Nokia has filed legal claims in the USA and Germany alleging that products from HTC, RIM and Viewsonic infringe a number of its patents.

The legal action includes a complaint to the US International Trade Commission against HTC, patent cases against HTC and Viewsonic in the USA, and court cases against all three companies in Germany.

In a couple of deals that echo Microsoft’s agreement with HTC in April 2010, the software giant has come to separate agreements with Acer and ViewSonic.

In Acer’s case, the two companies have “executed a patent license agreement that includes broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for Acer’s tablets and smartphones running the Android platform” - and with ViewSonic they’ve “signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for ViewSonic’s tablets and mobile phones running the Android or Chrome Platform”.

HTC has bought a number of patent from Google in a bid to strengthen its legal case against Apple.

It’s amended its US International Trade Commission complaint, it’s amended a similar US legal case and has filed a new case as well.

ViewSonic Europe has announced a 'try for free' promotional offer that enables customers to return their ViewPad 7 tablet if they're not completely satisfied.

Dissatisfied customers are given 20 days to experience the 7-inch Android tablet; they then need to return the device within a 10-day window (i.e. within 30 days from the date on their invoice) for a full refund.

Mark Bridge and James Rosewell prepare for day four of Mobile World Congress with a 45-minute podcast that looks at recent developments involving the MeeGo and webOS mobile platforms. What’s the future for Intel and HP?

There’s also an interview with James Coulson,  European Marketing Manager at ViewSonic, and a chat about Motorola’s Xoom and Atrix devices as well.

Donald Stuart, CEO of Brainstorm, explains why mobile operators are well placed to take advantage of the revenue streams opened up by location technologies.

The area of Location based services (LBS) has been getting a lot of attention of late, and it’s no wonder, Juniper Research has highlighted that the Mobile Context and Location Services market is expected to generate revenue of $43.4 billion by 2019, up from $12.2 billion in 2014.

Mark Bridge writes:

We’re delighted to be a media partner to Apps World 2014. This year Apps World has outgrown its previous home and is moving to ExCeL London, alongside the River Thames. There’ll be over 350 exhibitors and even more workshops than before, with a number of free conference sessions alongside premium options.

Mark Bridge writes:

The two-year mobile phone contract has almost become a standard, despite EU efforts to make it a worst-case scenario. I went into the Brighton branch of Carphone Warehouse today and was told I couldn't upgrade to a 12-month contract. Last year I could; now they would only offer me a 24-month deal.

Mark Bridge writes:

There’s no doubting the CAT B100 is a tough looking phone. It’s the kind of phone that needs to be described by someone with a voice rather like James Earl Jones or Isaac Hayes. The promotional video shows a chap on a building site and another guy on a motorbike delivering emergency supplies to a hospital. Apparently that’s the target market.

Rachel Thomas of Apps World writes:

Babak Parviz, one of the minds behind Google Glass who has just left the company to be VP at Amazon, has been announced as a keynote speaker at this year’s Apps World Europe, from November 12-13 at the ExCeL, London.

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.