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.

eBay has announced plans to separate its PayPal e-commerce operation from its online auction and shopping business.

PayPal was created around 15 years ago and launched on the stock market in 2002. It was acquired by eBay later that year.

eBay-owned online payment service PayPal is introducing a new Chip & PIN device for UK retailers. It’s called PayPal Here - the same name as the company’s plug-in reader for swipe cards in the USA - and is designed to work in conjunction with a smartphone app.

The device is being made available to select UK businesses in the next few months before a full UK launch this summer.

Online marketplace eBay has reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2012, with annual revenue up 21% to $14.1 billion (around £8.9 billion).

Net income was down 19% to $2.6 billion, although the Q4 2011 figures had been boosted by the company selling its share in Skype.

Mark Bridge writes:

Internet veteran Yahoo! provided last week’s biggest news, at least in terms of press coverage. It appointed Marissa Mayer as its President and Chief Executive Officer, having enticed her away from Google after 13 years.

William Ide of voanews.com writes:

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, approved controversial new rules for the Internet on Tuesday that supporters say will protect the interests of consumers, service providers and investors. Opponents, however, warn that the new rules seek to fix something that is not broken and will invite other countries to do more to regulate the Internet.

James Rosewell writes:

Just in time to make it into 2010, the Wholesale Application Community has gained some important but relatively unreported publicity courtesy of Opera. It’s a slightly early Christmas present for Peters Suh, WAC CEO and a man keen to ensure the industry is presented with a story showing WAC meeting its targets.

Mark Bridge writes:

A few months ago I wrote about the so-called geek porn of unboxing. However, I’ve recently been reminded there is another similar type of geek porn. It’s darker than unboxing. More destructive. It’s the teardown.

Mark Bridge writes:

Groupon is a US phenomenon that’s not quite become ‘mainstream’ in the UK… yet. While the transatlantic tech press have been intrigued by the will-they-won’t-they story of Google apparently offering up to $6 billion for the two-year-old company, most of the UK has been wondering what the fuss is about.

But all that could be about to change.

Last year the European Commission encouraged mobile manufacturers to agree on a universal charger for mobile phones. The first compatible devices are now expected in Europe early next year.

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.