Faiza Elmasry of voanews.com writes:

Imagine shopping for clothes online and being able to run your hand across the screen on your computer or smartphone to feel the fabrics. That kind of simulation technology could be available within the next five years.

Sony Mobile Communications has announced a new Android-powered smartphone. The Sony Xperia sola has a 1GHz dual-core processor, a 3.7-inch display and a 5 megapixel camera.

Notable features include NFC connectivity and what the company is calling ‘floating touch’ navigation.

Mark Bridge and James Rosewell report from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona... and today’s show has a strong focus on user interfaces and the user experience.

You can listen to the programme on our website audio player, via iTunes, by using our RSS feed or by downloading the MP3.

Apple has won a patent-related court case against Motorola Mobility in Germany.

The ruling, which could be enforced as an injunction if Apple pays a bond to the court, stated that a number of Motorola Mobility smartphones infringed the ‘slide-to-unlock’ touchscreen patent owned by Apple.

There are some interesting partnerships discussed in today’s podcast, including bada & Tizen, Intel & Motorola and LG & Microsoft. Plus there’s the rest of the week’s mobile industry news, from UK 4G coverage to Apple’s riotous iPhone launch in China.

You can listen to this week’s edition of The Fonecast on our website audio player, via iTunes, by subscribing to our RSS feed or by downloading the MP3.

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?

James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return from their summer break with a podcast full of smartphones and smart watches.

As well as products from Samsung, Sony, Microsoft, Motorola, HTC and Kazam, there's talk of Opera's new browser deal, a potential change on the UK high street... and a mobile app that connects to a Bluetooth toothbrush for improved toothpaste coverage.

Mark Bridge takes an in-depth look at the CAT B100 rugged phone from Bullitt Mobile.

The CAT B100 is designed to withstand rather more than everyday bumps and knocks - which is why Mark drops his mobile phone on the pavement, submerges it in his washing-up bowl and shuts it in the freezer.

We start this week's podcast with news that thousands of Microsoft's ex-Nokia employees are losing their jobs.

Other topics for discussion include the new Apple and IBM partnership, Yahoo's acquisition of Flurry, regulating mobile games, improving rural mobile coverage, BT's new phone service and some management movements.

In this podcast Mark Bridge talks to Florent Stroppa from mobile value-added service specialist OnMobile about the state of the mobile industry in 2014.

They discuss the dominance of Apple and Samsung, network consolidation, the new Amazon Fire smartphone, smart wearables and much more.

This week's mobile industry podcast begins with a quick look at the UK government's emergency legislation affecting fixed-line, mobile phone and broadband traffic.

We then talk about Microsoft's plans, a new virtual network from the Post Office, Samsung's renamed app store, budget 4G smartphones, a wearable phone for children and some misleading advertising.