Cell phones

Cisco brings Web conferencing to more smartphones

BARCELONA--Smarrtphone users will soon be able to participate in Web conferences using the hosted WebEx tool right from their phones.

Cisco Systems, which owns the WebEx Web conferencing service, announced Tuesday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 here that it is making a version of its WebEx client software available to several smartphones including Research In Motion's BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8900, and BlackBerry Storm. It will also be available for the Nokia E71, Nokia E75, Nokia N97, and other Nokia E series and N series devices, as well as for the Samsung Blackjack II.

The new functionality … Read more

Nokia N86: 8-megapixel leak

All mobile phone-loving eyes may be on Barcelona, where Mobile World Congress is currently taking place, but we've just spotted some breaking news from Singapore. Nokia's Far East showcase is showing off none other than an 8-megapixel camera phone: the Nokia N86.

Nate Lanxon and Andrew Lim, our men on the show floor in Spain, will be seeking out a hands-on opportunity with the N86 quicker than you can say "Sony Ericsson Idou." In the meantime, we'll share some leaked specs with you. It's a slider phone with a 2.6-inch OLED screen, 8GB … Read more

Nokia announces E55, E75

Updated at 6:09 a.m. (PST) with more details and photos.

Nokia rolled out two new E-series phones at its press conference on the first day of the GSMA World Congress here in Barcelona. Both offer full messaging and smartphone features, but they take a different approach to design. Full specs are below, but be sure to check out our Nokia GSMA photo gallery as well.

The Nokia E55 has a candy-bar design and comes in white or black. Nokia says it will be the world's thinnest smartphone, but we know the E55 has lots of competition in … Read more

LG Arena debuts with S-Class 3D interface

We knew it was coming, and sure enough the LG Arena made its glorious debut on the opening day of Mobile World Congress 2009 here in Barcelona. The Arena is LG's flagship model of 2009 and includes a number of high-end multimedia features and more noteworthy, a cool 3D user interface called S-Class.

The S-Class UI was designed to further the advantages of touch-screen phones and also make them easier to use by providing four customizable home screens. The system uses a cube layout so you can program all four sides of the cube to include shortcuts for your … Read more

Huawei to launch Android handsets

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to a Huawei executive as James Chen. The executive's name is Edward Chen.

BARCELONA--Chinese handset maker Huawei Technologies said Monday at the GSMA Global World Congress 2009 here that it plans to start selling phones using Google's Android operating system later this year.

Details about the upcoming phones are still scarce. But the company said it's partnering with a design consultancy company. The device is still in development and is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of this year.

Huawei is a large telecommunications equipment maker … Read more

Microsoft hopes 'Windows phone' has a ring to it

Microsoft is trying to sell the world on the notion of a "Windows phone."

The first part of that effort is simple. It's a rebranding exercise. Although Microsoft will continue to sell its Windows Mobile operating system, it is going to put its marketing muscle behind the term "Windows phone" to describe the devices that run its software.

The second part is trickier: convincing consumers that they want a Windows phone as opposed to all of the other smartphones on the market, such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, or Palm's Pre, to name just a … Read more

Samsung officially launches Ultra Touch, Omnia HD, Beat DJ phones

It turns out the blogosphere was correct. At its GSMA World Congress press conference on Monday, Samsung took the wraps off the Ultra Touch, the Omnia HD, the Beat DJ, and the Beat Disc. The four phones offer touch displays with a big multimedia focus. Check out the slide show for full specs and glamour shots and another peek at the Samsung Touch Blue.

Nokia announces Ovi Application store

BARCELONA--Nokia is taking on smartphone rival Apple with its own version of an application store.

On Monday, the world's largest cell phone maker, which has been losing market share at the high end to devices like Apple's iPhone, announced here at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 that it will follow Apple and a few other handset makers in launching a virtual storefront where developers can upload applications and consumers can easily download them.

The news of Nokia's Ovi Store is hardly a shock. Several news agencies had reported that the company was expected to announce the store here at MWC.… Read more

Skyhook teams up with Texas Instruments

BARCELONA - Skyhook Wireless announced on Monday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress here that Texas Instruments will use its hybrid positioning technology in its mobile chips, so that cell phones can provide more accurate location information.

Skyhook has developed a hybrid technology that uses GPS satellite technology and Wi-Fi to help provide geolocation services. Skyhook's technology is used today on Apple's iPhone, among other services and devices.

The way it works is that Skyhook will use Wi-Fi access points to triangulate and get a fix on known Wi-Fi hot spots. The company has a database of where … Read more