Smartphones

On a planet with around 6.8 billion people, we're likely to see 5 billion cell phone subscriptions this year.

Reaching 4.6 billion at the end of 2009, the number of cell phone subscriptions across the globe will hit 5 billion sometime in 2010, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The explosion in cell phone use has been driven not only by developed countries, but by developing nations hungry for services like mobile banking and health care.

"Even during an economic crisis, we have seen no drop in the demand for communications services," said ITU … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Motorola made just one handset announcement at Mobile World Congress, but the new Cliq XT is holding its own. Also called the Quench in Europe--we don't know where Moto came up with that one--the Cliq XT offers a functional feature set and an intuitive design. The handset runs Google Android 1.5 (couldn't Moto at least given us 1.6?) and MotoBlur.

Though it's related to the existing Cliq, the Cliq XT is hardly an identical twin. As it lacks a physical keyboard, the XT is much thinner and it sports a relatively drab gray skin. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--In addition to introducing two new Android phones, HTC revealed on Tuesday that it will release an Android 2.1 update for the HTC Droid Eris as well as the Sprint and GSM versions of the HTC Hero.

The company said the devices should be getting most of the features of Android 2.1 as well as the enhanced HTC Sense user experience that was announced today. However, it will ultimately be up to the carriers to determine which features make it onto the device. Unfortunately, HTC did not give any time frame for when the update might be … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--The ink is barely dry on the Samsung Wave announcement, but T-Mobile already is stepping in to distribute the device in several European markets. In addition to the Wave at Mobile World Congress the carrier also introduced the T-Mobile Pulse Mini.

Remember that the Wave is the first handset to feature Sammy's new Bada OS. CNET's Bonnie Cha handled the phone shortly after the announcement two days ago. Though she liked the brilliant display and features of the Windows Mobile handset, she's not so sure about Bada. Yet, customers across Europe will have the opportunity to … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--During a press conference at Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile CTO said that the Google-only sales model for the Nexus One was a challenge. In response to a CNET question on whether the carrier would expand the model, T-Mobile USA Cole Brodman said that the experience was a "test case" and that "we could have done things better."

Unlike most cell phones, Google is the sole retailer for HTC's Nexus One, even if a customer buys it with a T-Mobile contract. Though notable because it took so much power away from the carrier, the sales … Read more

Editors' note: Though T-Mobile is billing it as 4G technology, HSPA+ is a 3G technology based on existing 3G standards.

BARCELONA, Spain--On a chilly morning at Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile USA promised that it would phase in a nationwide HSPA+ network in 2010. Speaking at a press conference at the carrier's glass-fronted pavilion, T-Mobile USA CTO Cole Brodman said the service, which is currently live in Philadelphia, will start to roll out to other cities in the next few months. Though Brodman didn't reveal a specific cities or set a timetable, T-Mobile spokesman Peter Dobrow said the high-speed … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--On Tuesday, HTC announced three new smartphones at Mobile World Congress 2010: the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire, and the HTC HD Mini. The trio represents some of the first devices that really showcase the efforts of San Francisco-based design firm One & Co since it was acquired by HTC back in December 2008. In addition, they offer an enhanced Sense experience and expand HTC's Android and Windows Mobile offerings. Let's meet each of them, shall we?

HTC Desire Previously known as the HTC Bravo, the Desire is essentially the Nexus One with HTC Sense. The sleek … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--During its press conference on Tuesday morning, T-Mobile revealed that it will ship the upcoming HTC HD2 with an array of entertainment applications to really take advantage of the smartphone's 4.3-inch WVGA multitouch screen and 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and to provide users with a robust multimedia experience.

To start, the HD2 will be the first handset to support Blockbuster's On Demand video download application, which lets you preview and download movies on the go. Once purchased, you can watch the video on another other connected device, such as a TV, a Blu-Ray Disc player, or a … Read more

Microsoft made headlines on the first day of Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona with the announcement of Windows Phone 7, its brand new mobile operating system. It will feature integration with Xbox Live and Zune, with a user interface unlike anything we've seen before. The Windows Mobile name is effectively dead.

But that's not all that debuted in Barcelona. Samsung took the opportunity to reveal its new Bada operating system with the Samsung Wave.

The Wave is slim, with a 3.3-inch AMOLED display, and features powerful features like Wi-Fi, a 1GHz processor, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, … Read more