3GSM blog

One of the cool (and painful) things about GSMA Mobile World Congress is that you get to see some of the best mobile devices available around the world. I say painful because often these products aren't available in the United States and probably never will be, unless you find them online and buy them unlocked for a hefty price.

If you're a glutton for punishment or just plain curious, then take a look at these international Windows Mobile smartphones that I saw while touring the Microsoft booth.

Windows Mobile smartphones you can't have--photos

BARCELONA--So what's a big CDMA operator like Verizon Wireless doing at a conference hosted by the GSM Association?

Well, it looks like the old technology wars that divided the wireless industry are being laid to rest as operators begin marching toward building the next-generation 4G networks. While there are still technology debates, most of the world's mobile operators, including nearly every GSM provider, are planning to use the same technology to build their 4G networks.

Dick Lynch,
Verizon CTO

(Credit: Verizon)

This is a very big deal for the wireless industry, which has suffered from infighting and technology incompatibilities over the years.

As one of the biggest CDMA operators now embraces the same technology path as the GSM community, there is finally hope for peace and seamless worldwide roaming.

As a result, Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier in the U.S. and one of the largest CDMA operators in the world, made its first official appearance at the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress here this week. Dick Lynch, chief technology officer at parent company Verizon Communications, gave a keynote speech and dished out the details on the company's soon-to-be-built 4G wireless network that uses a technology called Long Term Evolution, or LTE.

CNET News sat down with Lynch after his speech to get more details on the network's launch and to find out what's happening with Verizon's Open Development Initiative. Below is an edited version of the conversation.

Q: This is your first time at Mobile World Congress, right? Why hasn't Verizon been here before? It is the largest wireless show in the world, after all.
Lynch: For one, we were invited this time.

Really, that's why you hadn't come before? You weren't invited?
Lynch: Not really. I'm joking. But seriously the more important question is what do we see in Mobile World Congress now? And the answer is, if you go back some years, we went down a certain technology path, and it wasn't well represented here. But now we've reached a point--and other carriers around the world--are reaching a point where we have to make a decision about 4G. And we made the choice of LTE. It also happens to be the path for GSM carriers, so it's a logical time for us to come together.

Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone, said during his keynote speech this week that growth in mobile data will soon put a significant strain on current 3G networks. How much headroom does Verizon Wireless have left in its 3G network?
Lynch: In terms of adding more capacity, there's still a lot we can do. There's cell splitting, for example. But we're in a better position than Vittorio is. He has different amounts of spectrum in different countries, and so he has different technologies allocated for different spectrum bands. He is more limited too because of regulatory issues--whereas we have a lot more options and are able to grow.

But Verizon is working on its 4G network. This might suggest that Verizon is running out of 3G capacity. How long before Verizon's 3G network is tapped out?
Lynch: We could go for years on our 3G architecture by adding capacity. And there are a lot of things you can do to add capacity. But they're all more costly than moving to 4G, and they offer the same performance people experience today. And eventually, we think customers will find that insufficient for what they want to do in the future.

We can continue to add capacity, but we think in the next two to three to four years that consumer expectations will outclass the 3G network. That's why we are moving so quickly. We want to be there when the first wave of customers feels like 3G is not really fast enough.

How are you planning to roll out the new networks? Will there be devices that handle both 3G and 4G?
Lynch: Yes, there will devices that do both. What is important to our customers is ubiquity even from year one. So where LTE is available initially in our top markets, people will use that. And where it's not yet available, they'll fall back to EV-DO.

There will likely be more 3G coverage in year one than by year five. We will follow a similar plan to how we rolled out our 3G network. So initially there will be some subset of the entire country with 4G coverage, and we will expand that coverage every year.

How quickly will you be able to get LTE rolled out?
Lynch: We're going to follow the model we used in rolling out EV-DO. And we'll be aggressive about the roll-out in 2010. So if you look at the rate we did with EV-DO, I'd say for year one, we could do 25 to 30 major markets. That is probably reasonable. Just like we did with EV-DO, we will initially offer the service for PC cards and dongle devices. That's the easiest form factor, and it's the customer subset that can most benefit from the much faster speeds right way. After that we will follow with handsets.

During your keynote at Mobile World Congress, you outlined a road map for deploying LTE. Will the current economic environment affect those plans?
Lynch: If by the current economic environment, you mean Verizon's current position relative to the rest of the world, then what we have announced (Wednesday) is consistent with what we hope we can do in 2010. But I reserve the right to adjust that if things for Verizon get worse. If that were to happen, we may choose to adjust. But we are fairly bullish on our ability to do this.

Verizon announced the Open Device Initiative in late 2007, and you said during your keynote here that you think it's been a success. But I haven't seen any handsets announced, nor have I heard of any pricing plan for the service. So what's going on?
Lynch: Most of the early devices on ODI have been unique devices that are focused on specific applications. There are a couple that are using the network for telemetry in unusual places, and some other specific devices such as specialized laptops.

What about the handsets? I think that when this initiative was announced most people thought that Verizon was creating an environment where users could bring any handset to the Verizon network.
Lynch: Well, it typically takes about 18 to 24 months to develop and take to market a new handset. So if you're looking for phones, it's too soon. The fact that there aren't many handset manufacturers that have gone through the ODI certification process is more a result of how much time it takes to deliver that product than it has to do with us.

Also, we really look at ODI as a nontraditional catalyst for developing new products and applications (rather) than another way of offering phone service. That will be part of it, but there will also be devices like blood-pressure monitors that use the network.

I think you're starting from the premise that ODI is all about the consumer handset market, and I'm starting at the point of looking at it as the future vision of wireless connectivity. Consumers might not yet be aware of devices that could connect to this network.

You have explained that both on the Open Development network as well as on the new 4G LTE network you envision all kinds of devices being used instead of just handsets. How is that going to change your business model? You'll have to change or adapt the service plans, won't you?
Lynch: I think in the future we will see data pricing based on usage. We don't expect customers who have a device that works once a week and pushes 50 bytes across the network to pay the same as a customer using 50MB a day. So the rate will be variable based upon usage. There will be a variety of pricing arrangements to allow for aggregation.

So you don't see wireless broadband services being offered like traditional broadband? For example, at home I pay for a single broadband connection and I can attach any device to it. And I can use as many devices as I want on my network.
Lynch: No, I don't. The wireless network unlike our fiber network, Fios, has a capacity issue. On fiber, the bandwidth is yours and you pay for it. But in wireless you have resource scarcity. So someone using 50 times more bandwidth than everyone is using should be expected to pay more. That's why I think there will be usage-based plans. But that doesn't mean we can't package services to get a single price for different devices. We're still working on the pricing.

The X1 becomes a cover story.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

Since I can read United Airline's in-flight magazine only so many times on a 10-hour flight between San Francisco and Frankfurt, Germany, I took a few minutes to leaf through the ubiquitous Skymall catalog as well.

Normally, for every one thing I would consider buying in Skymall, I find 20 completely useless things (seriously...who really wants to make a bulletin board out of wine corks?). But this issue of the catalog had the fancy Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 on its cover.

As you may recall, the touch-screen smartphone debuted at the 2008 GSMA World Congress. And even as the Idou grabbed most of the headlines in Barcelona this year, the X1 continued to be a top draw at Sony Ericsson's booth.

As my colleague Bonnie Cha said in her Xperia X1 review, the handset offers a full range of features and a unique panel-based interface. Yet because no U.S. carrier offers the X1, it's not readily available stateside. An appearance in Skymall might just help make the ordering process easier, but the first-class price of $799 for the unlocked model remains. No, we don't think it's worth it either.

GSMA World Congress show floor photos

As we wrap up our coverage of the GSMA World Congress and prepare to head home to San Francisco and New York City, we invite you to take a look at sights from the show floor in Barcelona. Indeed, GSMA is a massive, frenetic show that spreads over eight buildings and several outdoor pavilions. At first, it can be overwhelming and difficult to find your way about, but you learn quickly which areas of the show are worth visiting. Our GSMA show floor photo gallery gives you a guided tour, from the show grounds to the company's booths to the cell phones on display.

The GMSA Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona could have been a great place for Google to demonstrate progress establishing Android in the industry, but instead the open-source operating system showed only a slightly larger toehold.

Google has high hopes for Android, which the company launched in an effort to spur smartphone development, mobile use of the Web, and new search advertising. Although Android certainly isn't vaporware, and Google's clout makes the effort a serious challenge to other operating systems, so far Android's potential exceeds its real-world presence.

HTC's Magic is the second Android-powered phone to hit the market.

(Credit: HTC)

The biggest Android news from the show was the debut of the HTC Magic. This new Android model is the second Android model from the Taiwanese company; the first, HTC's Dream, is better known as the T-Mobile G1.

At the GSMA World Congress here in Barcelona, there's a lot more to see than just the brand new cell phones. We also relish the chance to check out models that are rather rare in the United States.

Take the Nokia 5630 Xpress Music, for example. As one of Nokia's newest Xpress Music phones, it hasn't made much of a stateside appearance. So when we spied it sitting next to the new Nokia E75, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to give it a test drive and capture it on video.

Its thin candy bar design largely resembles the Nokia 5310 Xpress Music. The 16.7-million-color display is easy on the eyes, though it could be a bit larger. The navigation array also doesn't take full advantage of the phone's real estate--there's an awful lot of blank space around it--but the keypad is pretty standard. Dedicated music controls sit on the left spine while the camera lens and flash are on the rear face.

The 5630 has external music controls.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

Besides the Xpress Music player, the feature set covers a good range. You'll find a stereo Bluetooth, a 3.2-megapixel camera with video, voice command, personal organizer options, text and multimedia messaging, a speakerphone, and an external memory card slot. The quad-band 5630 also supports HSDPA 3G networks.

Showing that its Web application priorities extend to the mobile world, Google on Wednesday demonstrated a version of Gmail for the iPhone that could be used even when the phone had no network connection.

Vic Gundotra, Google's vice president of engineering, showed off at the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona what he called a "technical concept" of Gmail even when the iPhone was offline. In January, Google released an offline version of Gmail for desktops and laptops, and like it, the mobile phone incarnation runs in a Web browser, not as a native application.

The software let Gundotra browse and read e-mail even after he switched the phone into airplane mode, which shuts off the wireless network. To watch a demonstration, check the demo video on iPhone Buzz.

Offline applications can't of course retrieve new data from the network, but they do synchronize when network access is restored. Meanwhile, e-mail is stored in a local database on the phone, even when online.

"You'll note that it's very, very fast because it's using that local database," Gundotra said. The application also showed a floating toolbar that was visible even as he scrolled through his in-box.

There's not lot of news from the third day of GSMA Mobile World Congress, but we did get more in-depth looks at some of the week's earlier announcements, plus a peek at a few interesting niche handsets.

Kent German and Bonnie Cha have been busy with brief, hands-on first takes of phones like the Sony Ericsson Idou, the Sony Ericsson W995, the Samsung BeatDJ, the Samsung UltraTouch, the Samsung Omnia HD, the HTC Touch Diamond 2 and HTC Touch Pro 2, and the LG Arena and LG GM-730.

Yes, this is a Hello Kitty cell phone.

(Credit: Darius Chang/CNET Asia)

Our colleague from CNET Asia, Darius Chang, showed us a unique, modular NTT Docomo phone from Japan, fashion phones from Porsche and Hello Kitty, solar-powered Samsung accessories, and a few PDA-phones from I-mate. To go along with the solar-powered theme, Kent also told us of a new solar-powered phone from ZTE. Also, Verizon is once again leading the data-speed pack by saying it expects a 4G launch by later this year.

We also have a slew of First Look videos from Barcelona, so keep an eye out on our GSMA 2009 feature page for all of those and more.

I'm sure I'm just setting myself up for disappointment one of these days, but I've come to expect big things from HTC at trade shows, whether it be CTIA or Mobile World Congress. The company has consistently delivered some of the hottest product announcements at these events, so can you blame a girl for thinking such thoughts?

Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 (well, maybe a little, but I'll get to that in a bit) as HTC debuted several new handsets. The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer kicked off the show by debuting the HTC Touch Diamond2 and the HTC Touch Pro2, which replace the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.

HTC Magic

(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET Networks)

I stopped by HTC's booth on Wednesday to have a look at both smartphones, and I was impressed with the design improvements and enhanced technologies. The Touch Diamond2 probably wowed me more than the Pro2 because of its extremely thin and solid design. The device doesn't feel as plasticky with its brushed metal face and sides. Also, I can't tell if it's the sleeker design, but the screen pops out that much more and grabs your attention.

HTC has also worked on the user interface, providing a new Start screen where you can easily access your applications. It's also customizable and features more user-friendly icons. The touch-sensitive toolbar is a cool little feature. I didn't think it'd make that much of a difference but it definitely makes it easier to zoom in and out on Web pages and e-mails.

The Touch Pro2 is a monster, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. It's bigger than the Touch Pro (4.5 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick versus 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.7 inch thick) but again solidly built. The navigation buttons along the bottom are smaller than I like, but that's a relatively minor complaint.