Cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs

Augmented reality comes to mobile phones

If you thought location-aware search and other mobile mapping technologies were cool, hold onto your hat. A new wave of innovation in the mobile market will bring augmented reality to smartphones, allowing users to interact virtually with their surroundings.

Augmented reality, or AR, is a term that refers to technology that superimposes computer-generated content over live images viewed through cameras. The technology, which has been used in gaming and in military applications on computers, has been around for years. But thanks to more sophisticated devices, faster wireless broadband networks, and new developments at the chip level by companies like Qualcomm, it has become inexpensive enough to put into smartphones and tablets.

Even though these are still the early days for the technology--chip vendors like Qualcomm are just now giving demonstrations--augmented reality could have a major impact on smartphones in the coming years.

"The idea that a mobile device knows where I am and can access, manipulate, and overlay that information on real images that are right in front of me really gets my science fiction juices flowing," said Mark Donovan, senior analyst at ComScore. "It's just beginning now, and it will likely be one of the most interesting trends in mobile in the next few years."

Just as location-based services have begun to change how wireless subscribers use their cell phones and marketers reach an increasingly mobile audience, augmented reality will go a step further, bringing a wealth of collected data to users' fingertips.

Today, GPS and other location-based technologies allow people to track and find friends on the go. It allows them to "check in" at particular locations. In other words, wireless subscribers provide information about their surroundings, such as where they are, and that information is stored and shared with others via the Internet cloud. That information can be used so friends can locate you, or it can be used by marketers to send you coupons and other promotions.… Read more

Cell phone radiation detection app comes to Android

Tawkon, a small Israeli start-up, announced Monday that its cell phone radiation detection application has arrived for Google Android phones.

The company's mobile application uses an algorithm that measures your specific absorption rate or SAR (See also: CNET's Quick Guide: Cell phone radiation levels). This is the rate at which your whole body absorbs energy from a radio frequency magnetic field. Specifically, the company measures the amount of radiation that is emitted from the phone; it uses the phone's GPS technology and accelerometers to gauge the position and proximity of the device to the body to determine … Read more

Ask Maggie: On iPhone upgrades and reception issues

More than three years after it first came on the market, Apple's iPhone is still one of the hottest smartphones out there. But new hardware designs and the unending software upgrades to the iPhone's operating system, have left some iPhone subscribers scratching their heads.

In this week's Ask Maggie column I help explain to one reader why his data usage has doubled since upgrading from his iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4. I also answer questions about iPhone reception issues. Is the SIM card to blame? What about a software update?

To find out the answers, read … Read more

Is 4G wireless enough to sate consumers?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--As data traffic explodes on wireless networks thanks to smartphones and other connected mobile devices, 4G wireless technology is expected to solve mobile operators' network congestion problems. But is 4G really the savior so many people expect it to be?

At the Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT here this week, experts in the wireless industry warned that it will take more than the next generation of network technology to keep up with traffic demand. Wireless operators need to think differently about how they build and manage their network as well as how they develop applications that use the … Read more

FCC officially frees TV white space spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission today unanimously approved new rules for the use of unlicensed white space spectrum in a move that could pave the way for more unused wireless spectrum to be released in the future.

White space is unused spectrum that sits between TV channels. The 300MHz to 400MHz of unused spectrum is considered prime spectrum for offering wireless broadband services because it can travel long distances and penetrate through walls. The FCC unanimously agreed in November 2008 to open up this spectrum for unlicensed use. Even so, technical issues to allow device makers and service providers to use … Read more

MetroPCS launches first 4G LTE market and phone

MetroPCS launched the nation's first Long Term Evolution 4G wireless broadband network today in Las Vegas along with the first-ever commercial LTE handset.

Like all MetroPCS services, the new 4G wireless broadband service is prepaid and it doesn't require a contract. For $55 a month, users get unlimited talk, text, and data. And for an additional $5 a month, they also get 18 channels of streaming video.

The prepaid wireless operator is launching the new service with the first LTE handset: the Samsung Craft.

But before you get too excited, there are some important caveats. For now, the … Read more

Why a Facebook Phone may not be nuts

A Facebook-branded smartphone isn't as crazy as it sounds.

Before you mock that conclusion (as our editor did at first), hear us out: a branded smartphone could be the social-networking king's key to competing more aggressively with Apple and Google as the Internet heavyweights take turns competing, cooperating, and causing one another fits.

Of course, Facebook has been denying reports that it's building its own branded cell phone. Facebook execs say it's doing nothing more than working closely with handset partners, but CNET has confirmed that the social network has reached out to hardware manufacturers and carriers seeking input … Read more

Samsung takes on Apple iPad with Galaxy Tab

NEW YORK--Samsung's assault on Apple is under way, as the company unveils its plans for its new tablet PC as well as a new service that allows consumers to purchase or rent TV shows and movies on their Samsung mobile devices.

At an event here at the Time Warner Center tonight, Samsung took the wraps off its iPad-killer, the Galaxy Tab. It also announced a new service called Media Hub, an iTunes-like service, which allows consumers to buy and rent movies and TV shows for their Samsung portable devices.

The announcements follow Samsung's launch earlier this summer of … Read more

Is Nokia serious about the U.S. cell phone market?

Nokia wants to be back on top in the U.S. market, but how serious are the company's intentions?

While Nokia's execs are adamant the company, which has only 3 percent of the U.S. cell phone market, wants to make a big push in the U.S., its actions say something different.

At the company's annual Nokia World conference in London, Nokia introduced three new smartphones that use its new Symbian 3 operating system. But none of these new devices will be offered by a U.S. carrier, which means it's unlikely that U.S. … Read more

Nokia poaches former Palm executive

As Nokia sheds executives like a snake sloughing off dead skin, it hunts for new talent to revive its ailing smartphone business.

On Tuesday, the company confirmed that it has hired Palm Pre designer Peter Skillman to head up the user experience and services division for MeeGo, a Linux-based operating system that Nokia is developing with Intel and using on its next-generation N9 flagship phone.

Skillman, who worked at Handspring and Palm for 11 years, and was part of the team that developed the Palm Pre, reportedly left Hewlett-Packard last month. HP announced the acquisition of Palm in April.

While … Read more