mobile world congress

BARCELONA, Spain--Where do the largest telecommunications companies in the world want to be in in the future? In the cloud.

We've all heard this schtick before: Carriers don't want to be the purveyors of dumb pipes. Their equipment suppliers--namely, Cisco Systems and Alcatel-Lucent--also don't want them to be dumb pipe operators. The reason is simple: There just isn't much money in being dumb.

Smart is the way to go.

But for telecommunications giants, what does it mean to be smart? For the CEOs of Deutsche Telekom, Alcatel Lucent, and Cisco Systems, who spoke as part of … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Samsung's tablet spotlight is on the flashy Galaxy Note 10.1 this Mobile World Congress, but after putting down the stylus, I picked up both new versions of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

If you've ever seen the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, you'll find similar-looking devices, with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich preinstalled. Instead of making these tablets top of the line, Samsung says it'll introduce them at lower price points than the original, in an effort to compete with dedicated e-readers.

Both devices were on display at … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Forget about a smartphone you have to force to be a tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is a tablet in its own right, and in my opinion, the appropriate size for a device that makes use of a stylus for additional creative composition.

Let's back it up for a moment with a look at the Galaxy Note family tree. The first Note, which CNET first spotted back in September and has since intensely reviewed, comes with a 5.3-inch screen and a skinny, 4-inch tall pressure-sensitive stylus you can use to doodle or take notes.

The … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Amid all the Samsung Galaxy devices shown so far at MWC, these three barely saw the spotlight, if at all.

Well, it's time to turn on the diva lights for the Samsung Galaxy S Advance, Samsung Galaxy Mini 2, and Samsung Ace Plus, even if for just a minute.

Although none of these phones is a flagship product (the Mini 2 is a downright simple Android starter phone,) they have their place in the mobile ecosystem.

Besides, it's always fun to see which phones are bound for other pastures.

Loaded's Bridget Carey sits down with us for a roundup of breaking news from the Mobile World Congress, a smartphone expo based out of Barcelona that started this weekend.

The announcements range from Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) handsets with simpler nomenclature and integrated quad-core processors with new features like built-in projectors and a Nokia PureView smartphone with an insane 41-megapixel camera.… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Android is far behind Apple's iPad in total units sold, but Andy Rubin says 2012 could be the year where that changes.

Speaking today at Mobile World Congress in Barcleona, Google's Android chief said that users have activated 12 million Android-based tablets so far. According to The Verge, which first reported on his comments, Rubin said that the figure was "not insignificant, but less than I'd expect it to be if you really want to win" the tablet market.

That might be an understatement. During the fourth quarter of 2011 alone, Apple sold over … Read more

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Microsoft's multibillion-dollar Skype acquisition is starting to pay off.

The software giant today announced that Skype for Windows Phone Beta is now available. Windows Phone 7 device owners can opt to download the software directly to their device or from the Marketplace on their PC.

Skype for Windows Phone Beta comes with features one might expect, including free audio and video calls to other Skype users over 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi, as well as the ability to call landlines or mobile phones for a fee. Group chats and one-to-one instant messaging are also available.… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Wireless operators need to stop locking devices and offering overly complicated data plans. That's the message from Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn and eBay CEO John Donahoe here at Mobile World Congress.

Dunn and Donahoe took the stage today as part of a panel discussion about mobile payments. While the CEOs talked a lot about how shopping and payments are changing thanks to mobile devices, they also took a few jabs at wireless operators, challenging them to become more open to help spur greater adoption of their services across a broad range of devices.

While the mobile phone … Read more