CTIA show

Some important and interesting trends in mobile software came out of CTIA 2009. At the center are online content management, integrated communications, and mobile VoIP calling.

Remote management

On the all-in-one mobile in-box front, Skydeck and RocketVox introduced variations on the theme of the online in-box where you can manage and store some combination of text messages, visual voice mail (transcribed voice-to-text), VoIP, and an address book. The free soon-to-be Google Voice will be the service to beat, or to at least outwit as this area develops.

Microsoft also showed the beginnings of its online MyPhone Mobile backup and syncing service, in beta. Voice mail isn't yet part of the plan, but contacts, calendars, tasks, photos, and document back-up and management will be.

Sharpcast launched a refurbished remote access application for BlackBerry phones. SugarSync for BlackBerry now lets you open, edit, and save documents if you have office software. The previous version worked with photo viewing only.

Communications

On the visual voice-mail-only side of the spectrum, YouMail was showing its rich management applications for BlackBerry and iPhone (yet to be released). Movius, which sells solutions to carriers, was displaying a low-tech method for owners of mass market feature phones like the Motorola RAZR to receive an SMS with the name of the contact that left a voice mail, and a callback number to dial.

Emoze peddled its straight-to-consumer application for Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Java phones that pushes text and rich format, HTML e-mail to cell phones, compressing messages at 80 percent. For lower end Java phones in particular, this freemium app focuses on boosting a basic phone's feature set without draining battery life or tying up the phone.

As CTIA comes to a close, we pause to select the best products from the show. The scene in Las Vegas was much quieter than in past years, and it lacked any high-profile announcements like the Palm Pre. But, there were a few products that deserve recognition as the Cream of the Crop from CTIA 2009.

Best phone: Samsung Impression

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

For the third year in a row, Samsung takes the title of the best phone in CTIA. While the Samsung Impression can't quite compete with the hype of last year's Instinct or 2007's Upstage, it is the most practical of the three. And in a year where messaging phones were all the rage, it stands out in a crowded field as the one of the best-designed messaging phones we've seen in a while.

The keyboard is spacious and tactile, and while the handset isn't quite sexy, it has a pleasant, minimalist shape that feels nice in the hand. Yet the Impression's biggest draw is its gorgeous active-matrix organic light-emitting diode display. As Samsung promised, the display is positively brilliant with bright colors and vibrant graphics. Features are decent, even if they're not groundbreaking.

Inside you'll find a 3-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, Bluetooth, Samsung's TouchWiz interface, 3G support with access to Cellular Video and AT&T Music, a personal organizer, AT&T Navigator, and a speakerphone. No, that won't knock your socks off; in fact, you might even see it as somewhat boring. But as we said before, the Impression's story is more about functional features and an intuitive design rather than flash and glam. And at a very quiet show, it deserves its prize. The Impression will be out soon with AT&T; we should have a review shortly.

For more on the Impression, see our photo gallery and video.

Best smartphone: HTC Snap

(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET)

Aside from rising importance of applications, the other theme of CTIA 2009 was messaging. We saw a slew of new messaging devices debut at the show, and it extended to smartphones. While the Nokia E71x and Samsung Propel Pro were nice additions to AT&T's lineup, the HTC Snap stood out for its Inner Circle feature.

With a simple press of a button, Inner Circle brings e-mails from a preselected group of people to the top of your in-box so you can read and reply to them immediately. The capability isn't the wave of the future, but it does help prioritize your e-mails based on your preferences.

In addition, HTC, once again did a nice job on the design. The Snap is a beautifully constructed and sleek smartphone. The QWERTY keyboard also features good-size buttons for easy messaging. Finally, don't be fooled by its diminutive size, as it's packed with features, including Windows Mobile 6.1, push e-mail, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, and a 2-megapixel camera. We look forward to checking out the U.S. version of the Snap, the HTC S522, when it's released in the summer.

Last week, when Opera Software announced Opera Mobile 9.7 for business partners, the Norwegian company also mentioned that a version for consumers would come "soon." At CTIA 2009, Opera told CNET that "soon" means May.

Everything is the same but the rendering.

(Credit: Opera Software)

What sets Opera Mobile 9.7 apart from the current 9.5 beta version for Symbian and Windows Mobile phones is the inclusion of Opera Turbo, a rendering and compression engine that shrinks data down to 80 percent. What's more, the Turbo engine uses the exact same server engine as Opera Mini's, Opera's proxy browser for Java phones.

This is interesting. An effort to speed up Opera Mobile using Opera Mini's rendering servers means that the full-Web Opera Mobile was simply not fast enough for Opera's liking--or, perhaps just not as fast as some of the competition. Opera showed off side-by-side versions of Opera Mobile 9.7 in action, one with the Turbo feature on, the other with it off. Turbo-ized surfing was indeed much faster when squeezed through the server, though photo quality predictably took a hit. Yet if speed is what you're after--especially over shaky EV-DO, EDGE, or other 2.5G cellular networks--Turbo gives you options. Yet, does feel in one sense like Opera is taking a step back. Does this mean that Web surfers don't really want the full mobile Web, or that speed trumps all else?

As I mentioned, Opera Mobile 9.7 alpha is still a bit raw. For one thing, you have to manually turn the Turbo booster off in a buried advanced-options menu. Switching back and forth between Turbo and regular settings would be a pain for users who might easily forget. Why turn it off? The Turbo enhancement is terrible for AJAX-heavy Web pages like Google Maps and for streaming video, both of which require high image quality. Eventually, Opera says that the Opera Mobile browser will be able to autodetect the page type and switch Turbo on and off automatically, making the exchange seamless, though that may not happen by the time the beta is released to the public in May. Hopefully, it will be perfected when the general release drops, probably some months later.

The Shortcovers e-book reader that's available now for BlackBerry, iPhones, and Google Android phones sounded like a good idea when we first heard about it back in February. It still is a good idea, but falls a little short in the execution.

Shortcovers is attractive and modern-looking with a nice, legible default font throughout and a menu system you can find your way around. What it trips on are the details. For instance, thumbnail images draw you in on the page of featured e-books, but are excluded from the actual content. Sometimes the only freebie you get is the acknowledgments, a big let-down when you're hoping to learn more about the book than whose husband or wife suffered through its making. Also, the reading experience leaves much to be desired, especially when compared to the paragon of the Kindle's reading delight, or even the gorgeous iPhone e-reader, Classics. Rather than simulate page turning, Shortcovers emulates the Web metaphor of scrolling long passages and clicking arrows to advance to the next page. Also unfortunately, some spaces between words have been noticeably lost in the digital translation.

The app does have potential--there's the usual bookmarking to remember your place when you leave a read, and the ability to share favorites via e-mail or Twitter. Plus, the model to pay 99 cents for a book excerpt before committing to a $7-10 cost of an e-book is a fine idea, though of course, you can browse a title with much more freedom in a brick and mortar store before deciding to buy. If Shortcovers can overcome its shortcomings, its good looks and ambitious mobile platform penetration schedule will lend it a competitive chance.

All the cell phone news from CTIA 2009

The universal mobile communications in-box is emerging as a trend at CTIA 2009 in Las Vegas. Variations on the theme combine visual voicemail, text messages, e-mail, calling, and call forwarding in one online deck that's as easy to manage as your e-mail in-box.

RocketVox is a slick, powerful freemium in-box that's a long shot against Google Voice.

(Credit: RocketVox)

Skydeck (Skydeck review) has a traditional e-mail layout that does calls, voicemail, text, visual voicemail, and call control for a fee. RocketVox is a great-looking private beta that manages e-mail from multiple accounts (including Gmail), IM, SMS, voice-to-text, VoIP calling, visual voicemail, faxing, conference calls, calendars, and screen sharing with a vague social networking angle. RocketVox is currently an AIR application that will graduate to a Web service later down the road, and will also take on a freemium model ranging from $10 a month to $25 for professionals.

The much lighter YouMail does a visual voicemail Web service and mobile management app, also with the in-box metaphor, but emphasizes social interaction and customization, like personalized greetings in addition to technical offerings like voice-to-text transcriptions. At CTIA, YouMail announced an upcoming iPhone app that has been submitted to the App Store.

Even Microsoft has been touting its online mobile backup and sync service, MyPhone. MyPhone is in very early beta stages and can't do too much at the moment beyond syncing photos and text messages in a searchable in-box, but it will become more capable as Microsoft nears its Windows Mobile 6.5 release, in which MyPhone will play a larger role. Look for contacts, calendars, tasks, multimedia content, and documents as the service matures.

A glimpse of the Google Voice in-box

(Credit: Google)

Despite the diversity, the forthcoming Google Voice--with its universal number, visual voicemail, and advanced calling features--could mow them all under when it enters public beta. Google has been effective at dominating much more established software providers with its technology, its brand clout, and its ability to integrate with other successful Google services.

Since Google Voice will be free, Skydeck, RocketVox, and YouMail are in big trouble on the voice transcription front. YouMail has a niche that Google could well blow open with its own customization features and on-phone management app. RocketVox is the most compelling solution of the bunch at this year's show, but it's going to have to really work some magic to counter Google Voice's advance. Ironically, Microsoft's less feature-rich MyPhone backup and sync service stands the best chance of gaining its own identity, if only because it will come preloaded onto Windows Mobile 6.5 phones and will provide a seamless, out-of-the-box solution for those phone owners. This is definitely a space we'll be keeping a sharp eye on in the coming months.

Updated April 3, 2009 at 11:00 am PT with more questions and answers.

(Credit: Skype)

You've had a lot of questions about the new Skype for iPhone (download)--how it works and even why anyone would want to use it.

I'm going to answer some of the most frequently asked ones here, but if you've got more, you know what to do. Put 'em in the comments.

First of all, some context. Skype for iPhone is a voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, communications application that lets you chat with other Skype members for free, plus call landlines and mobile phones when you buy Skype Out credit. It is available in every country in which the App Store can be found, and it has already made a splash in the United States, Japan, and Europe.

Apple requires Skype and other voice applications to use Wi-Fi to place iPhone calls, not the hardware phone. Now without further ado:

1. If you've already got an iPhone, what's the point of having another calling application?

At least at first, Skype was primarily used to place international calls for free to other Skype users, or to landlines at a reduced rate on par with a calling card, for example. If you've got family and friends living abroad, the application's potential is a no-brainer.

Sure, you might not need to use Skype if everyone you know and love lives within a 500-mile radius of you. Yet users have already chimed in with examples of domestic uses, like if your home has a weak cellular signal but strong Wi-Fi; or if you eat through your free-talk minutes, a low-rate VoIP service like Skype will cost you less than the carrier's charge for each minute you go over your plan.

Also, don't forget that iPod Touch owners can use Skype and other VoIP applications (like Truphone and Fring) to make calls, even though the iPod has no telephone hardware--you just need earphones equipped with a mic.

2. If you're on the road, you still can't use your iPhone to make free calls with Skype, unless you can track down a Wi-Fi connection somewhere.

If you're in the United States, AT&T allows iPhone users free access to AT&T hot spots without incurring extra charges, though if you're attempting a call, you might not want to start it in the middle of Starbucks.

Also, even when you've got a laptop or desktop handy, and could use VoIP on the desktop, a calling client on the mobile phone gives you the freedom to wander. You won't be able to see your pals with the Webcam from the iPhone, though, so there is a trade-off.

(Credit: Mozilla)

LAS VEGAS--At CTIA 2009 on Thursday morning, I sat down with Mozilla's Jay Sullivan, vice president of mobile, to get a hands-on demo of Firefox's in-development mobile browser, code-named Fennec.

In addition to using Fennec on a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet with my own two hands instead of on a desktop emulator, I also saw a new feature in action that is poised to give Fennec the edge over rivals, when it enters the mobile-browsing marketplace.

During our meeting, Sullivan also dispensed with a few more details about Fennec's road map and hinted at a final name.

First, the name: I've been calling the app-to-be "Firefox Mobile" because for nearly everyone outside of the tech bubble, "Fennec" just won't cut it. When I asked for a clue, Sullivan replied that "mini" or "mobile" implies a watered-down browsing experience.

"We want to create something worthy of being called Firefox," Sullivan said. This means there's a good chance that Firefox for mobile phones may be named just plain "Firefox," with separate mobile builds being designated by operating system--Firefox for Windows, Mac, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and so on. Thinking about transition devices such as Netbooks or future phone-laptop hybrids, Sullivan said, makes you question the distinction between what's "mobile" and what's "standard."

Second, the edge: Mozilla's attitude toward Fennec's future name heavily hints at what it can do. A few weeks ago, Fennec took on support for Firefox extensions. One of these is Weave, an add-on that on the desktop backs up your "Awesome Bar" contents--bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history.

When used in conjunction with Fennec, Weave synchronizes these between your desktop and mobile phone, which can save you tons of typing when you're starting a search. It can also populate your bookmarks and commonly used search terms, so you don't have to spend an hour setting up your new Fennec browser to mirror Firefox.

What's more--and this was the slickest use case by far--whichever tabs you had up when you left the desktop, you can pick up again on Fennec. The Weave add-on is ready to try, if you have Firefox 3.5 beta installed on your desktop.

The Weave add-n sits just below the tabs when you swipe the screen to the right.

(Credit: Mozilla)

While Opera has already implemented a similar content-syncing service, Opera Link, to sync bookmarks, search history, and notes between all Opera browsers, on the mobile phone, Fennec's implementation of the concept looks faster and easier to work with when it comes to open tabs.

On Fennec, you'll slide the screen to the right, tap a small button, and see a list of your synced sites. Search bar content from the desktop will appear when you begin typing a term or URL.

Third, the road map: Fennec beta 1 is already available for Nokia N810 Internet Tablets, and Sullivan says he expects one or two more beta cycles before the application will be released for Nokia's Linux-based Maemo platform sometime in summer. After that, Mozilla hopes to kick off a beta version for Windows Mobile by the end of the third quarter, followed by a Symbian version later this year.

Skydeck is a useful-looking mobile message management service that creates a comfortable way to read and respond to phones calls, voicemail, and text messages from the Web. It differs from similar offerings by providing a classic in-box interface online, complete with a reading pane, folders, annotation abilities, and tagging. Skydeck also builds in a visual voicemail service operated by SpinVox so you can read your inbound messages in addition to listening to them. A search bar at the top of the page that helps you quickly find phrases and messages--including content from those transcribed voicemails.

Skydeck's in-box metaphor makes it intuitive to use.

(Credit: Skydeck)

If you have a headset, you're conveniently able to initiate an outbound call through your computer, though to your contact, it will look like you're calling from your cell phone. Skydeck also includes a bidirectionally-synced address book that organizes contacts by how often you communicate, therefore doubling as a speed dial. Any changes you make online show up on your phone, and vice versa. Lastly, Skydeck's telephonic powers can often find phone numbers for missed or blocked calls, says Skydeck CEO Jason Devitt.

Like fellow voicemail service YouMail, Skydeck's service requires you to forward your cell phone number to Skydeck for the software to work. You'll also need to download a small client to the phone so Skydeck can sync the address book and text messages. Skydeck's voice-to-text transcription service in particular is what makes it a premium service whose pricing ranges from about $10 to $30 a month, and the price plan is what makes business users and prosumers Skydeck's target audience. To its credit, Skydeck offers a free 14-day trial for anyone who wants to test it for themselves.

More mobile phone and applications news from CTIA 2009

At its CTIA booth Nokia showed a new camera phone application that will allow users to get information about an object. Point & Find is a downloadable app that uses real-time image processing and recognition technologies to access information related to books, movies, DVDs and similar media content.

Point & Find with the Nokia N95

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Though Nokia officially unveiled Point & Find back in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 conference, I got see a demonstration in Las Vegas. The Nokia rep pointed an N95 at a poster for the movie Ice Age 3. You don't actually have to take a photo--all you need to do is point the camera at the poster. Within seconds we were able to watch a trailer and get information about the flick. As Ice Age 3 won't be in theaters until this summer we weren't able to get read reviews or get local show times, but Point & Find promises such capability for current films.

Beyond media content, Point & Find also can read bar codes, and it will support GPS data and text-entry search. Though Point & Find is primarily a consumer application, companies will be able to use the technology to market specific products.

Once downloaded, Point & Find and the related content sit directly on the phone so there's no need to connect back to a server to access content for most objects. Nokia says it will offer frequent updates to keep the database current, though we imagine that not everything in the world will be captured.

During our demo, Point & Find appeared to be intuitive and responsive. Since it's not an NFC technology there's no need to capture a specific bar code-like image on the movie poster. As long as you can frame most of the poster, you should be good to go.

For now Point & Find is available on the Nokia N95 and Nokia N95 8GB phones, though Nokia says more supported handsets are on the way. On the upside, the initial download and updates are free to consumers.