Mobile

LAS VEGAS--First it was e-readers and Netbooks. Now AT&T wants to connect dog collars and pill caps to its wireless network.

AT&T's Glenn Lurie, who heads up the company's emerging devices business, sees a world in which any device can be connected over AT&T's wireless network. And for almost two years, he has been working to get as many devices signed up on the AT&T network as possible.

The business is just beginning, but at the end of 2009, AT&T reported it already had one million devices … Read more

LAS VEGAS--AT&T execs said there is big opportunity in selling mid-range phones to consumers who think smartphones are too expensive and too complicated.

Executives talked about this new cell phone category they call "quick messaging devices" on Wednesday at an event at the CTIA tradeshow here.

What is a quick-messaging phone? Think the LG Neon and Samsung Propel. These are phones that don't have the processing power and functionality found in most smartphones, but they still offer data services, such as messaging, e-mail, and Web access. Most of these phones also have QWERTY keypads and/… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Sprint Nextel and Clearwire executives admitted Wednesday that they could follow the rest of the worldwide wireless network and adopt LTE for future network upgrades.

Spring Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow sat down separately and talked to CTIA CEO Steve Largent during the keynote session on the second day of the CTIA trade show here.

In 2008, Sprint and Clearwire combined spectrum and formed a partnership to build a nationwide network using a technology called WiMax. During the keynote conversations, Largent asked each executive about his company's decision to use WiMax over other technologies, … Read more

LONDON--Let's say you're trying to decide whether to buy a new mobile phone and you like taking photos. The Google Nexus One's 5-megapixel camera has 56 percent more pixels than the iPhone 3GS's 3.2 megapixels, but it's clear the camera isn't 56 percent better.

Now let's say it's 2012 and you're trying to decide whether to buy an Apple iPhone 4GS or a Google Nexus Three. You might be able to make a better choice this time.

That's because the International Imaging Industry Association, a consortium involving more than … Read more

Here's a potentially noteworthy development in the patent litigation-riddled mobile device market.

The patent is No. 7,679,604, "Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system," and it describes motion control as a means of interacting with smartphones and the like.

The invention, the patent's authors explain, "facilitates an intuitive motion control of the application by physically manipulating the electronic device...it enables a user to intuitively control the state and/or displayed content of a computing device without the conventional need of pressing button(s), or manipulating a trackpad, trackball, etc. In this … Read more

LAS VEGAS--T-Mobile USA said it will soon have bragging rights as the nation's fastest 3G network. But will the claim to fame help the company attract new customers?

Executives at the CTIA trade show here on Tuesday outlined the company's network upgrade plans to a technology called HSPA+ that will effectively triple its network download speeds on its 3G wireless network by the end of the year.

T-Mobile admits that it got to the 3G wireless party late, but executives at the company said current upgrades to their network will offer faster speeds to more consumers than even … Read more

LAS VEGAS--T-Mobile USA on Tuesday announced its first Netbook for its 3G wireless network here at the CTIA trade show.

Starting Wednesday in select markets, T-Mobile will begin selling the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook with access to the company's newly upgraded HSPA 7.2 network. The device, which comes with Windows 7 installed as well as an Intel Atom processor for fast Web surfing, will be $199.99 with a two-year contract. Customers can buy the device without a contract for $499.

T-Mobile charges $60 per month for its data card service, which gives users 5GB of usage … Read more

LAS VEGAS--To no one's surprise, Sprint kicked off CTIA 2010 here by announcing its first 4G phone. The HTC Evo 4G is not only the carrier's first WiMax cell phone--previously the carrier only has offered 4G laptop cards and the Samsung Mondi--but also the first commercially available 4G handset with a major U.S. carrier. The Evo runs Google Android OS 2.1; finally, a new Android phone meets the world with the latest Android OS available.

From the outset, the Evo is an attractive touch-screen device that closely resembles the HTC HD2. We got a taste of the Evo's candy bar design when photos of the HTC Supersonic leaked in late January. And in the end, the final product doesn't stray far from those initial impressions.

The massive 4.3-inch display is quite a looker. Its rich resolution and color support make for a pleasant browsing experience. The touch screen also appeared to be accurate and responsive in our brief hands-on. Below the display are four touch controls for the home screen, main menu, search, and backing out of a page. There's physical navigation control, but that's fine since we rely on the touch screen for most navigation anyway.

… Read more

LAS VEGAS--AT&T executives are pushing the government to allocate more spectrum for wireless broadband and back off on regulation in order to keep the mobile broadband growth engine revving.

Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T Mobility and the new chairman of CTIA, and Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, each spoke at the CTIA 2010 wireless trade show here Tuesday about how the U.S. leads the world in wireless broadband, but they emphasized the need for more spectrum and a light regulatory touch from the government to keep the momentum going.

De … Read more