gsma

Update: This story has been updated to clarify that Apple was not named in the list of handset makers that have agreed to use a new universal charger standard.

BARCELONA--After I've spent years scrounging through drawers looking for the right charger and kicking myself every time I forgot my charger while traveling, the mobile industry has finally decided to make one device that can juice up any cell phone.

On Tuesday, the GSMA trade association announced at its 2009 Mobile World Congress here that it has brokered a deal with the world's leading handset makers to come up … Read more

To our disappointment, there hasn't been a ton of Google Android news to come out of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 so far. Huawei announced on Monday that it plans to start selling Android devices later this year, but other than that we didn't see a T-Mobile G2, and Samsung already said it would not show its Android phone at the show as it has been delayed until the second half of 2009.

However, we did get one device announcement. The bad news is that it's not for the U.S. market. On Tuesday, Vodafone said it … Read more

If you're a Moto fan who is eager for new cell phones at the GSMA World Congress, I'm sorry to report that I have some bad news. The company is not announcing any new handsets in Barcelona. What's more, its booth, while well positioned in a prime location, offers few sights beyond previously announced models like the Motorola Aura.

This year's GSMA appearance is even smaller than last year when Motorola introduced just the Z6w and the sleep-inducing W161 and W181. When we contacted Moto before we left for Barcelona, a spokeswoman confirmed that the company … Read more

If the Invisible Woman needed a cell phone to call the other members of the Fantastic Four, or if Wonder Woman wanted a handset for her namesake jet, they'd be wise to check out one of the latest phones from LG.

The GD900, which LG debuted at the GSMA World Congress, is billed as the world's first transparent-design phone. We're always skeptical when any company claims to have a "first in the world," but in this case we admit that we've never seen anything like the GD900.

Of course, not everything on the slider … Read more

Even though Monday has just come to an end here in the U.S., a brand-new day in Barcelona is just beginning. So before we hear more news from Day 2 at GSMA Mobile World Congress, here's a brief wrap-up of Day 1.

It was a big opening weekend at GSMA Mobile World Congress with Garmin announcing its whole line of Nuvifone phones before the show even began. They were the Nuvifone M20 Windows Mobile smartphone and the original Linux-based Nuvifone G60. Also, T-Mobile and Samsung announced the Samsung Memoir for the U.S. market. The 8-megapixel camera phone … Read more

BARCELONA--Skype is racking up deals with mobile handset makers here at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009.

On Tuesday, the company, which is owned by eBay, announced a partnership with Nokia, the largest cell phone maker in the world, to put the Skype Internet calling software onto its phones. Nokia will initially offer Skype on its high-end smartphones, the N-series. The N97, Nokia's flagship device that goes on sale in June, will be the first to have Skype embedded. The Skype feature will start shipping on the device in the third quarter of 2009.

Skype will be integrated into the … Read more

BARCELONA--Smarrtphone users will soon be able to participate in Web conferences using the hosted WebEx tool right from their phones.

Cisco Systems, which owns the WebEx Web conferencing service, announced Tuesday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 here that it is making a version of its WebEx client software available to several smartphones including Research In Motion's BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8900, and BlackBerry Storm. It will also be available for the Nokia E71, Nokia E75, Nokia N97, and other Nokia E series and N series devices, as well as for the Samsung Blackjack II.

The new functionality … Read more

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 … Read more

U.K. music provider Omnifone, which offers unlimited music downloads to cell phone users, on Monday extended its reach to the broadband arena.

A new service called MusicStation Next Generation will let European consumers stream songs and music videos to their computers and television set-top boxes.

Omnifone is teaming with Internet service providers and cable companies to provide the service, but it did not yet name those partners. It did say it is in talks with satellite provider British Sky Broadcasting.

At a time when ISPs and cable providers are under increasing pressure to eradicate piracy over their networks, Omnifone … Read more