Mark Bridge writes:

If you listen to this week’s edition of The Fonecast - in which we predict what’ll be happening in the mobile telecoms industry during 2015 - you’ll hear James Rosewell say that BlackBerry’s handset business is doomed. Well, actually that’s not quite true.

BlackBerry has launched a new smartphone that’s designed as a potential upgrade for BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve users. The new BlackBerry Classic - which has a physical QWERTY keyboard and trackpad - promises 60% more screen space, a 50% longer battery life and a faster browser than the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

Specifications include a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor, 16GB of expandable storage, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera.

The Fonecast predicts 2015: Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge gather round a sapphire crystal ball and make their forecasts for the next 12 months in the mobile industry.

Whose product line won't survive until December 2015? What will happen with the BT/EE merger? Which new features will be introduced by smartphone manufacturers?

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.