Mobile security business OnwardMobility has announced a deal to produce new Android-powered BlackBerry 5G smartphones in the first half of 2021. The devices will be manufactured by FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn.

BlackBerry has launched a new smartphone that’s designed as a potential upgrade for BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve users. The new BlackBerry Classic - which has a physical QWERTY keyboard and trackpad - promises 60% more screen space, a 50% longer battery life and a faster browser than the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

Specifications include a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor, 16GB of expandable storage, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera.

The 5-TILES touchscreen keyboard has been released as a beta version by ETAOI Systems today.

As the name suggests, it uses just five keyboard tiles to type the alphabet rather than 26. This makes it particularly well-suited to devices with small screens, such as smart watches, as well as conventional smartphones.

Apple has announced iOS 8, the new version of its operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

Features include a ‘predictive text’ keyboard, enhanced photo editing and storage, video and photo sharing within the messages app, an iCloud Drive for file storage and a health app that provides an overview of personal data.

The Smart UK project is an annual government-supported competition looking for the UK's Most Innovative Mobile Company.

A few days ago, all 20 companies on the competition shortlist gave a short presentation to the Smart UK panel of judges. Afterwards, Mark Bridge spoke to some of the entrants to discover exactly what they had to offer - and how they planned to disrupt the mobile industry.

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?

Mark Bridge visits the AMEE 2012 conference to discover how mobile devices and mobile applications are being used in medical education.

This report covers everything from social networking to specialist teaching apps for medical students.

Nokia reveals its first two Windows Phone 8 smartphones in this week's podcast, while Amazon announces a handful of new tablets.

And if that wasn't enough, there's an update from Everything Everywhere about its plans for 4G in the UK.

Last week's IFA electronics show in Germany has prompted most of the major mobile manufacturers to make a new product announcement. Samsung, Sony, Nokia, ZTE…

We're covering all the big news from Berlin in this week's podcast - and also finding time to talk about the Apple vs Samsung legal action.

Instead of producing a regular mobile industry news podcast this week, we're asking for a favour.

You see, we don't really know much about our listeners - and that doesn't make it easy for us to attract the sponsorship that keeps our programmes free for you to download.

We start this week's edition of The Fonecast with confirmation that 4G coverage will be launched in the UK this year, thanks to Everything Everywhere.

However, all's not well in the world of mobile retail - as mystery shopping by a consumer organisation reports widespread misinformation from sales staff.