mwc2012

BARCELONA, Spain--I'm here in Barcelona, going phone crazy at Mobile World Congress. Tucked in among the huge, monster-powered smartphones is a new blower from Panasonic that's bearing the Lumix branding proudly worn by its superb line of cameras.

Panasonic hasn't had much to show off in the mobile line in a long time, but has unveiled the new Eluga and Eluga Power smartphones to us hungry tech journalists. The Lumix range of phones, however, dispense with the slim and sleek designs but pack lenses and sensors you'd normally expect to find on some of its dedicated compact snappers.

The Lumix Phone 101P that I had a hands-on with packs a 13.2-megapixel sensor--bigger than the sensors you'd normally get in phones, which should hopefully result in more detailed images. At just under 10mm (less than half an inch) thick, it's a tad bigger than many new phones we've seen this year, but it is waterproof, so taking some snaps in the rain shouldn't be a problem.

Read more of "Panasonic Lumix Phone shows potential in hands-on pics" at CNET UK. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--I understand the appeal of a bigger screen.

You get a genuinely good way to compete with the iPhone, which suits me since I like Android fine. You get better video, bigger maps, more room to read e-mail, and Web pages of much better fidelity.

But in the case of the Galaxy Nexus, you also get a phone that's just impractical for one-handed use.

At least that's my assessment after more than two months of steady use. If you're a professional basketball player, you might see things differently.

I really like all the pixels that are … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Huawei is gunning for quad-core Android market share just as much as the next manufacturer.

Curious about the Ascend D Quad smartphone that Huawei is claiming to be the world's fastest, or the MediaPad 10, a quad-core 10.1-inch tablet?

So were we. That's why we stopped by Huawei's booth at MWC 2012 to take a look at both quad-core devices.

BARCELONA, Spain--Typically, attending the last day of a conference puts you face to face with the frantic stragglers trying to grab one last meeting, or the dazed wanderers biding time before a welcome flight home. Not so at Google's MWC booth, which remained a fairground for Android lovers.

It's pointless trying to narrow down a favorite attraction: was it the tablet-controlled claw game that won you an Android plushie, or the contest you could enter to win a bedazzled battery cover for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, made by a robot with an Android face? Perhaps it was the … Read more

Windows XP lost more users to Windows 7 last month, but the decade-old platform continues to hold on as the most popular operating system

Looking at OS stats for February, NetApplications found that XP's share of the market dipped to 45 percent from 47 percent in January. At the same time, Windows 7 grabbed 38 percent of all users, up from 36 percent the prior month.

The latest numbers show a trend in which XP has gradually lost share over time, while Windows 7 has picked up more customers. In February 2011, XP owned more than half of the … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--High dynamic range (HDR) photography has largely been the province of photo enthusiasts willing to put up with its hassles, but Dolby Laboratories hopes to bring it to the masses with a semi-proprietary technology called JPEG-HDR.

HDR photography began as a way to compensate for cameras' shortcomings compared to the human eye. The biological image sensor can capture a much greater range of dark and bright tones, whereas cameras typically can capture only one, the other, or something in the middle.

That means problems with photos in areas with a wide range of lighting- a scene where someone is … Read more

Those of you who couldn't make it to Spain for yesterday's Windows 8 Consumer Preview demo can now catch all the action through a series of online videos.

The event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona wasn't Webcast live, but Microsoft has posted several videos on its newsroom page showing off all the major highlights. Most of the videos can be viewed online or downloaded in a few different formats, though the "broadcast" links provide the highest quality.

The videos kick off with the entire 90-minute keynote with Windows President Steven Sinofsky introducing the … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Skype has at long last come to Windows Phone, and here at Mobile World Congress, I got a closer look at the beta version (the "gold" version releases in April.)

The app fits closely with the look and feel I'd envision for the mobile platform, with larger icons, swipe-through screens, and the trademark Windows Phone font. Features-wise, you'll be able to make voice and video calls over IP, so calls are free if you call other Skype users. Alternatively, you can call out to land line and mobile phones if you buy Skype credit.

Video … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE were hoping to make an impression at Mobile World Congress about their presence in the smartphone world.

Well, mission accomplished.

The two companies didn't disappoint on the news front. Huawei kicked off the wireless conference on Sunday by introducing the world's fastest smartphone and the first 10-inch quad-core tablet. ZTE followed on Monday with a downpour of 15 phone announcements.

The announcements are proof that the Chinese vendors, which don't have the name recognition of a Samsung Electronics or LG, can now stand at the same level, competing with similar high-end … Read more