gsm

Almost every U.S. T-Mobile customer wants to know when the carrier will be activating its 3G network. After all, it is the only major carrier in the United States not to offer 3G. Though it has slowly begun introducing 3G-capable handsets, the carrier has remained maddeningly vague on when the service will activate.

But a news conference at the GSMA World Congress, T-Mobile CEO Hamid Akhavan dropped a few hints. When I asked him when the magic day will come, he didn't give an exact date but he did promise it would happen by this summer. Akhavan said … Read more

At trade shows such as the GSMA World Congress, Samsung has a tendency to beat us over the head with new cell phones. At the 2008 event, Samsung didn't let us down. The company showed off almost more than 20 handsets, many of which are fresh out of the labs. We already told you about the Samsung Soul, and my UK colleague Andrew Lim rounded up eight other new models including the style-centric Samsung G400. But there's a lot more to tell you, beginning with the company's news conference that it held yesterday. Three highlights from the … Read more

Hey, go take a walk, why don't ya? That is, with Nokia Maps 2.0. Nokia announced at GSMA 2008 that its newest version of the mapping and software application is now available in beta form, and it brings a number of enhancements, including more advanced pedestrian navigation. This makes complete sense to me, given that cell phones and smartphones make for better handheld navigators than in-car GPS. Of course, I realize not everyone lives in a place where you can walk to your destination, but for those who do, the new features of Nokia Maps 2.0 are … Read more

Building on the success of the LG Prada phone, LG Electronics introduced several new touch-screen beauties at GSMA 2008 Mobile World Congress, including the LG KF700. The KF700 features a touch-sensitive 3-inch screen where you can swipe your finger to access several widgets, and the large size lends itself quite nicely to Web browsing and watching videos. But unlike the iPhone and Prada, the KF700 doesn't solely rely on the screen for phone operation. LG wanted to give users a choice as far as input methods, and it also wanted to answer customer requests for a multimedia phone that … Read more

In addition to the LG KF700, LG Electronics debuted the LG KF600 at GSMA 2008, another touch-screen cell phone--hmm, I'm detecting a theme here. Not to be outdone by its bigger brother, the KF600 has plenty of flash of its own and is actually the GSM cousin of the LG Venus, which we reviewed earlier.

The upper half of the phone consists of a 2-inch, 262,000 color non-touch screen, while there's a 1.5-inch touch screen on the lower half. The latter is actually called the InteractPad and displays your main menu items as well as certain … Read more

At GSMA 2008 Mobile World Congress, Microsoft announced that its MSN Direct services is now available on Windows Mobile devices. A technology preview allows you to get instant, at-a-glance updates on weather, top news stories, stock updates, sports scores, and more. The service will also automatically refresh the content so you have the latest information. You can download the free technology preview in one of two ways: by pointing your mobile Web browser to http://phone.msndirect.com or by downloading the MSN Direct client to your PC, then synchronizing it with your mobile device. Just be aware that using … Read more

LG Electronics wasn't just about flash and touch screen phones at GSMA Mobile World Congress this year. The company also launched the LG KT610, a Symbian smartphone with integrated GPS to meet the needs of its business customers. The KT610 sports a candy-bar-style form factor that opens up to reveal a 2.4-inch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. There's also a small display and alphanumeric keypad on the exterior of the phone. Inside, the machine is running Symbian OS 9.2 (S60 3rd Edition) and is HSDPA capable. Push e-mail, a full Web browser, and multimedia capabilities are … Read more

HTC just made its smartphone/mobile computer/Frankenstein device, the HTC Advantage, even more powerful with an update that brings more memory, new software, and an improved keyboard.

Introduced at GSMA, the HTC Advantage (X7510) now includes the TouchFlo software (a la HTC Touch) for easier scrolling of e-mails and Web pages. Plus, it will boast a new Today screen, based on a new version of the Windows Mobile operating system, with one-touch access to messages, calendar, and contacts.

While the interface enhancements sound great, we're more excited at the mention of the new operating system. The Advantage X7510 … Read more

We were hoping to hear some news from HTC, and the device manufacturer did indeed have a couple of announcements at GSMA. The first is the HTC 3470. The company is touting it as the affordable option for those looking for a smartphone with built-in GPS. Uhh, I'm not sure what HTC's definition of affordable is, but with a price tag of 449 euros ($652 U.S.), I wouldn't exactly call it a bargain. It comes preloaded with TomTom Navigator 6 software, so along with the assisted GPS, users will be able to get turn-by-turn directions, points … Read more