Google has cut the cost of ending a Nexus One service agreement early from $350 to $150. It appears likely the move is a response to pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.

Microsoft is reportedly planning to ditch multitasking in Windows Mobile 7. It’s a move that has some potential benefits but some significant drawbacks as well.

It appears Google is to change the way it offers support to users of its Nexus One handset. Meanwhile estimates suggest the phone has failed to improve on its unimpressive first week sales.

Symbian, the operating system that’s shipped on more than 330 million phones, is to be made open source. It’s the conclusion of a two-year process that began when Nokia bought the rights to the system.

If you can’t beat them, join them. That seems to be the approach taken by Google which has decided to make multitouch officially available on its flagship Nexus One handset.

Since late 2008, the smartphone market has been on the slide, most likely due to wider economic problems. But new estimates for the last three months of 2009 show a strong recovery, with overall sales up 30 percent on the same time the previous year.

Intel and Micron are shipping samples of a Flash memory device which could double the capacity of portable devices such as smartphones. But it’s more likely the advances will mean more handsets with high capacity rather than a general price cut.

AT&T says it isn’t concerned at the potential stress the forthcoming Apple iPad could have on its networks. It also says it will spend up to $19 billion this year boosting its network reliability.

The Chinese government has promised that its dispute with Google over Web censorship won’t lead to regulatory retaliation towards the Android mobile phone system. But officials stress that any applications or content on the system will have to be lawful.

The long-running saga of Windows Mobile 7’s delay looks to be a step closer to climaxing. Not only does it appear we’ll at least get a glimpse of the system at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress, but developers should soon get details about producing applications for the system.