TCL Communication, which is the company behind the Alcatel OneTouch brand, has confirmed it is taking control of the Palm brand. It says it’ll create a new US-based Palm Inc. company.

However, the exact timing of the Palm project hasn’t been confirmed.

The new Apple iPad tablets, Google's latest Nexus devices, Android Lollipop, wearable tech from will.i.am and the world's slimmest smartphone all feature in this week's podcast.

We're also talking about free mobile data for Christmas, 4.5G technology being rolled out in the UK, 5G technology being tested in South Korea, the end of an era for webOS and video messages that self-destruct.

HP says it’s ending support for the webOS cloud services platform from 15th January 2015. This means that anyone with a webOS-based smartphone or tablet won’t be able to set up, backup, restore, recover passwords or download apps via the webOS service.

However, any devices already set up will continue to work.

We begin this week's podcast with stories that go beyond the mobile industry, as HP plans to split into two companies and eBay prepares to separate itself from PayPal.

We're also talking about the Microsoft/Samsung legal case, a new Tesco tablet, BT's updated text relay service, a new way to avoid buying a stolen iPhone... and #Hairgate.

Technology giant HP has announced plans to split itself into two new companies within the next 12 months.

The personal computer and printer business will be known as HP Inc, while the corporate technology infrastructure, software and services businesses will become part of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise.

Mark Bridge writes:

Farewell, ST-Ericsson. It didn’t bode well when CEO Didier Lamouche announced his planned departure a couple of weeks ago – and now both STMicroelectronics and Ericsson have confirmed they’ll be splitting the company between them before closing it down.

Mark Bridge writes:

What’s the secret to starting a successful mobile-related business?

It turns out there’s no magic answer… but there’s plenty of useful advice worth listening to. There are also plenty of opportunities to get funding, whether in the form of a loan, a grant or an investment.

Yuval Ben-Moshe writes:

Freezing Android phones just won't break the ice with forensic investigators.

Leading and available mobile forensics tools already have similar capabilities, enabling law enforcement to effectively obtain admissible evidences from mobile devices.

Mark Bridge writes:

Samsung launched a new flagship Android smartphone last week, eschewing Roman numerals and calling it the Galaxy S4. Well, it was never really going to be the SIV, was it?

Mark Bridge writes:

Apple is rumoured to be planning a wearable mobile device: the iWatch. Whether it’s an iPhone accessory or a stand-alone mobile phone… or a figment of overactive imaginations… remains to be seen, although press reports suggest it could be launched by the end of 2013.

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.