This price increase will affect anyone with a Three contract taken out before 8 March 2012. Pay-as-you-go, 1 month SIM only and business customers are not included. If you’re an applicable Three subscriber expect to receive a text, email or letter very soon.

Three is upping costs by 3.7% in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) as of 17 April. While it will increase the charge on your monthly package this does exclude add-ons.

Under Ofcom rules operators must give 30 days notice of price changes and allow customers to cancel, however the terms of a Three contract (and indeed every other major operator) also allow the company to raise prices once every 12 months up to the current rate of inflation.

This means that even if you’re unhappy with the increased cost you won’t be able to use it as a way of ending the contract early without penalty. It may be possible to claim that the higher price is of “material detriment” and will have a negative impact on your life but you’ll have to be able to show that a 3.7% increase means you can’t afford to eat, for example.

As Three is operating within the rules complaining is unlikely to have much effect. Orange was criticised last year not allowing customers to leave without penalty following a price increase which was just below the rate of inflation. The cost of a T-mobile package also went up by 3.7% last month without much fanfare.

If you’re coming to the end of a phone or mobile broadband contract with Three now might be an excellent time to look for a new deal. Check out our smartphone and MBB comparison pages for the latest and greatest offers. 

Axis promises a new way to search the web by presenting results as a stream of thumbnails, rather than a list of links, through which you can swipe or click. The tool is available as either a plugin for desktop browsers such as Firefox and Chrome or as a standalone browser app for iPhone and iPad.

Images are a little low res when it’s used on a desktop computer and it’s difficult to imagine many giving up the convenience of navigation bar searches, but Axis does work extremely well on iPad where the thumbnails are easier to browse and select than a text link.

Unusually Axis currently lacks advertisements, and indeed Yahoo! has pushed it on the basis of going straight from search to page, which seems like an odd move for a company which makes a very large amount of money from online ads.

Back in the 90s Yahoo! was the name in internet search, famed for its web portal and numerous services including the very popular Yahoo! Mail, but over the last decade its fortunes waivered as a little outfit called Google become synonymous with search and online advertising.

In two years Yahoo! has had three different CEOs and just last month the company laid off 2,000 workers. Many of its former executives must be kicking themselves for not accepting Microsoft’s $44 billion offer in 2008.

Speaking of which, Microsoft - another one that has had some trouble in online search - announced this week it is opening up the snappily-named  So.cl to the public. It was previously restricted to students in the US.

So.cl is a social networking tool which encourages users to create collages of content (via Bing search results of course) and share them with friends, allowing you to join with others of similar interests and start a “video party”.

While it sounds like the love child of Google+ and Pinterest Microsoft is keen to stress that So.cl is not a standalone social network itself but an experimental layer which integrates with other services, so you are able to log in with a Facebook account for instance. This could be a smarter route than Google’s bold attempt at tackling Facebook head on and by encouraging the use of Bing might also help Microsoft gain some leverage in the search market.

Bemilo is a MVNO - mobile virtual network operator - using Vodafone to provide its service and boasts of being the ‘safest mobile network’. Its unique selling point is parental control, offering extensive capabilities to monitor and manage a child’s mobile phone usage.

With Bemilo parents can restrict who the child contacts, or who contacts them, control spending and even say when they are able to use the phone and access the internet. 

Most controversially, Bemilo logs text messages and calls, making the info available to parents.

These functions come at a monthly cost of £3.95, or £34.95 for a year. Top-ups are extra but it’s a barebones service with no free data, text or call packages. Instead you’ll pay 10p/pm for voice, 10p per text and 25p/Mb for data. This could quickly become expensive so the price cap controls are going to be essential, though it’d fit the bill if you only want your child to have a phone so they can call home.

There are already software solutions for Android, iPhone and other platforms which do the same thing as Bemilo however as this is part of the network it's not dependant on a particular operating system, though as Bemilo can't intercept online communications it won't be much help if a child is using instant messaging or social networks, besides locking down net access entirely.

Given recent concerns over bullying using text messaging and Facebook it’s not hard to see this becoming relatively popular, especially as many parents may find themselves left behind by tech-savvy youngsters. 

Players found that accounts became inaccessible, many being booted offline with a message telling them that someone else had logged in. Afterwards they discovered that they’d been cleaned out as gold, weapons and other items acquired in-game were transferred to other characters.

Blizzard has rolled back some affected accounts but its forums are filling with complaints from people who have been denied account restoration, as well as those who claim to have suffered an attack despite using Blizzard’s own authenticator. The authenticator comes in the form of a hardware dongle or free smartphone app and supposedly offers far greater security but if these reports are true it appears to offer little or no protection against the exploits.

Action RPG Diablo 3 was created by Blizzard, the company responsible for smash-hit MMO World of Warcraft. The previous title in the series was released in 2000 so gamers have waited a long time for this latest installment, but the game has been dogged by controversy since it was announced.

Blizzard has been widely criticised for forcing users to remain online and connected to their servers. “Always-on” DRM which requires an internet connection is not new but Diablo 3 is the most extreme example yet. Vital game assets are stored on Blizzard's Battle.net servers making it completely impossible to play without an internet connection. While this has - so far - prevented piracy it’s also inconveniencing legit users.

As well as suffering lag and losing progress when a connection is lost gamers have been prevented from logging on due to the servers being filled to capacity. Following the hacking incidents the servers were offline for four hours this Sunday.

If you suspect your Diablo 3 account has been compromised you should contact Blizzard support. Blizzard also recommends making use of its authenticator service, while players have been advising that you only use the online co-op mode with friends rather than public grouping with strangers.

Home broadband site ISP Review surveyed its visitors to gauge their thoughts on the scheme, proposed by MP Claire Perry following the recent parliamentary enquiry into online child protection.

The survey also found that more than half of the respondents thought internet service providers (ISPs) were already doing enough to protect children, with just 23 per cent saying they weren’t (the rest being unsure).

However it could be argued that visitors to a website such as ISP Review aren’t exactly a proportionate sample of internet users; it’s a techy help site focused purely on home broadband. This makes the result interesting; almost one in four voters still thought ISPs aren’t doing enough to protect children, despite them really upping their games over the last few years.

Unfortunately, as is always the case with governments, a knee-jerk reaction to any issue is to be expected. How much we need a nanny state, versus how much responsibility should fall to parents, will always be a hot topic of discussion with strong views on either side. But it’s always easy to work around these kinds of enforced restrictions anyway, so where we are right now would seem a sensible place to draw the line.

But ultimately we tend to agree with ISP Review founder Mark Jackson, who said: "It's encouraging to see ISPs offer customers more options to filter out adult content and we'd like to see that continue. But at the same time we should be careful not to impose mandatory opt-in internet filters, which risk lulling parents into a false sense of security and encouraging state sponsored censorship through mission creep."

Previously, police forces have had neither the skills nor equipment to examine a phone without sending it off for specialist forensic analysis, an expensive and time consuming task. But using the solution supplied by a firm called Radio Tactics officers will now be able to copy mobile phone data - including photos, texts and call records - at the station.

The tech will initially be made available in 16 London boroughs, but could go national if the trial is successful. While this is no doubt going to save money and potentially aid investigations, it is worrying that the information acquired can be kept regardless of the outcome of a case.

Speaking to the BBC a Met spokesman said "data received from the handsets is retained and handled in accordance with other data held by the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service]" - regardless of whether charges had been brought.”

While the Met was keen to stress that this could only happen if there is “sufficient suspicion” of the mobile phone being used in a crime, going by past experiences it’s not hard to imagine officers justifying it in almost any situation.

Police in the UK have been criticised for stop and search tactics which, having apparently learnt little from the Brixton and London riots, show black people being 30 times more likely to be stopped. Copying their mobile phone memory is not going to make bobbies any more popular.

As the Beeb points out this has some similarities to the DNA profile scandal in which forces refused to destroy the DNA samples of people who were never charged with any crime until ordered by the EU. The contents of your mobile phone are arguably even more personal and certainly far more open to abuse.

As the old adage goes, information is power, and all over the world authorities are gathering more of our data in an effort to exert control. As reported recently our own government is working on an intrusive surveillance program, while countries such as China routinely record every bit which passes through their borders making international travel a security nightmare. 

Popular Android handsets such as the HTC One X and One S, and the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S3, feature screens which are well over 4 inches (4.8 in the case of the Galaxy S3) so this is seen as a necessary step in order for Apple to stay competitive in an increasingly cutthroat market.

According to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Apple has begun placing orders for a larger display to use in the next iPhone, with the work going to LG, Sharp and Japan Display Inc. The screens are expected to go into production next month, putting Apple on course for an October launch of the iPhone 5. The iPhone 4S was announced and launched in October 2011.

The WSJ reckons the screen is “at least 4 inches diagonally” but Reuters says it is exactly 4-inches, which is in line with previous rumours and seems the most likely option.

A 4-inch screen would allow the iPhone to stand up against the latest Android superphones but still retain a slim profile, particularly if any of the concept designs floating around the web right now turn out to be close to the truth. The above image was created by Jon Fawcett of [Fuse]chicken and imagines an iPhone 5 with 4-inch display and LiquidMetal casing.

Reuters also noted that a previous tip suggested the iPhone 5 would use a Retina display, a term Apple uses to indicate high resolution displays with a very high number of pixels per inch (ppi). This would not be a surprise, but given that the latest Android smartphones are boasting 720p screens it is likely Apple will at the very least match that resolution, if not leapfrog it entirely as it did with the iPad 3’s immense 2048 x 1536 screen. 

ISPs which have signed up to the code agree to give potential customers a speed range estimate “as early as practicable in the sales process”. Ofcom regularly carries out mystery shopper checks to ensure adherence to the code, and the latest results have just been published.

They reveal that while there is some improvement a significant number of customers are still not being given details of potential speeds without first prompting the telephone advisers. Ofcom’s figures show that a speed estimate was provided without prompting in 59% of all the calls, with the best performance from Karoo and Sky, which achieved 76% and 72% respectively.

The worst figures came from BT and TalkTalk at 48% and 47%. According to Ofcom “both BT and TalkTalk have agreed to address this issue by amending their staff training and sales processes.”

In related news, the ASA has today banned TalkTalk from using the speed checker tool on its web site after claims it was overestimating download rates. The ruling came after a customer complained that the speed check gave an estimate of 2.1 - 5.3Mb, despite having already been told by TalkTalk that he could not get more than 2.1Mb. The ASA said TalkTalk had not make it clear enough that customers could receive lower speeds.

It’s worth noting that the Ofcom code states if you do find your connection is much slower than estimated by the provider and they are unable to resolve the problem, they must allow you to cancel your broadband service within 3 months of signing up without charging any penalty. For a list of ISPs which have agreed to the broadband code head over to Ofcom.  

The HTC Desire C is an entry level model which comes in at an attractive price point but still manages to offer premium features.

With Android 4.0 installed the Desire C is one of the cheapest Ice Cream Sandwich Android phones available, a major advantage when other budget handsets are still using much older versions. The Desire C also gets HTC’s excellent Sense 4.0 interface.

Considering the price HTC hasn’t skimped too much on specification or build quality. The attractive shell is made from metal and comes in black, white or red livery. It’s equipped with a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen and, like the HTC Explorer, is powered by a 600MHz CPU with 512MB RAM.

Internal storage is a relatively generous 4GB, plus expandable microSD memory. The 5-megapixel camera is reasonable at this price point, and the phone supports 7.2Mb mobile broadband, Bluetooth 4.0 and the usual Wi-Fi and USB connectivity.

On T-mobile the Desire C will sell for £169.99 (plus £10 top up) on pay as you go, or can be had on contract starting at £15.50 a month. It’s due to go on sale early next month. 

Having left many fans disappointed last year with the incremental update that was the iPhone 4S, the next model is widely expected to be dubbed iPhone 5 and feature a major redesign. Rumours have been flying around for years that Apple was planning a larger handset to better compete with hugely popular Android phones such as the Galaxy S2 which have long since moved on from the 3ish-inch screen size.

In 2011 The Register reported that Steve Jobs had vetoed a bigger iPhone to prevent fragmentation but given the tough fight Apple faces against Android, and the fact that Jobs is no longer around to prevent it happening, it would be very surprising indeed if the next iPhone did not sport a larger screen, no doubt with a higher resolution like the New iPad.

Cult of Mac has noted that the iPhone 5’s internal components appear to have been redesigned, which almost certainly means some changes in the look of the iPhone 5, though this doesn’t tell us whether it could be a larger handset. It’s also possible the phone will be built using LiquidMetal, a glass/metal hybrid material for which Apple has an exclusive license.

When will the iPhone 5 be released? Apple’s annual WWDC event is due to take place next month and there’s a distinct chance an announcement will be made at the conference. If that happens it is possible the iPhone 5 could go on sale in the US before Samsung’s Galaxy S3. The S3 isn’t expected to be available in North America until later this summer and Apple usually puts its devices on sale very shortly after unveiling them, potentially leaving Samsung in a very difficult position.

The other major news coming out of Cupertino this year could be the announcement of the Apple ‘iTV’. Apple has been rumoured to have been working on its own smart TV for some time now, bringing iTunes and the App Store to living rooms and no doubt causing major problems for Sony, Samsung and LG at the same time.

TechRadar has claimed Apple is negotiating to buy German TV manufacturer Loewe for $112 million, a small fraction of the $100 billion it is currently sat on. Loewe makes  stylish and very expensive equipment so would be a natural fit. It was also claimed that Foxconn - which builds much of Apple’s hardware - had been asked to construct the TV, something it later denied.

If Apple does produce a smart television we can expect history to repeat itself. Smart TVs have been available for some time but Apple will probably make it more attractive and market it better, selling millions and leaving everyone else fighting to catch up. 

Sony was founded in 1947 and became known for its high quality audio and TV equipment, Walkman music players and the Playstation, which single handedly made gaming cool in the cynical 90s.

However Sony has not had as much luck recently. Its TV division has taken a beating from Samsung and LG as well as the large number of firms producing ultra-cheap flat panel sets, and the Playstation 3 was not as successful as its first two consoles, facing tough competition from Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Nor have its attempts at dominating portable electronics gone as planned. Sony recently ceased producing smartphones in association with Ericsson but its latest Xperia handsets met with mixed reviews. The Walkman name couldn’t stand up to the might of Apple’s iPod and the company’s reputation was damaged in the last few years with missteps like the terrible ATRAC portable media players and rootkit controversy.

The latest figures show a loss of ¥456.7 billion (£3.6bn) and resulted in shares dropping to a 30 year low. In response to the crisis CEO Howard Stringer was replaced in April by Kazuo Hirai, formerly head of the videogames arm, and plans are underway to sack 6% of their workforce, which equates to around 10,000 personnel.

While Sony remains optimistic about getting back into the black in the near future, with Hirai setting a target of £66 billion in sales within two years, it’s difficult to see how this can be achieved with the venerable Japanese firm going up against the might of Samsung and Apple, particularly as the latter is widely expected to announce its own television before the end of the year. 

Single downloads have been counted since 2004 but this is the first time records of streamed music will be charted, showing how important services like Spotify have become.

Supported by the British Phonographic Industry and Entertainment Retailers Association, the Official Charts company will compile information from both ad-funded and subbed streaming services, releasing the first official streaming singles chart on 14 May.

Last year singles downloads accounted for an astounding 99.3% of all singles sales, according to data released by the Official Charts Company. Only 1.1 million CD singles were sold in 2011 though albums are faring slightly better. Oddly, LP sales rose by 43.7%. There's still a chance for tapes yet.

Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot says, “This is a true coming-of-age moment for music streaming in the UK. Services such as Spotify, Deezer, Napster and We7 have been building their audiences over the past few years and are now delivering millions of audio streams every week to hundreds of thousands of music fans. For the first time, from next week, we will have transparency on exactly what they are listening to on these new services."

The Official Charts Company has already released a list of the most popular tunes of 2012 so far, which has Ed Sheeran at number 1, closely followed by Lana Del Ray and David Guetta. We're looking forward to finding out if our attempt at fixing the chart by having Barbie Girl on constant repeat is a success.