Last week's IFA electronics show in Germany has prompted most of the major mobile manufacturers to make a new product announcement. Samsung, Sony, Nokia, ZTE…

We're covering all the big news from Berlin in this week's podcast - and also finding time to talk about the Apple vs Samsung legal action.

We recently heard about a new industry group aimed at driving the adoption of indoor positioning services. It’s called the In-Location Alliance and contains 22 tech companies including Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung and Sony.

Now ABI Research has published a report noting that the indoor location and application market is entering a new phase of growth.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII is the first Android smartphone available with Orange’s Quick Tap contactless payment service.

Customers will be able to load money onto the phone using any UK MasterCard or Visa card and can then pay via NFC technology.

IBM and Vodafone have announced a collaboration that combines mobile communications and cloud computing to enable the remote management of ‘smart home’ appliances.

The two companies have demonstrated the technology at the IFA consumer electronics event, showing how a washing machine and other domestic systems can be controlled via a smartphone.

The European Commission has called on telecoms regulators to support ‘wireless innovation’ by encouraging the sharing of radio spectrum across Europe.

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, described radio spectrum as “economic oxygen”. In a blog post, she said the EC’s aim was “ensuring that any kind of wireless device can work, wherever you travel in the EU.”