ctia

NEW ORLEANS--Think there are too many digital wallets out there? MasterCard would disagree.

The No. 2 payments processor today unveiled PayPass Wallet Services, its own take on the digital wallet. Initially, it will pop up in the form of a payment icon at merchant Web sites. The wallet will allow users to store all of their cards, and MasterCard plans to distribute developer tools to allow other wallets to work with its network. The move is an attempt to broaden PayPass beyond contactless payments and into something more ubiquitous.

MasterCard is just the latest to be lured in by the … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--AT&T is proposing some serious branching out with its new services for securing your home, and managing its appliances remotely from your smartphone or tablet.

At CTIA 2012, AT&T showed off its concept with a demo house equipped in the Big Easy's lovely Garden District.

Let's tackle security first. AT&T lays physical sensors on the doors and windows. If they trip, or if the smoke detector trips, a couple of things happen. First, any response you've programmed goes into effect. For instance, you might decide to set it to blare the radio or TV, or sound an alarm or flash a strobe light.… Read more

NEW ORLEANS--Today, I caught a glimpse of CTIA 2012 one day earlier than most and roamed around the show floor before its set to kick off tomorrow.

Among all the construction and chaos, as companies in the mobile phone industry scurried to finish building their booths, I came across LG's splice of convention real estate.

Among its TVs and other electronics, display kiosks for LG's Optimus 4X HD, Optimus Vu, and 3D Max were also set up.

These three devices were already unveiled in late February's MWC, but none of them had carrier's attached to them. … Read more

In today's show, it's time to Hangout with the world, seek out new smartphones and take a ride on the Yahoo drama train:

Your Google+ Hangout video chat sessions can now broadcast live to the world. Google made it easy to share the live stream of a Hangout on your Google+ page, or embed it on another Web site. You can see how many people are watching, and once the live show is done it can be uploaded to YouTube.

Google has been working with some television shows to broadcast their Hangouts live. If you want to check it out, … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--Omnilink, a company that provides industries such as fleet owners, construction companies, and law enforcement with location-based solutions, announced today that along with its long-time partner, Sprint, it will be releasing three new devices to help enterprise companies track their valuables.

These products will be able to locate and monitor assets such as bank bags, ATMs, and cars. Even items like liquor, cigarettes, and prescription drugs can be tracked using Sprint's network.

The Sendum PT300 is one of the new devices offered under Omnilink's Asset Tracker platform, and it can sense temperature, light, and motion changes. The … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--In addition to the Droid Incredible 4G LTE that HTC just announced at CTIA, the phone maker will also show off its HTC One V, an Android smartphone first introduced at Mobile World Congress.

Although the One V is the most entry-level of the HTC One phones, it fits into the family uniformities like Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as the operating system, the HTC Sense 4.0 interface, and HTC's ImageSense camera software, which works with HTC's image-processing chip to take photos one after the other in the blink of an eye.… Read more

NEW ORLEANS--HTC announced a 4G LTE updated Droid Incredible for Verizon Wireless, which looks very similar to the HTC One S offered on T-Mobile USA.

The new Droid Incredible 4G LTE for Verizon is a variation of the HTC One S that HTC is already selling on T-Mobile USA. But there is one notable difference. This HTC device supports 4G LTE on Verizon's extensive network.

The device also comes with an advanced camera with an 8 megapixel resolution that can take up to three shots per second. It also has Beats Audio integration for improved sound quality. It runs … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--AT&T and Samsung must be selling enough of the "Focus" family of Windows Phones to be inspired to do it again.

The day before CTIA kicks off, the two partners took the wraps off the Samsung Focus 2, a $50 Windows Phone outfitted with LTE.

The phone also features a 4-inch Super AMOLED display and a 5-megapixel camera that can support 720p HD video. A front-facing VGA camera is also onboard.… Read more

NEW ORLEANS--AT&T will finally make good on its promise to let consumers remotely control every facet of their home -- from the thermostat to the door locks -- through any smartphone, PC, or tablet.

A day before the CTIA Wireless conference kicks off, AT&T said it would enter the home security and automation business in a big way. The company said it has formed a digital life services group to push these services, which will be available nationwide and work with any Internet connection.

The creation of the group represents a completely new business for AT&… Read more