congress

Paper nano-SIM cards will help telcos go green

BARCELONA, Spain--Nestled away in Hall 7 of Mobile World Congress is Beijing Big Ben Technology, a China-based company that makes SIM cards mostly out of paper. While the actual cards themselves are made of recyclable ABS plastic and metal (the contact points), the card's holder is actually made from 100 percent fiber paper. This material is far easier to recycle than the plastic that most cards are currently made from.

The company has been in the business of making paper SIMs for five years now, and claims that its products cost the same as the plastic cards. China Mobile … Read more

Viber CEO takes on carriers' over-the-top attack

BARCELONA, Spain--Carriers love to bash companies like Skype and WhatsApp that provide services on top of their mobile networks at the Mobile World Congress trade show. But one thing was different this year: Viber Media founder and Chief Executive Talmon Marco entered the lion's den to defend the idea.

Viber's free messaging service, which competes directly with carriers' own high-profit services for text- and multimedia-messaging services, is a prime example of the despised over-the-top (OTT) approach. Marco showed no remorse for sapping telco revenues and argued that users are just moving to where the innovative, useful services are … Read more

Why you shouldn't expect an all-metal Nokia Lumia anytime soon

BARCELONA, Spain--Part of what makes Nokia phones like the Lumia 920, and the new Lumia 720 and Lumia 520, so distinctive are their bright color options. And part of what makes those shades pop is the use of polycarbonate, a type of plastic, as the body material.

Although Nokia hasn't ruled out an all-metal body, speaking at Mobile World Congress with Hans Henrik Lund, Nokia's vice president of product marketing for smart devices, makes me think that we won't be seeing metal Lumias anytime soon.

"The important part for us is that we're obsessed with differentiation,&… Read more

Mozilla CEO: Android, iOS leave lots of room for Firefox OS

BARCELONA, Spain--With another 2 billion people hooking up to the Internet in the next five years, there's plenty of room for another mobile operating system, Mozilla Chief Executive Gary Kovacs said today in a sales pitch for his new Firefox OS.

Apple and Google have led the way in the smartphone market but can't cover the whole thing, he said in a speech to thousands at the Mobile World Congress show here, though he didn't mention the companies by name.

"I find it impossible to understand how 3, 4, 5, or 6 billion people are going … Read more

How the wireless industry will connect the next billion people

BARCELONA, Spain--The price of mobile devices and services will need to come down to connect the next billion people.

That's according to the CEOs of four major companies in the wireless arena: Nokia, Qtel Group, Bharti Airtel, and Mozilla.

"As an operator, we have to package services to the lower segment of the economy," said Nasser Marafih, CEO of the Qtel Group, during a keynote address at this week's Mobile World Congress.

Qtel yesterday announced a new brand, Ooredoo, which will cover various wireless carrier brands throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Much of … Read more

Sony hopes for Firefox OS phone in 2014

BARCELONA, Spain--Under a broadened partnership with mobile network operator Telefonica, Sony Mobile is exploring support for Mozilla's new Firefox OS and hopes to release a phone with it next year.

"Our engineers are now working with Firefox OS Mobile and HTML5, evolving technologies which show great potential. In addition, we continue to work with our operator partners, including Telefónica, on a development project with an ambition to bring a product to market in 2014," said Bob Ishida, head of Sony Mobile Communications' Products Business Group, in a statement yesterday at the Mobile World Congress show … Read more

AT&T Mobility CEO says he's open to Firefox OS

BARCELONA, Spain--AT&T has cracked open the door to Mozilla's recently unveiled Firefox mobile operating system.

"I think there is room for more" operating systems, said Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility, in an interview with CNET.

When asked whether the industry could support multiple operating systems, de la Vega affirmed the sentiment: "absolutely."

Ultimately, it comes down to consumer demand, he said. If people are vocal about the desire for a Firefox phone and there's a likelihood of succeeding, AT&T will provide a device, de la … Read more

Countdown begins for Galaxy S4 reveal

Monday's CNET Update does it with stylus:

The mother of all mobile trade shows, Mobile World Congress, kicked off in Barcelona. Today's video roundup highlights the buzz over Samsung, WebOS and a new way to talk to your phone:

- Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S4 on March 14

- Visa's mobile payment program will be built into the Galaxy S4

- More on MasterCard's mobile payment plan, MasterPass

- First impressions of the Galaxy Note 8 tablet

- Samsung HomeSync to rival Apple TV

- WebOS lives in future LG smart TVs

- HP tries tablets again with the Slate 7 … Read more

Stacking up the tablets, large and small, of MWC 2013

Mobile World Congress is generally all about phones, but this year there are a fair number of tablets out and about. Feeling like you're losing track? Check out the roundup below, covering the biggest hits (HP Slate 7 and Samung Galaxy Note 8) and a few unknowns (ZTE, anyone?).

On Day 1 of Mobile World Congress, here's what mattered

The first official day of Mobile World Congress was riddled with exciting launches and delivered press conferences from some of the big guns of the smartphone world. Without Samsung and HTC to stand in their way, the likes of Asus, LG and ZTE threw down the Android gauntlet, and Nokia revealed the latest handsets in its ever-expanding range of Windows Phone 8 devices.

Despite the early hour, CNET staff were out in force with not a bleary eye in sight to cover Nokia's 8.30 a.m. press conference. A series of budget and midrange handsets were launched, chief … Read more