This week's news report begins with quarterly figures from Samsung and Apple - and a discussion about what the future may hold for iOS.

We also talk about instant messaging versus SMS, the end of Best Buy's European joint venture with Carphone Warehouse, patent wars, white spaces and connected cars.

Vodafone has announced that Indian electric vehicle manufacturer Mahindra Reva is incorporating machine-to-machine technology into its recently-launched e2o electric car.

Customers can use a smartphone app to check their car’s battery charge, control the air conditioning and lock or unlock doors. The car will also send its owner an alert if the parking brake is left off or a door is unlocked.

Mark Bridge writes:

This week there was only one set of financial results that attracted the mainstream tech media. Apple reported the first drop in quarterly profit for several years as figures fell by 18% to around £6.1 billion. On the positive side, it made around £6.1 billion profit. It also announced dates for its developer conference in June and promised a new version of iOS.

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom is asking companies to take part in a trial of ‘white space’ wireless technology.

White space technology takes advantage of unused gaps in frequency bands, enabling wireless internet services and machine-to-machine connections to operate without interference.

In this special feature we're looking around the GSMA Connected City at Mobile World Congress 2013.

Mark Bridge and Grant Notman discuss machine-to-machine communications and the Internet of Things, meeting people who've worked with 4G-enabled cars, port logistics, connected houses, m-health and the GSMA's own app development programme.