Spotify has hinted that metrics like the listener's heart rate, speed of motion and sleep patterns could someday be used to improve recommendation tools, as smartphone technology improves.

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, the streaming giant's product manager for discovery and recommendations, Donovan Sung, said deeper integration with mobile devices could better inform what its algorithms serve up.

• In depth: How Spotify, Netflix and Amazon control your online habits

When asked about the possibility of creating the perfect recommendations tool, Sung said: "The more the engine knows about the user, the easier it is for it to make interesting recommendations.

"Maybe with motion sensors in phones, we can start guessing things whether users are running, biking or driving? Maybe it the phone has a temperature sensor, or a heart rate sensor, we could guess whether the user is tense..."

If paired with a heart rate monitor, the company could possibly provide workout playlists with limited user input or could provide a driving playlist (preferably with plenty of The Eagles' hits) if it detects users are moving at higher speeds.

Sees you when you're sleeping

He also hinted the company would benefit from integrations with other apps and services, such as those that analyse the user's sleeping patterns, for example the popular Sleep Cycle app.

Sung added: "Maybe it connects to some other services? For example if we know more about your sleeping habits through mobile tracking apps, this could help.

"We would know what time you're likely to go to sleep or what time you wake up and recommendations could be tailored [to the time of day]."

Of course, this seems to be mostly conjecture regarding the future of the company's already-exhaustive editorial, algorithmic and social recommendations tools. However it's interesting that Spotify is at least thinking of taking recommendations in this direction.

• You can see what else Spotify has to say about the current and future state of music recommendations here.

An ever increasing number of people are turning to shopping on their mobile (m-commerce outstripping e-commerce by 200 percent).

The issue as all shoppers know is that mobile shopping isn't as agile and speedy as it should be, checking out for example regularly takes you away from the mobile app/site to a payment page that isn't always optimised for mobile. This is just the start of the issue…

The issue as all shoppers know is that mobile shopping isn't as agile and speedy as it should be, checking out for example regularly takes you away from the mobile app/site to a payment page that isn't always optimised for mobile. This is just the start of the issue….

The issue as all shoppers know is that mobile shopping isn't as agile and speedy as it should be, checking out for example regularly takes you away from the mobile app/site to a payment page that isn't always optimised for mobile. This is just the start of the issue…

Paying in

Paying through a mobile is regularly done away from a fixed line internet connection and current mobile payment systems are too bulky and data heavy resulting in the large number of "failed transaction" messages and why judo research earlier this year highlighted that 23.7 million mobile transactions failed in 2013

Shoppers want to use their mobile to shop, however for it to reach the dizzy heights expected in the next few years app developers must streamline mobile shopping processes

Payments is integral to the mobile shopping experience. A shopper wants to feel confident that their payment details are being handled in a secure and confident manner.

Businesses should take advantage of the technologies available to improve shopping services for consumers. PS.Postcards has recently installed judo's API technology into their app to reduce the time of making a payment to just two quick steps – 4 digit password and the payment cards CVS number and includes full PCI compliance for added security.

• Dennis Jones, CEO at Judo Payments is a serial entrepreneur who is passionate about consumer experience, design and all things mobile

Nintendo boss Saturo Iwata has admitted the company is considering "a new business structure," which may involve branching out into the mobile arena it has shunned for so long.

After the company revised its 2014 Wii U sales forecast from 9 million to an unspectacular 2.9 million, the CEO suggested that it may be time for a change.

With Wii U games sales new predicted to hit just 19 million units, rather than the previously estimated 38 million, Iwata seemed to indicate that change could be on the horizon.

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata told a news conference in Japan, while hinting the company is exploring the possibility of touchscreen handheld devices.

Studying...

Nintendo has long dismissed the possibility of launching versions of popular franchises like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong on smartphones and tablets, largely through fears of watering down its top earners.

Now, with the company expected to post an annual lost of 35bn yen ($335m / £205m), Nintendo may finally ready to relent and answer the clamour for Mario and Link on iPhone, judging by Iwata's forlorn comments

"Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone," he said.

Could sharing Mario with a wider audience put Nintendo back in the spotlight? Or would opening up it's famous franchises beyond Nintendo hardware be an admission that Nintendo's on the way to becoming the next Sega? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

• Mario on iPhone? Not on my watch, said Iwata back in June last year. Has his tune changed?

The LG G3 release date will arrive in May, says a new report.

The Korean site asiae.co.kr has reportedly heard from "industry sources" that the G3 will arrive in May, earlier in the year than its predecessor the LG G2, which dropped in September 2013.

This could offset other releases as well, such as the successor to the Optimus G Pro, which launched in April 2013.

So why would LG throw its whole schedule out of whack? Reportedly, to make sure the G3 isn't completely buried by Samsung's Galaxy S5.

G-unit

That said, the Galaxy S5 is rumored to be arriving in March, which would still place it months ahead of the G3. So who knows?

Meanwhile, contrary to what common sense might dictate, the Optimus G Pro 2 will apparently launch in February, ahead of the LG G3.

That's according to this same Korean industry source, at least.

Both the Optimus G Pro 2 and the LG G3 will sport 1440 x 2560 resolution screens, said the source. Further, the G3 will supposedly have a QHD display.

Other rumors have claimed the G2 successor will sport LG's new octa-core Odin processor, which could make it something of a behemoth.

For now we'll just have to wait and see, though.

• LG issued a battle cry as it promised its smartphone business isn't going anywhere

According to rumour, Microsoft will give up to $2.6 billion (£1.6 billion, AU$2.9 billion) to OEMs to support building Windows Phone devices. The head of communications at the company, however, is calling that number "complete fiction" in answer.

The rumour had been started by Eldar Murtazin, chief editor of Mobile Review. In a Tweet, he claimed that a few OEMs that were coming back to Windows Phone in 2014 would get wads of cash from Microsoft in exchange. Out of those, Samsung was supposedly taking the lion's share with more than $1 billion (£600 million, AU$1.1 billion) of the payment.

Frank Shaw, Microsoft's head of communications, has come out and called the numbers "complete fiction" in a tweet yesterday. He instead admitted that Microsoft does spend money on OEMs, but in co-promotions. He claims that they're covering OEM's R&D costs and helping them to switch to Microsoft's OS in order to launch new devices.

Behind the scenes

Despite this, there is certainly a strong incentive for Microsoft to pander to OEMs at the moment. Nokia is heading into the sunset, and its current dominance of the Windows Phone market will be transferred back to Microsoft.

A precedent was also set when Nokia received sums of money every quarter for their investment in the platform. Nokia is a premium partner but now that has been done it's not unreasonable to assume Microsoft would try to entice other companies.

The money doesn't have to be cash either. It's likely that this will include discounted or free licensing on the operating system, direct development support and other perks that Microsoft might be giving away.

Even though the company is denying it, there's a strong possibility that behind the scenes cash and promises could be being swapped between Microsoft and OEMs for the future of the Windows Phone.

• Microsoft 2014: What to expect