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(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)We're all slowly making our way back to the States and back to our regular schedules now that the Mobile World Congress show has come to an end, but before we completely close the door on GSMA 2009, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what was (and wasn't) revealed at the show. After all, MWC often lays the groundwork for what we'll see in mobile space in the upcoming year.
For all intents and purposes, Microsoft provided the most news at MWC, as the company previewed the latest version of its mobile operating system and its partners unveiled upcoming devices. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was in Barcelona to deliver a keynote address on opening day, during which he showed off Windows Mobile 6.5. He also participated in a panel about openness and innovation in the mobile market.
The big news: Windows Mobile 6.5.
(Credit: Microsoft)The revamped OS brings a handful of enhancements, such as an application store, a back-up and restore service, and an improved mobile Web browser. While welcome additions, it didn't particularly move the mark on innovation and, even worse, Windows Mobile 6.5 won't be released till the second half of 2009 and by then, who knows what Microsoft's competitors will have done.
Still, we were pretty excited about some of the upcoming devices that are set to run Windows Mobile 6.5. First, LG revealed the LG-GM730 and went one step further by committing to making Windows Mobile the primary operating system for its smartphones--a promise that would increase the number of Windows phones available in 2009 tenfold.
Acer also announced its entry into the smartphone space and held a press conference to reveal not one, but eight devices to debut in 2009 (with more to be announced in Q4), all running Windows Mobile. Despite joining the Open Handset Alliance, Garmin-Asus took the wraps off its second Nuvifone model, the M20, which will run Windows Mobile (and we finally got a chance to check out the Nuvifone G60). Meanwhile, longtime Windows Mobile partner HTC introduced its next-generation devices, the HTC Touch Pro2 and the HTC Touch Diamond2. The two smartphones will actually run Windows Mobile 6.1 when they ship during Q2, but the company said they will be upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5.
HTC also made another announcement that stole some of the spotlight away from Microsoft. The company, along with European carrier Vodafone, debuted the Android-powered HTC Magic on the second day of the show. It's the first Android device for Vodafone. HTC plans to bring the smartphone to market by spring. The HTC Magic features a 3.2-inch HVGA touch screen and trackball navigator, but doesn't have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard like the T-Mobile G1. The quad-band smartphone will offer support for Google's various applications as well as access to the Android Market, and includes a Webkit browser, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz), and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
The HTC Magic is the first Android phone for Vodafone.
(Credit: Andrew Lim/CNET UK)CNET U.K.'s Andrew Lim got a good hands-on look at the Magic at the show, and we also got a peek at it while visiting the HTC booth. While giving us a demo, the company representative was very clear to say that the Magic was not the T-Mobile G2, which brings up our next point. As much as the Magic was news, the general lack of Google Android announcements was also news in itself. Sure, Huawei said it plans to launch Android handsets later this year, but it's doubtful we'll see those in the States. Plus, we didn't see the T-Mobile G2. Samsung delayed its Android phones until the second half of the year. All in all, a disappointment for Android fans.
Per its usual fashion, Sony Ericsson kicked off the GSMA World Congress by holding a standing-room only (that's a hint, Sony Ericsson, to give us chairs next time) event the night before the show began. The Idou quickly emerged as one of the most talked-about devices in Barcelona. Though still a concept phone, the Idou's expansive display, attractive interface, and multimedia-heavy features look promising. Sony Ericsson will officially launch the device later this year, at which point it'll change the name, so we'll be watching. The company also unveiled a new Walkman phone, the W995, which, to our surprise, has a 3.5mm headset jack and a nifty kickstand. Also at Sony Ericsson, we had the chance to check out the C903 Cyber-shot and W395 Walkman, which Sony Ericsson launched the week before GSMA began.
In addition, Samsung unveiled four media-friendly devices of its own. The Samsung Omnia HD and Ultra Touch focus on video, while the Beat DJ and Beat Disc major in music. All of the phones offer touch screens, but the Omnia HD and Beat DJ stand out for their unique interfaces and designs. Samsung revealed a release date and pricing for T-Mobile's Samsung Memoir and showed, albeit rather carefully, its Solar-powered Blue earth phone. We could look, but not touch.
The Nokia N86 sports an 8-megapixel camera.
(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET Networks)Nokia didn't make too much of a splash, despite having one of the biggest and most crowded booths on the show floor. The Finnish company took the wraps off the new E75 and the E55. Though both are smartphones, only the E75 offers a full keyboard. Its slider design is appealing and the feature set is functional. The E55 is a bit trimmed down and it offers just a SureType-esque keyboard. Nokia also sneaked in the 8-megapixel camera-toting Nokia N86 on the second day. The Nokia 5630 Xpress Music sat next to the E55 and E75 in Nokia's booth, so we checked it out as well.
Meanwhile, Moto was almost a no-show at GSMA. It had a bright booth in a prime location, but it offered only phones we've seen before, like the bling-worthy Aura. ZTE stepped in with its own solar-powered phone, the Coral-200-Solar, and LG offered the conversation piece GD900, which offers a never-before-seen (at least to us) transparent keypad.
Overall, we'd have to say Mobile World Congress 2009 was a quieter show than last year's, but obviously, it was still chock full of news. You can catch up on all the show's news, photos, and videos in our full coverage of GSMA 2009. And don't forget, the CTIA 2009 spring show is just around the corner (April 1-3) where there will be more North America-specific news, and once again, we'll make the trek to Las Vegas to bring you all the details.
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.
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.
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LG Arena
(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET Networks)LG had a rather action-packed Mobile World Congress, making several product announcements including the high-end LG Arena multimedia phone and choosing Windows Mobile as the primary operating system for its smartphones. As a result, the company's booth was buzzing with a steady stream of visitors, and we stopped by ourselves to take a look at some of the company's offerings.
The one thing I came away with is that LG loves its touch screens. Everywhere I turned, there was a touch screen staring back at me. Not that I'm complaining, but it got to the point where the phones were almost indiscernible to me. It would have been nice to see a little variation in LG's design.
The biggest crowd pleaser was, not surprisingly, the LG Arena. It was a battle to get some hands-on time with the phone, and I can understand why. The Arena's S-Class 3D user interface makes quite impression. The cube layout and Elastic Lists and Reel Scrolling make it quite fun to use the phone, and certainly takes full advantage of the touch-screen capabilities. To be honest, though, I'm still on fence about whether the user interface is really helpful or all style and no substance. I mean I can see some advantages of the UI (the Reel Scrolling feature really comes in handy for going through photos and other files), but does it make phone navigation that much easier? I have yet to see it.
To be fair, I only had a few minutes with the device so I reserve the right to change my mind when we actually get to review the phone. Featurewise, the LG Arena is impressive with a 5-megapixel camera, 8GB of internal memory, Wi-Fi, 3G support, and more. Let's just hope it makes it way to the States.
The LG-GM730 smartphone was also at the booth, but unfortunately, it seemed as if all of the display models were frozen or not fully functioning, so I didn't really get a good feel for it. Still, I'm happy to see that the company is committed to developing more smartphones, though I know there are certainly some strong feelings about the choice of Windows Mobile as the chief operating system.
To get a closer look at these handsets and LG's other products, check out our hands-on photo gallery.
HTC Magic
(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CBS Interactive)Another day at GSMA winds to a close, and even though there aren't as many new devices, we did get a few important announcements.
The most exciting announcement of the day was probably about the HTC Magic, Vodafone's Android-based smartphone. It doesn't have the slide-out QWERTY keyboard of the T-Mobile G1, but it does look quite sleek. Speaking of Vodafone, we also read news of a GSM Palm Pre that may be slated for Vodafone in the near future, but unfortunately Palm's lips are sealed.
As for other manufacturers, LG announced another handset, dubbed the LG GD900, which the company says is the world's first transparent design phone. To go along with that is the LG HBM-M580 Bluetooth headset, which is just as clear and transparent. Motorola on the other hand, has almost no presence at GSMA save for the Z6w, the W161, and the W181.
Nokia N86
(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CBS Interactive)We also have hands-on slide shows of the Toshiba TG01, the Nokia N86, the Sony Ericsson C903 and W395, and the HTC Magic.
Other news from Day 2 includes Skype on Nokia phones, universal cell phone chargers (finally!), how everyone at MWC is pondering the Apple iPhone, and more.
For even more news, slide shows, and video, check out our GSMA 2009 feature page.
The Acer event at Casa Batllo.
(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET Networks)Weeks prior to the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 here in Barcelona, there were plenty of rumors as to what Acer would reveal at its scheduled Monday press conference. We knew they'd be smartphones but there were varying opinions as to how many and what type. Well, all the speculation can stop now as the company finally took the wraps off the devices on Monday night.
Speaking at Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo, several Acer executives, including CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci, announced that the company would bring more than 10 smartphones to market in 2009 and showed off 8 devices at the event.
Acer, which is more known for its Netbooks and notebooks, said it felt the move to smartphones was a logical one. "The smartphone market is the natural direction of our long-term mobile strategy as our ambition is to offer compelling solutions to all the needs of mobile users," Lanci said.
Collectively known as the Acer Tempo smartphone series, the handsets all run Windows Mobile--the company did say there are plans for other operating systems but did not specify which ones. The Tempo series offers a broad range of devices, from the high end to the low end, and aims to reach a diverse customer base. To give you a sampling of the line, here is a breakdown of the first four devices that will come to market in March and April.
Acer M900
(Credit: Acer)Acer M900: The M900 is designed for business users and comes with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard for your messaging needs. It will run Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition and has a 3.8-inch WVGA touch screen and an embedded fingerprint scanner for security. The smartphone also includes GPS, HSDPA support, and a 5-megapixel camera.
Acer F900: Like the M900, the Acer F900 boasts a 3.8-inch WVGA touch screen but lacks a physical keyboard. The device is optimized for Web browsing and comes with Internet Explorer Mobile 6 with support for JavaScript and Adobe Flash Lite. Other highlights include a widget-based home screen, GPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
Acer X960: The X960 is a little more consumer-centric, combining the typical Windows Mobile smartphone features into a more cell phone-like form factor. The touch-screen phone also has a widget-based Today screen so users can have quick access to all their important information. Acer also touts the X960 as a convenient little navigation device with its built-in GPS capabilities.
Acer DX900: The DX900 is the world's first dual SIM smartphone so you can have two numbers associated with the device. Acer offered it as a solution for those who wanted to keep separate different numbers for their work and personal lives--or for globetrotters.
Other models Acer plans to release in the second half of 2009 include the Acer L1 and the Acer C1, which are entry-level devices for those making the jump from a regular cell phone to their first smartphone. These two will also be affordably priced, with the company expecting them to go for 49 euros (around $62) or less after carrier subsidies.
Acer said it is talking with service providers and will make carrier announcements in the coming months. However, the company spoke very generally about market releases and did not specifically mention the United States. Acer did say that it plans on announcing more smartphones in Q4, so this isn't the last we've heard from them.
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.
(Credit:
LG)
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 favorite applications. To rotate between the screens, you simply flick your finger on the screen similar to HTC's TouchFlo interface.
In addition, there are a couple of other UI tricks. First, LG offers something called Elastic Lists, where you can touch any cataloged or listed item, like a contact, and the Arena will blow up that item so you can view and edit more information right on the spot, rather than having to open up another screen. The other feature is called Reel Scrolling. It places menu items on a film-like reel and you can then just drag your finger across it until you get your desired point.
Turning our attention back to the LG Arena specifically, the cell phone is all about multimedia. It's the first handset to use Dolby Mobile technology to enhance the sound quality of music and video, no matter what format. The Arena also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, equalizer settings, and a built-in FM transmitter so you can wirelessly stream your music from your device to your car or home stereo.
With a 3-inch, WVGA touch screen, photos and videos also take center stage. The LG Arena can play DivX or Xvid movies and is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with video recording. The Arena has 8GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 40GB with the microSD expansion slot. Other highlights include Wi-Fi, 3G support, and a rated battery life of up to 30 hours of MP3 playback and up to 12.5 days of standby time.
The LG Arena will initially be available in Europe starting in March and then make its way to other parts of the world. North America was not specifically mentioned--blast! I did stop by LG's booth on Monday to check out the Arena as well as the company's other phones. When I was finally able to make my through the throng of people, I was quite impressed with the S-Class UI. Check back soon for my hands-on photo gallery and have a look for yourself.
First up: the LG-GM730.
(Credit: LG)LG Electronics made a number of announcements at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009, one of which was its alliance with Microsoft to make Windows Mobile the primary operating system for the company's smartphones. As part of the agreement, LG said it would create a tenfold increase of Windows Mobile devices in 2009, and it got things started with the introduction of the LG-GM730.
LG expects to ship the GM730 during the first half of 2009, so unfortunately, it will run Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition. But the company said it would release a Windows Mobile 6.5 version in the second half of the year.
What you do get right away is LG's new S-Class 3D user interface. S-Class features a cube layout with four customizable home screens that you can rotate through with the flick of your finger. It slightly reminded us of HTC's TouchFlo interface on the original HTC Touch, but much, much cooler.
Unfortunately, we don't know much else about the smartphone. We do know that the smartphone will have Internet Explorer Mobile 6.0 and is 0.46-inch thick. LG plans to announce more specs soon and hopefully some news about a North American release. Wishful thinking?
HTC Touch Pro 2
(Credit: HTC)It's pretty safe to say that GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 isn't lacking in action or excitement. Already, a number of handset manufacturers have revealed details of upcoming product launches, including Sony Ericsson and Garmin-Asus, and now you can add HTC to the mix.
With the show officially underway, HTC added two new models to its Touch series of smartphones: the HTC Touch Diamond2 and the HTC Touch Pro2. While the names lack imagination, the handsets get some spiffy makeovers and incorporate new features that bring a "people-centric approach to mobile communication."
The two smartphones share some features between them, including the new single-view contact integration. This brings your complete conversation history, whether it be text, voice, or e-mail, onto a single contact card and can also be viewed on the in-call screen. In addition, the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 are the first devices to employ HTC's new Push Internet Technology to help speed up downloads and rendering of Web pages on your smartphone. Finally, both devices use HTC's latest TouchFlo 3D interface, which brings more relevant information to the forefront and includes enlarged touch focus areas to make them more touch-finger friendly.
HTC Touch Diamond 2
(Credit: HTC)Now, the differences. Obviously, form factor is one thing. The Touch Diamond2 is the next evolution of the HTC Touch Diamond, sporting a thinner design (4.25 inches high by 2.09 inches wide by 0.54 inch thick) and larger 3.2-inch, VGA touch screen with a gravity sensor. There's a new touch-sensitive zoom bar that makes it easier and faster to zoom in on Web pages, e-mails, text messages, photos, and documents.
The Windows Mobile 6.1 device claims to have 50 percent better battery life and also includes a 5-megapixel camera, 512 MB ROM/288 MB RAM with expandable memory, and a 528MHz processor.
Moving onto the HTC Touch Pro2, the HTC Touch Pro is still very much a business-centric smartphone and adds HTC's Straight Talk technology, which claims to improve the speakerphone quality using asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression with full duplex acoustics. The speakerphone will also automatically activate when you turn the phone over and place it facedown on a flat service.
Like the Diamond2, the Touch Pro2 gets a boost in screen size. The smartphone is equipped with a 3.6-inch WVGA (480x800) touch screen with a proximity sensor and the aforementioned zoom bar. It also boasts a sleeker design and keeps the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard for all the messaging nuts.
As far as availability, the HTC Touch Diamond2 is expected to ship in Europe and Asia during Q2 of 2009, while it will reach the rest of the world (read: the United States) later this year. The HTC Touch Pro2 is slated to ship worldwide this summer, but pricing for both phones was not revealed at this time.
BARCELONA--Intel announced here Monday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress that LG Electronics will use its latest generation technology to build a new class of device called mobile Internet devices, or MIDs.
Specifically, Intel and LG will work together to build these new devices using a processor that Intel has code-named Moorestown. The devices will also use a version of the Linux open-source operating system called Moblin. The LG device is expected to be one of the first Moorestown designs to market. And Intel has said that devices using the new Moorestown chips will hit the market by 2010.
Intel and LG have already been working closely together on other products. In the fourth quarter last year, LG launched a Netbook using Intel's Atom processor. And LG also ships full-fledged notebooks using Intel's Core processor.
Now, the companies are working on a new class of product that are mini-computers that can also be used to make phone calls using a wireless Internet connection. Intel sees the category of product as something that is somewhere between a smartphone, like the Apple iPhone, and a Netbook, a scaled-down version of a notebook computer.
As the global economy continues to deteriorate, Intel, like many other large companies, is looking for growth markets. The company's bread-and-butter PC processor business is suffering as people stop buying desktop computers.
Intel sees mobile devices, and specifically the MID market, as an important area for growth. While the overall cell phone market was down about 12.6 percent worldwide in the fourth quarter, according to IDC, smartphones were actually up about 22.5 percent.
To date, Intel hasn't really played in this growing market. Instead, other players, such as ARM, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments, have divvied up considerable market share in the cell phone market.
But Intel wants a piece of the pie. So the company has been pushing this new category of device. Intel argues that consumers need a device that's more powerful than a smartphone but not as bulky as a Netbook or laptop. The idea is that consumers who buy a MID could use it to watch high-definition video, make phone calls using the Internet, or download information from the Web while on the go.
Not surprisingly, Intel's vision of a MID is exactly why many people want to buy a smartphone like the iPhone. And this is essentially the conundrum that Intel faces. It has to convince consumers that they need to spend a few hundred dollars or more on an additional device.
But since this mobile device will also require wireless Internet access, Intel is also tacitly asking consumers to sign up for yet another wireless service plan. Of course, these devices will likely have Wi-Fi, but Wi-Fi isn't everywhere. And if someone wants a device with ubiquitous coverage, he'll have to pony-up an extra fee for a service plan.
So far, wireless operators have done a poor job of providing people with a single subscription for multiple devices. Some carriers allow certain smartphone devices to be used as modems for laptops that essentially share the same data service. But some devices, like the Apple iPhone, can't be used in this way, which means that consumers who want wireless 3G Internet access on their laptop and on their phone have to subscribe to separate services.
Data service for laptops and Netbooks service generally costs about $60 a month. Meanwhile, carriers are also charging smartphone users an additional $30 a month on their bill for unlimited Internet access. All told, a single consumer could have to come up with about $90 a month just for mobile Internet access on two devices. Compare this with the $30 a month that DSL broadband subscribers pay, which allows them to connect multiple devices at much higher speeds to the Internet.
Most likely when these MIDs rollout, mobile operators will have a more affordable plan in place. Operators, such as AT&T and Sprint Nextel have already expressed interest in rethinking data plans to accommodate more devices that will access the Internet wirelessly. But one thing is certain. An expensive data plan could hurt MIDs before they even get out of the gate.
