has an application in the App Store, which gives users the chance to bid on items and receive updates of how their auctions are going.

The iPhone has changed the mobile industry and the way various companies within it work together, according to one expert.

Jeremy Green, practice leader at Ovum, which is a telecoms, software and IT services market consultancy, said the device has “transformed” business relationships in the sector.

“Apple is at the centre of this new version of the business model. They take responsibility for the end to end experience of the customer, and they also sit in the middle of the value chain,” the expert added.

He said that the new business model is more developer friendly and could be argued that it is more customer friendly.

The expert was speaking at the Westminster eForum Keynote Seminar entitled More than Talk… The Future of Mobile.

His comments follow figures released this week, which showed that Apple has had its most profitable quarter ever, posting revenue of 9.87 billion (£6.02 billion) at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter.

Apple’s new iPhone is proving popular, with many sources stating that the company is increasing production orders by 20 per cent.

According to DigiTimes, many websites are reporting that Apple has boosted manufacturing orders amid worries about a shortage of stock.

OmniVision Technologies, which makes the CMOS image sensors used in the phone, has told its customers that there will be shortages in hardware over Christmas.

This high demand is linked to sales of the iPhone 3GS, which are expected to continue to be good for November and over the festive period.

Tim Cook, an Apple executive, speaking in the company’s quarterly conference call, said: “For much of the quarter, most of the countries where we’re selling the iPhone 3GS was in very low inventory as demand outstripped the supply.”

DFC Intelligence, an expert on gaming and entertainment industry research, recently said that the iPhone and iPod Touch will drive handheld gaming sales ahead of Nintendo and Sony.

People are going to buy more iPhones and iPods in the coming months, with Apple set to outsell other manufacturers, according to a new report.

DFC Intelligence, an expert on gaming and entertainment industry research, said that the iPhone and iPod Touch will drive growth in the sector, accounting for 24 per cent of all portable games software sales.

The company added that Nintendo and Sony will lead the market, but predicted that growth for these companies’ products has already peaked.

David Cole, an analyst for the company, said: “The platforms from Apple are expected to be responsible for the bulk of market growth over the next few years.”

Apple’s iPhone may also be driving sales of games on mobile phones, with research by DFC Intelligence finding that more than a third of European respondents had paid for such an application, fewer than the 45 per cent of North American people.

Natasha Stokes, editor of Mobile Choice, recently said that the introduction of the Palm Pre and Blackberry Storm2 will lead to an explosion in the smartphone market, adding intense competition to the iPhone 3GS.