Mark Bridge writes:

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all thro' the mobile industry
came a sudden burst of news-related activity.

There’s a new low-price Android tablet in town. The Datawind UbiSlate 7Ci, which is being described as the world’s cheapest tablet, is a consumer version of the Aakash-2 device designed for schools and universities in India.

It runs a version of Android v4.0.3 on a 1GHz chip and has a 7-inch 800 x 400 pixel display.

James Rosewell and Mark Bridge report from Mobile World Congress 2012. In today's programme they talk about Wednesday's events - including the beta release of Windows 8 - and plan their final day at the Barcelona show.

DataWind has been named as the UK’s Most Innovative Mobile Company, winning the Smart UK project competition at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona.

The competition, which was run in association with UKTI, had attracted almost 80 entries. In today’s final judging, DataWind beat blippar, P2i and QRpedia to the prize.

Anjana Pasricha of voanews.com writes:

India hopes that the launch of what is being called “the world’s cheapest tablet computer” will help tens of thousands of low-income students connect to the digital world.

The $45 device with a seven-inch color touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and two USB ports is meant to bridge the digital divide in a country where only three percent of the population has computers.

By incorporating advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities, AI can help to optimize a smartphone's performance, providing users with a faster, more efficient and user-friendly experience.

Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

Mark Bridge writes:

James Rosewell shows me a colourful roll of paper that's the width of an iPhone but well over three metres long. When I look closer, I can see it's a printed copy of the Wall Street Journal's mobile website. That's a lot of scrolling to do... and a pretty unfriendly user experience for anyone reading the news online. Why does it work so badly?

This week's programme begins with some of the biggest news stories that came out of Mobile World Congress.

Iain, James and Mark then move on to the other headlines from the past few days, including Boeing's secret agent smartphone, Apple's plans for mobile in-car entertainment, a new structure for Telefonica and new technology for mobile payments.

London-based Capito Systems won a place on this year's Smart UK Project shortlist, guaranteeing them entry to Mobile World Congress 2014. And when they arrived, they won the international Barca Starta competition as well.

In this podcast we talk to CEO Tony Ballardie about the company’s 'natural language' voice control, which can be integrated into almost any mCommerce application... from gambling to ticket purchases.

Dr Kevin Curran, Reader in Computer Science at the University of Ulster, joined us during Mobile World Congress to offer his well-informed opinion about trends in mobile technology.

We talked about a wide range of topics, including battery life, disposable tablets, wearables, m-health, 4G fragmentation, connected furniture, M2M security, the rise of video and the IEEE.

James Rosewell and Mark Bridge report from Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona.

In this podcast they talk about all the major mobile manufacturer announcements, including Nokia's new Android-based phones and Sony's newest high-spec devices.

One of the highlights of Mobile World Congress is the Global Mobile Awards - and this year the event was hosted by James Corden: actor, comedian, TV presenter and one-time promoter of Windows Phone.

Here's how he introduced the ceremony, with jokes about Facebook, BlackBerry, Steve Jobs and the gestures required to control an iPhone.