It's time for another news-packed mobile industry podcast from TheFonecast.com, starting with the European Parliament's latest ruling on in-car emergency communication.

After that we're talking about Microsoft's departure from the Nook eBook business, Three UK's 4G growth, Acer's tablet-sized phone, EE's rural coverage solution and some interesting new research about mobile-enabled customer service.

New predictions from technology research company Gartner have shown how we’re increasingly relying on mobile technology.

It’s forecasting that by 2018, more than 50% of users worldwide will go to a tablet or smartphone first for all their online activities.

Figures from wireless analyst firm Berg Insight show that 70% of electricity customers in Europe are expected to have smart meters by 2022.

The current figure for smart meter penetration in Europe is 24%; that’s the equivalent of 67.9 million smart electricity meters, most of which are in Italy, Spain and the Nordic countries.

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have agreed to end their NOOK eBook partnership.

The two organisations formed NOOK Media LLC in 2012, combining Barnes & Noble’s digital eBook and College education businesses into a new company that was 17.6% owned by Microsoft.

Application-to-person mobile messaging specialist Mblox has published its findings from a survey of customers and businesses conducted by Millward Brown Digital. It looked at how well companies felt they were engaging with their customers via mobile devices - and how well customers felt they were being engaged with by brands.

The survey revealed a ‘care gap’ in business-to-consumer interactions: 67% of companies thought consumers were satisfied with their current methods of mobile engagement, yet only 47% of consumers said they were happy with it.