BlackBerry

Highs and lows from Mobile World Congress

Another Mobile World Congress is in the bag, and as the CNET crew leaves Barcelona we can take stock of the mobile madness that was. It was my fourth year attending the show, and I can report that 2011 was one the busiest I've seen, with a ton of new smartphones and tablets. It was a lot to handle, but Bonnie Cha of CNET Reviews; Ariel Nunez of CNET TV; and Maggie Reardon, Stephen Shankland, and Elinor Mills of CNET News were along for the ride.

As with any trade show, Mobile World Congress offered a series of satisfying devices and a couple of instances where companies fell short. Here's the report from Barcelona as we saw it. And don't forget to check out Maggie's insights in her Ask Maggie column. … Read more

RIM plans two more PlayBooks for 2011

BARCELONA--Research in Motion plans to release two more BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in the second half of 2011, one with LTE and one with HSPA+ networking technology, the company announced at the Mobile World Congress here today.

RIM already had announced a Wi-Fi-only tablet and one using the WiMax wireless networking technology. LTE and HSPA+, though, are much more broadly accepted in the mobile market, if not necessarily widely installed.

In the ever hotter tablet market, the competition presently is largely between incumbent power Apple and a number of Android-based challengers such as the Motorola Xoom and the newly announced Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. … Read more

BlackBerry PlayBook: Who will buy it?

After spending some quality time with RIM's in-production BlackBerry PlayBook at CES, I can tell you it's a beautiful 7-inch tablet. A sharp, high-resolution screen, pleasing rubberized perimeter, and gesture-based interface converge to create a piece of electronic equipment that I would proudly make my mini-computing companion. (Hands-on CNET videos here and here.)

However, the PlayBook comes with several thick strings attached that are awkward enough to trip up prospective tablet-buyers.

No 3G without a BlackBerry The tautest tripwire pertains to data. Many top-tier tablets come in Wi-Fi and data (3G) versions. For a little less, you can … Read more

U.S. Cellular offering phones for free

Why buy a phone when you can get one for free? It seems too good to be true, but regional carrier U.S. Cellular is giving away cell phones this Friday as part of its "All Phones Free" campaign.

The sale, which runs from December 17 to 24, includes all messaging phones and smartphones, including Android and BlackBerry models. To top it off, U.S. Cellular is granting new smartphone customers a $100 credit for joining up with the carrier for the first time, or for adding a new smartphone to their existing plans.

Of course, there is … Read more