mwc2013

OMG! Google's Andy Rubin worries Samsung may become a threat

Andy Rubin, who heads up Google's enormously successful Android business, can read a company's business strategy as well as anyone out there. So it's hardly a thunderbolt when we hear that Rubin frets about the day when Samung becomes so dominant that it becomes a threat.

In a Wall Street Journal post coinciding with the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona this week, an unnamed source dishes about a Google event last fall where Rubin was said to allude to the potential for trouble with Samsung sometime in the future. That's why Google acquired Motorola Mobility &… Read more

Countdown begins for Galaxy S4 reveal

Monday's CNET Update does it with stylus:

The mother of all mobile trade shows, Mobile World Congress, kicked off in Barcelona. Today's video roundup highlights the buzz over Samsung, WebOS and a new way to talk to your phone:

- Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S4 on March 14

- Visa's mobile payment program will be built into the Galaxy S4

- More on MasterCard's mobile payment plan, MasterPass

- First impressions of the Galaxy Note 8 tablet

- Samsung HomeSync to rival Apple TV

- WebOS lives in future LG smart TVs

- HP tries tablets again with the Slate 7 … Read more

Stacking up the tablets, large and small, of MWC 2013

Mobile World Congress is generally all about phones, but this year there are a fair number of tablets out and about. Feeling like you're losing track? Check out the roundup below, covering the biggest hits (HP Slate 7 and Samung Galaxy Note 8) and a few unknowns (ZTE, anyone?).

Samsung: No interest in Mozilla's Firefox OS

BARCELONA, Spain--Mozilla and a slew of allies debuted Firefox OS this week -- but one powerful potential partner is passing.

That company is Samsung, which like Apple is a dominant smartphone maker. A high-level Samsung executive said at the Mobile World Congress show here that Samsung isn't interested in Mozilla's browser-based operating system.

That shouldn't come as a surprise given the company's other mobile operating system choices. Samsung is the top dog in the Android market -- its new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone will debut March 14 -- and the most obvious OS alternative is … Read more

Nokia CEO: We are not a 'me-too' device-maker

BARCELONA, Spain--Sit Nokia CEO Stephen Elop down for a few moments, and one thing becomes immediately clear: Nokia is all about differentiating.

Ever since the beginning of the company's resurgence two years ago when it reshaped itself as a maker of Windows phones, Nokia has celebrated its difference, its European heritage, and even a level of quirkiness.

Today, Elop reinforced the message again and again as he addressed a small gathering of journalists at Mobile World Congress here.

Nokia Lumia designs are special, Elop says, since they're bold. The PureView imaging algorithms and camera stabilization springs are a … Read more

WebOS lives! LG to resurrect it for smart TVs

WebOS gets another shot at life thanks to LG Electronics.

LG is acquiring WebOS from Hewlett-Packard, with the intention to use the operating system not for its mobile phones, but in its smart televisions. With the deal, LG obtains the source code for WebOS, related documentation, engineering talent, and related WebOS Web sites. LG also gets HP licenses for use with its WebOS products, and patents HP obtained from Palm. The financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

The acquisition marks the end of a sad chapter of WebOS, an operating system that many saw promise in, but was … Read more

Supersize me: Meet the 5.7-inch ZTE Grand Memo

BARCELONA, Spain--Tossing its name into the supersize phone ring, ZTE demoed its Grand Memo at this year's MWC. Strutting a massive 5.7-inch screen, the handset belongs to the company's family of 4G LTE-enabled devices, which includes the hyped-up flagship, the Grand S, launched at CES in January. The Grand Memo will be available in China starting in March, with a later European launch in Q2.

Design If you're like me and you think LG's "phablet," the Optimus G Pro, looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, wait until you get a … Read more

Wireless carriers seek cross-border spectrum cooperation

BARCELONA, Spain--Mobile network operators traditionally use Mobile World Congress to call for lower taxes and more wireless spectrum. This year, a new word has entered the wish list: harmonization.

The mobile industry today must deal with a hodgepodge of electromagnetic frequencies that differ from carrier to carrier and country to country. Franco Bernabe, chief executive of Telecom Italia, wants to see not just more spectrum for wireless operators, but also spectrum that's not so fragmented.

"It's not just about having the right amount of spectrum. It's critical that the spectrum is harmonized on a global basis,&… Read more

Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy bundles in accessories

BARCELONA, Spain--Do you remember the Alcatel One Touch Scribe X from CES last month? Well, the Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy is a lot like it, but less tailored in appearance and more midrange in specs.

The Scribe Easy's main premise is that's it an extremely affordable Android 4.1 device (4.2 at launch) that comes with a cool magnetic cover and a stylus you can use to transcribe handwriting into text in several custom apps.

For the roughly $130 U.S. full retail price, the specs are fine: a large, 5-inch, 800x480-pixel screen, a 1.2GHz … Read more

Budget-friendly Nokia Lumia 520 headed to T-Mobile

BARCELONA, Spain--When I first heard the leaked rumors and specs surrounding the Nokia Lumia 520, I was sure I was going to be looking at a handset with a passable chassis that I'd only grudgingly like because of its stellar price. Instead, when Nokia representatives handed me a red and yellow Lumia 520, I had to admit, it looked pretty good (it'll also come in cyan, white, and black).

If you're reading this from the U.S., you should pay extra attention because, in addition to coming to other markets, it'll be available through T-Mobile as … Read more