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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.

Yahoo Mobile

(Credit: Yahoo Mobile)

At the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, Yahoo announced a revamping and reorganization of its mobile offerings.

Beginning at the end of March, the company plans to roll out a new test version of its mobile Web start page, along with new smartphone applications that consolidate several of Yahoo's mobile services into one application.

Applications for Apple's iPhone and other smartphones will let users search the Web, and keep an eye on Web mail accounts and widgetized data. The iPhone application, which is slated to be available in late March, will roll up Yahoo's OneSearch and OnePlace services on top of the previously available OneConnect.

Smartphone users get the added benefit of voice-powered search and an integrated Opera Mini browser in a new application that will be out at the end of May.

The move is a big step forward for Yahoo, which over the past few years has segmented its mobile users with a flurry of applications that accomplished various tasks with little or no crossover. For instance, the company put out an iPhone version of OneConnect, but no other mobile services were offered for the device.

Likewise, on smartphones, users would have to install multiple applications to access all the available services. The version coming in March simply puts them all in one container.

One platform that was left off the list is Google's Android. According to SearchEngineLand, which got in touch with Yahoo about its absence, there is indeed an Android application on the way, but it will be released "later" this year, presumably after the smartphone version.

Windows Mobile 6.5

(Credit: Microsoft)

On Monday, Microsoft officially unveiled the latest version of its mobile operating system at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer previewed Windows Mobile 6.5 during his keynote address, and as expected, the updated OS brings a handful of enhancements, including an application store, a backup and restore service, and an improved mobile Web browser. Here's a full rundown of the new features:

My Phone service
My Phone is a free service that allows you to back up your phone's information to a password-protected Web service. It offers automatic synching and backup so you can store your contacts, appointments, text messages, and other information to the service and then easily restore the information to your device if you happen to lose it or upgrade to a new smartphone.

In addition, My Phone lets you automatically upload photos and videos straight from your phone to the service. Currently, My Phone is only available as an invitation-only beta.

Windows Marketplace for Mobile
Windows Marketplace for Mobile will operate as the central hub for searching, browsing, and purchasing mobile applications for your smartphone. It comes preloaded on all Windows Mobile 6.5 devices where you'll be able to download applications over the air or from your PC simply by entering your Windows Live ID. Developers who have already created programs for Windows Mobile will be able to offer their products through the marketplace after a security and compatibility check from Microsoft.

Internet Explorer Mobile
With Windows Mobile 6.5, you'll get more features from Internet Explorer Mobile. Built on the Internet Explorer 6 engine, the mobile browser will support Flash and JavaScript and includes new tools for better page navigation, such as zoom in/out sliding scale and a breadcrumb feature that shows you where you are on a Web page. In addition, Microsoft added that the browser allows for more transactions (e.g., checking flights, buying movie tickets) than any other mobile browser.

Added more details 2/12/09 at 10:15 AM PT.

(Credit: LogMeIn)

Few see Google Android in its current state as a serious platform for business users. Like the iPhone, it launched without support for the Microsoft Exchange, so there's no native support for syncing to your Outlook calendar and contacts. Android also lacked a lot of native productivity tools to edit online and attached documents, a key collaboration requirement.

Yet this week, LogMeIn announced a version of its remote maintenance software for corporate IT teams and carriers that can support the Android platform. LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile downloads a small application on the employee's company phone. If the phone breaks or otherwise misbehaves, administrators in the office can attempt to diagnose and repair the software while the employee is on the road.

We've seen LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile demoed on a Symbian phone and it looked pretty useful for companies with a sizable mobile workforce. While the product makes a lot of sense for companies handing out corporate BlackBerry, Symbian, or Windows Mobile smartphones, we would have developed for the Palm (in anticipation of the forthcoming Palm Pre) or iPhone first, and would have waited for Android to pick up functionality and traction, not to mention some real corporate street cred.

Of course, stories are creeping up about new Android-run devices in the works. Or maybe LogMeIn is banking on Google fine-tuning Android into the kind of secure, tool-laden device that can steal business users away from BlackBerry and the rest.

Either way, it may be that the majority of LogMeIn's Android beneficiaries won't have their corporate IT administrators at all. Carriers, too, could purchase LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile to help subscribers fix their phones remotely.

Related software
LogMeIn (Windows | Mac)
LogMeIn Free (Windows)

Updated 2/11/09 at 6:50 P.M. PT to add more context to the licensing debate and to correct Amnon Sarig's title.

(Credit: TuneWiki)

Back in October, we took a look at close look at TuneWiki, a media enhancement application for Google Android that scrolls through a song's lyrics as you play a song or YouTube music video. The company announced this week an update to its free Android application that will let you also stream Internet radio on your phone. The update, which will be submitted to the Android Market this Saturday, will give streaming songs TuneWiki's lyrical capabilities, as well as its social networking enhancements. As a moral perk, many of the lyrics will be legally licensed. We'll lay out the program's highs and lows, general availability, and some legal particulars.

We mostly liked TuneWiki when it first came out--certainly the idea of it, and in general the application's performance. It is also the first application of this type that I've seen for mobile phones. (The free-to-try application MiniLyrics has been around for a while on the desktop.) TuneWiki wasn't always as stable as we'd have liked, and syncing wasn't always on-point. We looked forward to the media application's next steps. Lyrics precision and a few stability issues were still present in our preview version of TuneWiki; hopefully the latter will be addressed by the time TuneWiki 1.0 reaches the Android Market.

Streaming Internet radio
Providing Internet lyrics, and legal ones at that, are the two biggest points of interest in this update. First let's tackle the streaming Internet feature. Like Pandora, Last.FM, and Slacker Radio, TuneWiki's Internet radio feature (designated by a microphone icon on the application's navigation menu) lets you choose stations by genre and popularity, and save favorite stations. In addition, TuneWiki can display a music map showing you where else the song is playing at that moment, and can stream lyrics that users have uploaded into TuneWiki's database from its Web site--the 'wiki' element of TuneWiki's service.

TuneWiki's streaming lyrics component only works for some stations, and then the lyrics are only as good as the user-generated database itself. If you're lucky enough to get a station compatible with TuneWiki's lyrics software, making them sync with the streaming song is your next challenge.

TuneWiki tasks you with finding your place and then tapping on it, after which the software takes over and highlights the lines for you. This TuneWiki did, but on a song with a quick tempo, the feature didn't kick in until two more lines had played. This is by far the application's biggest drawback. In addition, artist credits were only present on stations that could stream TuneWiki's lyrics. For many stations, we were left in the dark.

Of legalities and lyrics
In addition to streaming Internet radio, TuneWiki is announcing a partnership with a major music publishers association that grants TuneWiki the rights to stream lyrics for almost 2 million songs. Music law is complicated stuff, but as TuneWiki's President, Amnon Sarig, explains it, the licenses let TuneWiki legitimately give the green light to many user-submitted lyrics. Those that fall outside the licensing scope are protected under the 'safe harbor' provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (Wikipedia). TuneWiki isn't breaking any laws--for now--by streaming any unlicensed lyrics its users upload, unless the rights-owner asks for a take-down. (Sarig told CNET in an interview that his company complies with publishers' requests to block song lyrics.) This is interesting stuff, especially in light of Warner Music Group's lawsuit against Seeqpod for its role in corralling copyrighted MP3s for users to play. Perhaps TuneWiki's show of good faith and latest licensing gains will shield it from similar lawsuits.

Availability
TuneWiki plans to submit the free version 1.0 of its lyrics application to Google's Android Market. By March or April, the company expects to release TuneWiki for BlackBerry, J2ME, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. These versions are currently being tested in a closed beta program. It is also possible to download TuneWiki onto jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches, though there is currently no listing in the iTunes App Store.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

In just a couple of days, a few of us lucky CNET folk, including myself, Kent German, CNET News's Maggie Reardon, and CNET TV's Ariel Nunez, will be boarding a jet plane to head to Barcelona, Spain, for the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) show.

This is where the cell phone industry converges every year to discuss and showcase the latest GSM technologies and developments, and over the years, it's become the place where handset manufacturers reveal their new models for the year.

Just take the 2008 show for example. GSMA is where we saw the debut of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, Samsung Soul, and the Nokia N96, just to name a few. We also got a look at the first Google Android prototype.

It looks like 2009 is going to be an even bigger year. News has already been flowing in, weeks before the official start of the show. Garmin-Asus announced a strategic alliance and said they will unveil a second Nuvifone at MWC. Samsung previewed its new TouchWiz user interface, and we suspect we'll see some new devices rocking the fresh UI. Sony Ericsson also introduced a couple of handsets preshow, and we don't think that'll be the last we hear from them. In fact, the company has a press conference scheduled on February 15.

Other events include a press conference by Acer on February 16 where the company will unveil its new smartphone as well as press conferences from Nokia, HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Microsoft. Palm will be at the show, though we haven't heard a whole lot about what they will have--perhaps a GSM version of the Palm Pre?

We also expect to see some new Google Android devices, especially since a number of handset manufacturers, such as Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and Garmin, have committed to bringing an Android phone to market this year.

As you can see, it's shaping up to be quite an exciting show. The 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress event runs February 16 to February 19, and we'll all be there early to report back on all the sights and sounds. You can also follow me on Twitter for show highlights and any Barcelona adventures. Hopefully, nothing like last year though.

Now that I've give you our take, let me ask you: What do you expect or want to see at MWC?

(Credit: CNET)

For Senior Editors Bonnie Cha and Kent German, Future Apps' new language program for the iPhone and iPod Touch may be just the thing to get them around Barcelona next week as they attend the GSMA Mobile World Congress in that famed Spanish city.

iSpeak is a set of translation apps that can convert words and sentences from English to another language, or vice versa. You type your phrase into the app, which quickly translates your text. If you're not sure how to pronounce the phrase, pressing a button triggers the app to speak the words aloud. iSpeak got our basic Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish test phrases pretty closely, though it didn't manage to pronounce the read-out as Catalonians would (though, to be fair, Catalan is not the same language as Spanish).

We wish we could speak phrases into the app rather than type them, because that would save time as well as joint use. Of course, voice recognition is a different technology, and one that adds layers of complexity if multiple dialects are involved. Still, as long as we're drawing up a wish list, voice input is at the top.

The application's extra features are modest, and include two sliders to control the volume and speed of the voice that utters your translation. You'll also be able to save a translation or e-mail a particularly useful one to a friend. iSpeak stores a list of the translations you saved, and can helpfully switch the direction of translation, from Polish to English and back again, for instance, by pressing a toggle button.

iSpeak costs $2 for each of its separate nine translators of Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, and Swedish. The heavy focus on European languages is likely attributed to Acapela Group, which is a European voice company that provided the "speak" element of the iSpeak app. Acapela says in a press release that new languages are part of the company's plan.

Here's another item for our iSpeak wish list: an all-in-one version of the translation app that lets frequent international travelers translate from English to any language in iSpeak's greater lexicon, not just from English to one other language. The next step after that, of course, is to let non-English travelers translate among iSpeak's language directories, for example translating from French to Swedish. For now, though, iSpeak for iPhone is a good, basic translator that can also coach you in how to pronounce words and phrases. For a more intensive travel language guide that also includes voice playback, try these other travel apps.

(Credit: Samsung)

We're still one week away from the official start of GSMA Mobile World Congress, but Samsung's getting the party started early by introducing its revamped TouchWiz user interface.

Making the announcement in Korea on Monday, the company revealed that it will show off its updated TouchWiz UI in Barcelona, highlighting new features like flashy 3D effects, new gesture controls, better integration of photos and contacts, and more haptic feedback.

There will also be a new widget dock from which you can manage and download widgets for your home screen. This is something we're particularly excited to hear, since the limited number of widgets was one of our main complaints about TouchWiz when we first saw it on the Samsung Omnia.

If you already own an Omnia, don't worry; it looks like you will be able to update your smartphone with the new UI. We'll be getting a better look at the new TouchWiz when we get to Mobile World Congress, so be sure to check back for our full coverage when the show starts on February 16.

(Source: I4U via Engagdet Mobile)

Adios, Barcelona.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

It's Valentine's Day and the GSMA World Congress is coming to a close. It's been a busy few days for the CNET team. Bonnie Cha and I journeyed from San Francisco with CNET TV's Ariel Nunez, CNET UK's Andrew Lim flew in from London, and John Chan of CNET Asia came all the way from Singapore. As one of the biggest mobile shows on the planet with more than 55,000 attendees, GSMA produced a lot of interesting news, from new smartphones to the first prototypes of the Android platform. Barcelona was a good host, which is impressive considering just how the show took over the town. So as we pack our bags and escape for a few days of rest, we're proud to bring you the highlights of the show. And be sure to check out our full GSMA coverage and watch the GSMA videos.

Sony Ericsson W980

(Credit: Sony Ericsson)

Handset news dominated the show, of course. Sony Ericsson and Nokia battled it out for the most high-profile announcements. Sony Ericsson unveiled a new Walkman phone, the W980, two new Cyber-shot models, the C702 and C902, and it introduced its new G-series line with the G700 and G900. The latter two models are especially noteworthy as they make interesting use of their touch screens. And last but not least, Sony Ericsson showed off the Z770, which is a super slim flip phone with an emphasis on Web browsing.

Meanwhile, Nokia wasn't any slouch, either. It rolled out the Nokia 6220, which brings a 5-megapixel camera to a midrange phone. And speaking of touch screens, LG showed off the LG KF600 and the LG KF700. Both offer lots of touchy-feely action, and the KF600 is the GSM version of the LG Venus.

The Samsung Soul is eye-catching.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

Samsung wasn't a wallflower, however. The company did its best to make its new Soul (SGH-U900) the talk of the show (posters advertising the phone were all over town). The Soul also has a navigation touchpad that takes a cue from the Motorola Rokr E8. As you move through different functions, the icons on the touchpad change. Samsung also introduce the SGH-F400, SGH-F490, and F480, and also the SGH-G810 and SGH-P960. On the other hand, Motorola had a quiet show. It only introduced a new Wi-Fi phone, the Motorola Z6w, and two entry-level phones, the W161 and W181. It was certainly a change from CES last month where Moto dominated the mobile in Las Vegas with the Rokr E8 introduction.

We also got the chance to check out some carrier and service news. T-Mobile dropped that the carrier would switch on its 3G network in the United States by this summer. Also, by the end of the year, T-Mobile said it would bring the Apple iPhone to Austria and that one of its markets would get an Android cell phone. Speaking of Android, we took a test drive at the ARM booth. Though it doesn't look like much yet, it is taking shape. The LiMo Foundation is another open-source alliance from mobile phones. It showed off its first supported handsets. Another interesting stop was Modu, which is a company that's produced an intriguing modular phone.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

(Credit: Sony Ericsson)

GSMA 2008 saw plenty of smartphone action. Nokia released two new additions to its N series of multimedia computers: the geotagging Nokia N78 and, to everyone's delight, the Nokia N96, which now comes with 16GB of internal memory and a revamped design. Sony Ericsson stole some of the spotlight when the company revealed that it will start developing Windows Mobile smartphone and debuted the first such device, the Sony Ericsson EXPERIA X1. If you had to judge by the number of people swarming around the X1 at the Sony Ericsson booth, there's plenty of interest in this phone. Speaking of Windows Mobile, Microsoft announced that it will acquire Danger Inc., the manufacturer of the Sidekick handhelds, and made available MSN Direct services on Windows Mobile phones. And last but not least, HTC came out with a couple of new devices: an updated HTC Advantage X7501 and the GPS-enabled HTC P3470.

GPS was also big at the GSMA Mobile World Congress. We saw a number of handsets with integrated GPS at the show, including a number of the previously mentioned smartphones and the Symbian-based LG KT610. In addition, Nokia released a beta version of its mobile mapping and navigation application. Nokia Maps 2.0 adds even more navigation capabilities with a pedestrian mode and multimedia city guides. Finally, we got a hands-on look (sort of, anyway) at the Garmin Nuvifone with full video for your viewing pleasure.