mobile world congress

Andy Rubin dishes on Android tablets, we examine a bowl of jelly beans, and we discuss the exciting new devices coming out of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

ANDROID NEWS:

-Android chief: We must ‘double down’ on tablets, win the market

-Google VP Dishes On Android Tablet and App Strategy

-Android crosses 850,000 activations per day with 450,000 apps in the store, Andy Rubin says

-Andy Rubin speaks out on Google, Motorola acquisition; wants nothing to do with Moto… Read more

When should you buy a laptop? That's always a very difficult question--buy too soon after new technology hits, and you miss out on refinements and price drops. On the other hand, you certainly don't want to spend upwards of $1,000 on a device that feels outdated just months later. It's an even more difficult decision in the wake of Microsoft's look at Windows 8 in Barcelona, Spain.

For Mac users, the decision's generally simple: wait for the new version, and buy, buy, buy. MacBooks, like iPhones and iPads, only come in so many versions, and they rarely drop in price anywhere.

Windows PCs? Well, that's another story. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--T-Mobile has a plan. The smallest and weakest of the four top U.S. wireless providers may be bruised after a breakup with would-be spouse AT&T, but it isn't beaten. So goes the company line.

It all starts with investing $4 billion to upgrade its network and roll out 4G LTE, which it expects to launch in 2013, behind Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. It's also wooing wholesalers to jump on its network, and will rededicate itself to providing the best customer satisfaction.… Read more

Microsoft just went a long way toward getting Windows 8 Consumer Preview users to download boatloads of apps.

The company said today at its address at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, that all applications in its Windows Store will be available for free. There is just one catch, however: the deal will only be available in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Microsoft didn't say how many applications are currently available in its Windows Store, but did point out that more titles will be coming to the marketplace over time. Once the official retail version of Windows 8 launches, … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--These days you'll be hard-pressed to find people who remember when personal computers were luxury items that few could afford. Now smartphones are increasingly headed in the same direction, continuing to become cheaper and more ubiquitous for everyone, not just for the global elite.

The mass market in question goes well beyond the budget-conscious living in developed markets, and focuses specifically on getting more smartphones and into hands in emerging markets. This was the topic of a panel discussion at MWC today.

Research numbers support the adoption trends of both developed and developing markets. Demand in the U.… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--When HTC announced its HTC One family of phones, it saved the HTC One V, the runt of the litter, for last. It may be less high-powered than its cohort, comprised of the HTC One X and One S, but it promises to be a good choice in its own right for the budget set.… Read more

Despite the aura of doom and gloom surrounding Research In Motion, the company demonstrated an amazing concept app at Mobile World Congress 2012 that could make you a believer again.

Confetti, a colorful collaboration app for PlayBook tablets, aims to make meetings more lively by adding a little flair to file and image sharing. The setup creates a virtual space for PlayBook tablets, and a demo shows that an optional cheap QVGA Webcam allows you to position PlayBooks in multiple configurations (like in a circle or together in a cluster) for enhanced interactivity. File sharing appears simple, as you can flick content from one device to another over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--It may be early days yet, but I'm really liking what I'm seeing so far of the Asus Padfone and Padfone Station. Or, as I like to call it, the turducken of mobile devices.

The Padfone essentially mashes up the concept of the Asus Transformer Prime tablet with its docking station, and the concept of the phone-in-empty-laptop-dock (like the Motorola Atrix 4G and laptop dock) to create a zany triple-play that has you snapping your shiny Padfone into a tablet shell to get a slate, then sliding the phone-powered slate into a docking station for a keyboard (… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G: try saying it five times fast. Or better yet, just call it the "Blaze" like I do, and appreciate the simple pleasures of what is by today's standards your regular upper-mid smartphone.

T-Mobile and Samsung first announced the Blaze 4G at an intimate press gathering at CES; in fact, it was one of the last of the new handsets to be revealed. The unveiling was part of a larger speech delivered by T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm promising that despite the proposed merger with AT&T going belly-up, T-Mobile would fight to regain relevance and 4G network spectrum--an ambition that spells out L-T-E.… Read more