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© ollesvensson

There are probably more mobile deals available globally than the total number of mobile phones in use. Everywhere you turn, there is someone offering you the 'Ultimate' mobile deals possible. And yet, the fact is that most of us are paying far more than what we really need to pay for.

The UK alone has roughly seven million mobile deals on offer and research shows that the mobile users are actually paying £5bn more than required a year by failing to choose the right mobile deals.

Just buying and using a smart phone is not really that smart a move. More than 50 percent of smart phone users are unaware of the number of free minutes, texts and data allowance on their contract. For example, just having a Twitter application on the phone results in data usage, even if you do not log on to Twitter. Similarly, Skype and Facebook applications on the smart phone results in data usage and hence costs.

Getting the right mobile deal involves understanding the terminology used by those offering the mobile deals. It also involves scouting around and reading the fine print. But by far the biggest thing in getting the right mobile deal is to understand what you need the mobile for? Most people keep upgrading their applications or keep buying the latest phones just to be with the 'in' crowd.

Like with the Windows OS, the majority of us do not even know what is available on our phones, leave alone use them. Knowing what you need will definitely get you the best mobile deals in the world.

© Joshua Kaufman

Facebook pays $1 billion for mobile startup Instagram. Talk about staggering mobile deals. Gone are the days when Internet start-ups would establish themselves on the web and then launch their version of the service for mobile devices. Computing has shifted from the desktop to the laptop and now totally mobile.
With the increasing sales of smartphones and the number of mobile deals on offer, it is no wonder that companies have started to innovate new interfaces and experiences to offer. A classic example of such a mobile deal is that of OMGPop, a New York company that was close to shutting down until it had an overnight hit in Draw Something, a twist on Pictionary for the iPhone. Last month, OMGPop was snapped up for $200 million by the game company Zynga.
Mobile phones are also prompting a shift in how people want to share things online, creating a market for apps that make instant sharing easy. Instagram, a social network focusing on just that kind of instant photo-sharing, does have a website – but it is essentially there just to encourage people to download the company's apps.
Among other mobile deals is Oracle's announced acquisition of Taleo for $1.8 billion, a SaaS/ASP acquisition, was the largest Online and Mobile transaction in the first quarter.

Venture capitalists are eager to get in on the mobile trend. Looking at the number of mobile deals being made it would not be long before the Instagram deal would be bettered.