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Microsoft is gearing up to take on rival Apple in the smartphone market.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Microsoft is getting ready to launch an online marketplace akin to Apple's App Store. In August, Microsoft had started looking for people to head up the new application store. Microsoft is also readying a more sophisticated version of its mobile operating system called Windows Mobile 6.5, the Journal reported.

Smartphones are sophisticated mobile phones that offer users access to the Web and e-mail, as well as, provide phone calling and all kinds of other messaging options. This category … Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

The LiMo Foundation on Monday said the second release of its Linux-based handset platform is on target. LiMo added that it will show off the latest platform at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next week.

According to LiMo, its members are introducing reference implementations of the latest release (statement). The primary goals are to make the platform easier to deploy and add Web 2.0 features.

LiMo (all resources) is an open platform supported by a bevy of wireless-industry players.

Access, Azingo, LG Electronics, Purple Labs, and Samsung … Read more

Getting an early start on the competition, LG Electronics announced Sunday that its new Arena KM900 smartphone will debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

LG is touting the touch screen's user interface as featuring a 3D cube-based layout with four customizable screens for accessing the phone's features.

"The direct, intuitive, and dynamic S-Class UI will be unlike anything that has appeared on a mobile phone before," Skott Ahn, president of LG Mobile, said in a statement.

The Arena features a 3-inch WVGA touch screen with 800?400 resolution and a 5-megapixel camera that promises "… Read more

Microsoft appears poised to officially unveil a Web-based service that will let users store, share, and back up data from their mobile phones.

Provided, that is, that the phones run Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 phone operating system. And the service will be available as only a limited beta to start with.

Details of Microsoft's impending My Phone service slipped out inadvertently when the Web site went live ahead of its scheduled debut. The site appears to have been spotted first by Engadget Mobile, which also referred to the service as SkyBox.

According to the Microsoft My Phone site, the service will let users back up and restore the phone's data, access contact and scheduling information, and share photos. Users will get 200MB of free storage, but beware--a synchronization attempt that exceeds the limit will cut off any files beyond the 200MB mark.… Read more

The biggest cell phone show of the year is a week away, but we're already seeing loads of brand new phones finding their way to the Web before they're officially announced.

While it's guaranteed we'll see some more interesting stuff at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which of the phones that have already been leaked are you most excited about?

Acer isn't yet an official entrant into the smartphone market and already it's having the same problems keeping secrets as established players Apple and Palm.

On Wednesday, a smartphone called the Acer DX900 popped up for preorder on the Web site of Clove Technology, a retailer based in the U.K.

It appears to be the same device as the E-Ten Glofiish DX900--same features, same look, just a different brand name--which makes sense since Acer bought E-Ten last year. It's being offered for the equivalent of $570 (unlocked, we presume).

Acer plans a high-profile introduction of several handsets … Read more

On Wednesday, Garmin and Asus announced a strategic alliance to develop and distribute co-branded GPS-enabled smartphones to be known as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone series. This includes the original Garmin Nuvifone, which was introduced over a year ago, and will now be rebranded as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60.

The partnership isn't a strange one, considering that Asus has been working on the original Nuvifone for over a year as the ODM (original device manufacturer). Both companies still plan to ship the Nuvifone G60 in the first half of 2009. In addition, Garmin-Asus said it will offer several Nuvifone models this … Read more

In less than two weeks, Acer plans to unveil its first line of smartphones, but a picture of at least one of the purported models is already making the rounds online.

On Wednesday, the Boy Genius Report blog posted the blurry photo to the right. It has a swivel keyboard and a touch screen--according to BGR's source--but it's unclear which mobile OS it will run, Windows Mobile or Android.

If this is indeed one of the handsets to be introduced at Acer's event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we won't have to wait long … Read more

Updated at 1:15 p.m. PST with Microsoft comment and additional context.

When Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha said Tuesday that his company's phones would eventually carry Windows Mobile 7, he let on more than he probably thought.

In answering an analyst's question during the Q-and-A portion of his company's earnings call, Jha said: "Yes, we are still committed to Windows Mobile. As you know, Windows 6 series is available in 2009 and as compared to Android, we believe in 2009 Android is more competitive; more of our effort and focus in 2009 is going to Android, but in 2010 when Windows 7 will become available, we will then participate in a more focused way in Windows Mobile 7 in 2010."

Without commenting on Jha's comment, a Microsoft representative said the company has "nothing to announce today."

In September, CNET News reported that Microsoft told its partners not to expect Windows Mobile 7 until at least the second half of 2009. Jha's comment seems to indicate that the deadline has been pushed back even further. … Read more