Mark Bridge writes:

HTC experienced a bit of Christmas cheer last week when the threat of a sales injunction against the HTC One mini smartphone and a number of other devices was lifted. Nokia had previously won a patent-related court case against HTC but it seems that a sales ban was deemed too harsh a penalty.

Photo sharing service Instagram, which was acquired by Facebook last year, has launched a photo and video messaging feature called Instagram Direct.

This new feature forms part of the standard Instagram app.

This week's podcast starts with the world's slimmest smartphone (at least for the moment) before introducing a new smartphone company and even more new products from Samsung.

We're also talking about the battle of Instagram vs Vine, the sale of O2 Ireland, mobile retail web usage, the new CEO of BT and a new report about an unexpected health threat to mobile phone users.

Mark Bridge writes:

Another week, another couple of product announcements from Samsung. There appears to be no stopping them, despite a recent drop in the company’s share price.

This time it’s a couple of tablets – one of which runs both Android and Windows 8 – and a 20 megapixel camera that’s got a 4G-enabled Android device built in.

Mobile-based photo sharing service Instagram has launched an option to share video clips as well.

The service, which was acquired by Facebook last year, now lets users with its Apple or Android apps share up to fifteen seconds of video.

Mark Bridge writes:

A report in The Independent says Apple won't be putting a Near Field Communication chip in the next version of the iPhone. Although Apple is thought to be working on its own NFC service connected to iTunes, it's said to be "concerned by the lack of a clear standard across the industry".

On the surface, that phrase doesn’t make sense.

Mark Bridge writes:

Sadly we’re ending the week with yet another natural disaster. Barely two weeks after New Zealand’s earthquake comes news of Japan’s biggest quake in living memory.

Still, I’m here to talk about mobile phones, so – after a quick mention of the great work being done by the Red Cross – I’ll get on with it.

Mark Bridge writes:

In recent weeks there’s been a lot of talk about the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft. But taking a look at today’s Form 20-F - the annual report that Nokia is filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission - provides a valuable reminder that nothing’s set in stone.

Mark Bridge writes:

The final news story in this week's podcast is best described as an update from last week's programme. The story itself remains the same but the presentation style has been changed dramatically.

Mark Bridge writes:

For the last couple of months we've been running a survey on TheFonecast.com with the title “What's the biggest challenge facing mobile phone manufacturers?”

The answer appears to be very clear. According to 60% of respondents, 'battery life' is the major issue for mobile manufacturers.

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.