mwc

Sorry, LTE compatibility in the U.S. still years away

BARCELONA, Spain--Here's the good news: the U.S. wireless industry is working to ensure that you'll eventually be able to take your LTE-enabled phone from one carrier to another and get the same experience.

The bad news: it likely won't happen for a few years.

That's according to T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray, who spoke to CNET in an interview at Mobile World Congress. Ray says the industry is keen on phones that can operate on different carriers, but that there remain a lot of complexities.

The advent of 4G LTE technology was supposed to … Read more

Touchless touch screen gives you control without contact (video)

BARCELONA, Spain--One of the more jaw-dropping tech demos on view at this year's Mobile World Congress, new touch-screen technology from chipmaker STMicroelectronics lets you control your smartphone or tablet without actually touching the display.

Using it, you can swipe, drag, and prod at your touch-screen device, replacing the fear of fingerprints with the feeling of controlling a spaceship's navigation system.

There's nothing special about the touch screen itself, but rather about the controller chip that manages the panel. Rather than monitoring contact with the screen, the chip observes the electrical field that the tablet's touch screen … Read more

LG's 4K phone upscaling squeezes Ultra HD from your mobile, wirelessly (video)

BARCELONA, Spain--LG is showing off a new system that transforms your smartphone into a 4K media hub.

The South Korean company is calling the new platform the "world's first wireless Ultra HD transmission technology." If you've got a game or video playing on your mobile in HD, the new platform will upscale the feed to a 4K resolution, before beaming it out wirelessly to another device.

In this situation that second device was an LG 4K television, acting as a simple monitor for the 4K feed that the phone was pumping out.

At Mobile World Congress, … Read more

Qualcomm: We will solve 4G roaming problem this year

BARCELONA, Spain--The second half of this year will see phones in the shops that can work on 4G LTE networks in both Europe and the U.S., according to Roberto Di Pietro, a VP at Qualcomm in Europe.

That has the potential to solve a major problem with today's 4G phones -- although you can normally get a data connection in another country when you travel, it's 3G rather than 4G, as the phones bought in one country usually aren't compatible with the 4G frequencies used in the country you're traveling to.

Speaking to me at … Read more

Google exec: There's a wall between Nexus, Motorola

BARCELONA, Spain--Google considers its own Motorola Mobility unit the same as HTC or Samsung Electronics when it comes to their relationship.

"It's almost as if they are a separate company," said Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, adding that there is a wall between the Nexus business and Motorola.

Still, in answering a question about whether Motorola would ever participate in the Nexus program again, Lockheimer wasn't particularly clear. While there is a firewall between the two businesses, the equal treatment of Motorola and Samsung suggests there is the possibility of collaboration … Read more

Lily Cole's social network Impossible starts granting wishes in April

BARCELONA, Spain--A social network based on making wishes and helping others, backed by Lily Cole and Jimmy Wales, is to launch in April -- but first, it's helping Oxbridge students help each other.

I caught up with the folks behind "altruistic social network" Impossible at mobile industry wingding Mobile World Congress here. Before it launches to the public in April, Impossible will run as a closed beta among students of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Britain's most venerated seats of drinking learning.

Model, actress, and occasional Time Lord-bothering sea creature Lily Cole conceived the selfless social network. … Read more

Huawei's tiny MediaQ M310 media hub gets the hands-on treatment

BARCELONA, Spain--Chinese tech manufacturer Huawei normally makes smartphones, but now it wants to take control of your TV with its tiny MediaQ M310.

This black box is a truly minuscule media hub, measuring only 14mm thick. It's so light you could almost forget you were holding it, and it would easily slot behind your TV, out of sight.

Inside is a quad-core processor, the same chip that's powering Huawei's newest flagship phone, the Ascend P2. That should give the M310 enough grunt to chew through graphically testing games or high-definition movies. That chip is backed up by … Read more

Build and sell apps with no developer skill using AppMachine

BARCELONA, Spain--Developing good apps for iPhone or Android normally takes a lot of skill and potentially tens of thousands of dollars. But with new service AppMachine, shown off here at Mobile World Congress, you're able to build good looking apps with zero programming knowledge for only 400 euros (around $525) that you can then submit to the iOS or Android app stores.

The app development system is mostly browser-based. When you first sign up you'll need to choose a name for your app and an appropriate theme for the sort of app you're making. It's very … Read more

Elegant Ubuntu Touch shows Android and iOS how it's done

BARCELONA, Spain--Ubuntu is coming to your phone and tablet, and in style. I got my hands on the forthcoming Ubuntu Touch operating system for smartphones and tablets at mobile industry shindig Mobile World Congress, and I'd say on first impression it knocks rivals like Firefox OS and Samsung-backed Tizen into a cocked hat.

Ubuntu Touch is developed by Canonical and set to be available to the public in October. Manufacturers are yet to be confirmed, but you can try the software right now on selected Google Nexus devices. I tried out the new OS installed on a Google Nexus 4 … Read more