Cell phones

At MobileCon 2012, LG surges where others hang back

SAN DIEGO--We knew all along that MobileCon, with its enterprise focus, would be a quieter show for consumers, but what we didn't know was how the players who did show up would engage us.

LG used the event to showcase the midrange LG Optimus L9, which it announced just before the show, and the LG Mach, a dual-core QWERTY device for Sprint, which it announced on Day 1.

Later, at a launch party, LG pleasantly surprised with goody bags containing one Optimus G flagship phone each for AT&T and for Sprint. Bravo, LG, and we'll have … Read more

Rumor Has It: The ultimate cable killer coming from Boxee?

According to the report, the rumored new device would combine a TV tuner with a DVR and media-streaming capabilities, so you could record over-the-air TV. Do you care? Emily does, but she could be alone on this one -- just like she's alone in not knowing who one of America's favorite stars is.

Also, Facebook might finally release a native Android app so HTML5 will stop holding everyone back from stalking their friends at the speed of light.

Speaking of light, Sony's next flagship phone could be made out of a Norse god's lightning bolt and … Read more

Huawei desperate to crack the top-tier U.S. brands

SAN DIEGO--A year ago at CTIA (now known as MobileCon), Huawei announced plans to become a top-five vendor in three years' time. A year into its push to crack the U.S. market, Huawei is only baby steps closer to reaching its goal.

When I met with Huawei in San Diego earlier this week, company spokespeople said that consumers' brand awareness grew from 6 percent in 2011 to 9 percent in 2012.

The 3 percent growth isn't much to crow about, not when brand awareness hovers at 49 percent in the South Pacific region, 29 percent in northern Latin … Read more

RIM lowers drawbridge on BB10 app submissions

It's official, BlackBerry 10 developers: RIM has declared open season for BB10 app submissions. A recent post on the company's development blog confirms that RIM is now accepting entries for applications that specifically target the long-anticipated BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The post in question also lays out how to begin the submission process to the BlackBerry storefront as well offering links to the Beta3 Developer SDK, if you'd like to get in on the coding action. In addition, RIM reminds potential developers that any app deemed worthy of the Built for BlackBerry program and earns $1,000 … Read more

LG's 13-megapixel Optimus G camera stumbles in early tests

SAN DIEGO--CNET has spent enough time with LG's new flagship, quad-core LG Optimus G to portend great things for LG's image, especially now that the Android 4.0 powerhouse will come to both AT&T and Sprint.

There's just one early snag. Yesterday, I spent some time with the 13-megapixel camera. The controls all looked fantastic, and are part of a redesigned OS. However, I wasn't happy with some of the photos I took for practice.

It definitely didn't help the camera's cause that I shot all photos in a closed demo room … Read more

A handful of new devices surface on day 1 of MobileCon

SAN DIEGO -- Though a significantly smaller show than January's Consumer Electronic Show and February's Mobile World Conference, MobileCon 2012 still kicked off its first day with a handful of new phones. However, hardware companies didn't hog all the fun; there was plenty of carrier news as well.

T-Mobile T-Mobile introduced its first Windows Phone 8 handset, the Nokia Lumia 810. Available withiin weeks, the Lumia 810 has a 4.3 inch touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss technology, and interchangeable back plates that enables the device to charge wirelessly.

Another T-Mobile device, the LG Optimus L9, … Read more

Nokia Atlas might be Verizon's next WP8 handset

If you're a Windows Phone 8 fan on Verizon, listen up. A leaked image of what reportedly is a Verizon-branded Nokia Lumia 820 has surfaced. … Read more

Motorola Razr i heads south to Brazil

The Motorola and Intel collaboration that is the Razr i is now available for purchase in Brazil. Priced at $1,299 reals (roughly $640), the Intel-based device runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features a 4.3-inch 540x960-pixel qHD Super AMOLED display, 1GB RAM, and an 8-megapixel camera.

Nearly identical to Verizon's Droid Razr M, the Razr i boasts a large, edge-to-edge screen, yet in a form factor typically reserved for smaller handsets. Additional details for the smartphone include 8GB internal storage, microSD expansion, and a very respectable 2,000mAh battery.

Motorola says that although the Razr … Read more

Sony 'Odin' tipped as 2013 flagship device

We might be a few months away from CES and Mobile World Congress, but that doesn't mean handset rumors are going to wait around. The preliminary details for a new Sony smartphone have surfaced, possibly laying the groundwork for a new "flagship" device.

According to information first noticed by Blog of Mobile (translated), Sony is prepping a C650X smartphone under the code name of Odin. As detected in its User-Agent Profile (UAProf), the phone looks to run Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and Sony's 10.1.A.0.XXX firmware.

To be clear, there is … Read more