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LAS VEGAS--AT&T's top wireless man told the Wall Street Journal at the CTIA tradeshow here this week that the company is considering using Google's Android handsets.

Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T's wireless unit, told the Journal he has reviewed the technology closely and is "confident it is something we are going to want in our portfolio."

This is good news for Google, which benefits greatly from having as many carriers and handset makers as possible using its new operating system.

When Google announced it was developing the open-source, Linux-based Android platform last year, the company also announced the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of handset makers, carriers and chip designers that will work to implement Android.

Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile signed on as part of the consortium, but AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 and No. 2 operators in the country, had not committed to using Android.

That said, it's not surprising that AT&T has expressed interest in Android. Verizon executives have also said they are looking at Android for their consumer branded phones but, like AT&T, they are not willing to commit to Android. Still, Verizon's newly launched open device program would allow device makers to use Android. My guess is that if a handset maker comes up with a compelling phone that uses Android, Verizon and AT&T will surely offer them on their networks. But for now, it's hard to say what those phones will look like since no manufacturer is actually selling Android handsets yet.

While there's been a lot of hype surrounding Android, the reality is that Android is simply an operating system just like Windows Mobile and Symbian, which are operating systems designed for smartphones. Operators also use dozens of other operating systems on their regular phones. This has turned into a bit of a problem for operators because it's difficult for developers to come up with new applications and services quickly. Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone, the biggest cell phone company in the world, addressed this issue during his keynote at the CTIA show. And he urged the industry to work with fewer operating systems.

Google's Android is one of many Linux-based operating systems designed for mobile phones. But because the software is backed by Google, it might actually have more legs than other versions of the software. Ultimately, Android's success will be determined by what phone manufacturers and application developers do with the software. After all, consumers don't buy operating systems. They buy cool devices that can do really cool things.

Standing on the corner of New York's 56th and Lexington 35 years ago Thursday, Marty Cooper was nearly run over. And no wonder. Drivers were hardly used to seeing people gabbing on the telephone while walking down the street. Not to mention that the phone was impossible to miss.

"It was huge. It weighed 2-1/2 pounds. It was about 10 inches high by an inch and a half wide by perhaps 3 inches deep," Cooper recalled. "The battery lasted only 20 minutes, but that was no problem because you couldn't hold it up for more than 20 minutes."

Marty Cooper and Arlene Harris: wireless power couple.

(Credit: GreatCall)

Cooper, a former Motorola executive, on April 3, 1973 placed what is widely believed to have been the first public call from a portable cell phone. Earlier this week, on the anniversary of that occasion, I chatted with him for the CNET News.com daily podcast.

Also on the line from Del Mar, Calif., was his wife Arlene Harris, an inductee into the Wireless Hall of Fame and founder, along with Cooper, of GreatCall. In 2006, the company launched the Jitterbug, a cell phone with features, such as a large backlit screen, geared toward seniors. This week, GreatCall announced that the Jitterbug won the "Best Small Business" award from the American Society on Aging.

As creator of the Jitterbug, Harris has given much thought to what consumers need and want in a cell phone. She says she imagines future phones incorporating more features that track health and wellness, such as the button on the Jitterbug that calls emergency services. "In our company in particular," she said, "we are very focused on what else we can do with cell phones that will actually improve the quality of life, and not just by delivering a new ringtone."

To hear the podcast segment with Cooper and Harris, click on the link below (and please forgive the occasional random clanking noises; sometimes, as well all know, technology just behaves badly).

AUDIO

LISTEN UP
Marty Cooper and Arlene Cooper talk cell phones past, present, and future.
Download mp3 (5.50MB)

LAS VEGAS--Vodafone's CEO Arun Sarin shared a revelation during his keynote here at the CTIA trade show Wednesday.

"Something different is happening that will shape the future development of the industry and change who the successful companies are going to be and that's the mobile Internet," he said. "The mobile Internet is the new, new thing in the industry. And it is here for real and happening now."

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin addresses an audience at CTIA.

(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET Networks)

My initial reaction to his deep insight was "Duh, isn't providing Internet access to cell phones the reason why you and the rest of the carriers have been spending billions of dollars to build 3G high-speed networks? So what's the big surprise?

And then it dawned on me. While 3G was expected to allow cell phone users to access Internet-based content, mobile operators envisioned a different kind of Internet than the one consumers have come to know on their PCs."

Instead of allowing people to surf the open Internet and find the content and applications they wanted, cell phone operators wanted a world where they would be in complete control of the content and where their customers would go on the Internet. They would strike deals with content providers and act as gatekeepers, providing access to content that they chose. And as such, they would be able to charge a premium, not only for accessing the network, but also for the content itself.

So instead of encouraging customers to use their mobile phones as an extension of their Internet experience at home, carriers initially pushed new services like mobile music downloading and mobile TV. But the reality is that consumers aren't downloading a lot of music over wireless networks, and they aren't yet watching much TV on their mobile phones.

If Apple's iPhone has taught the industry anything, it's that people do want to access the Internet on their phones. And they want it to have the same look and feel that they're used to on their PCs at home.

In the past six months, operators have seen the writing on the wall of their "walled gardens." They recognize that consumers want access to the real Internet. They don't want some stripped down version of the Web. And as a result they're adapting.

Verizon Wireless, traditionally the most closed cell phone operator in the industry, is a prime example. The company said in November that it will open its network to any device and any application to spur innovation. And by extension the company is beginning to tear down the walls that have separated its subscribers from the real Internet.

Many of these changes are occurring now because the traditional PC-based Internet has changed the way in which people communicate with each other. And let's face it, people buy a cell phone primarily to communicate, not to listen to music, take pictures, or watch TV.

"Customers want to communicate in new ways, like IM, social networking, and videos," Sarin said during his speech. "That doesn't mean they aren't making phone calls. But in the communications industry, we need to provide them with all of their communications needs."

But Sarin acknowledged that the industry is still struggling to give customers what they really want. And he called on device makers, carriers, and application developers to work together to ensure that customers get what they want.

"The first thing we must do is deliver a world-class user experience," he said. "(Customers) expect us to deliver a mobile Internet service that is familiar. They want services to be compelling. They want a good user interface. And they want us to design Internet services for the mobile world."

Sarin's recommendations are a tall order to fill. The mobile market is much more fragmented than the PC market was when the Internet first developed. The mobile market has dozens of operating systems and hundreds of handset models. But the quicker the industry can deliver a "world-class experience," the faster mobile operators will see their bottom lines grow as customers fill those 3G pipes.

Updated 2:30 p.m. PDT with comments and photos.

LAS VEGAS--Yahoo announced upgrades to its Yahoo OneSearch product at the CTIA trade show here Wednesday that it says make mobile search smarter, more relevant, and easier to use with voice-activation technology.

Marco Boerries, the company's executive vice president of "connected life," introduced the new Yahoo OneSearch 2.0 during a keynote address, promising "instant answers to any query, not just Web links." This means that search results will expand from traditional hyperlinks into other media--a search for "New York" could yield subway schedules, for example, or a search for local sushi restaurants could bring up Zagat's ratings and reviews along with one-click reservations. And searching the name of a friend could provide links to the social-networking sites that the friend uses.

Yahoo is leveraging technology that it's used in a project for its PC-based search tool called "Search Monkey," which consists of a set of open-source tools that allow users and publishers to annotate and enhance search results associated with specific Web sites. The two applications share the same APIs (application programming interfaces), and Boerries said he expects some 1,000 publishers to work with them to help make search more relevant.

Also central to OneSearch is voice-enabled technology. "Consumers can search for anything, including flight numbers, locations, Web site names, local restaurants, and more, by simply speaking," a release from Yahoo detailed. The voice-activation software is now available for download on a number of Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices, and Yahoo has said that over the next few months it will be compatible with more handsets.

Yahoo OneSearch 2.0 combines search results with other published information.

(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET Networks)

Yahoo is using voice-activation technology from Vlingo, which announced Wednesday that Yahoo is the lead investor in a $20 million Series B funding round. As part of that investment deal, Yahoo has exclusive rights to the technology.

"We liked the technology so much that we invested in the company," Boerries said during a press conference following his keynote speech. "But we made sure that our competitors can't use it."

Boerries also said that Yahoo's voice-enabled search is different from Microsoft's more limited voice-enabled search because Yahoo's service allows people to find results no matter how they say a term or phrase.

OneSearch also includes a download called Search Assist, which encompasses recommended search results, predictive typing technology to speed up the amount of time it takes to enter a query--a key feature for small mobile keypads. Currently, this is only available for Apple's iPhone.

Yahoo plans to update OneSearch in the second quarter of 2008 with something that it calls an "idle screen search service," so that people can access the mobile Web and the search technology without needing to open their cell phones' Web browsers.

OneSearch 2.0 is Yahoo's latest attempt to stay ahead of rival Google in the mobile market. At the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year, the company unveiled its Yahoo OneConnect mobile messaging and social-networking platform, which still has yet to debut publicly.

Yahoo pushed out the original OneSearch product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last year.

"With the launch of Yahoo OneSearch in 2007, we revolutionized mobile search by recreating search specifically for the mobile phone," Boerries said in Wednesday's keynote address, adding that a total of 29 carriers worldwide are now OneSearch partners. "With Yahoo OneSearch 2.0, we are fundamentally changing the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones."

News.com's Marguerite Reardon contributed to this report.

(Credit: ICanHasCheezburger.com)

Starting Wednesday, fans of the 'cheezy' Internet phenomenon LOLcats will be able to get updates of the funny, iconic felines from their cell phones. (I bet you thought I was going to say "from soda bottles.")

That's right. With a little help from Frengo, the company behind the popular Facebook app, Flirtable, I Can Has Cheezburger will be pushing daily updates of the newest LOLcat via text and the mobile Web, transcoded from Frengo's servers. The functionality is simple, but sensibly actionable. Users can view past images and share image links with friends via text.

To get started, text 'LOL' to 44566 and follow the link the the poster kitten of the day. Or, visit http://frengo.com/ichc/ from your mobile browser. I'm hooked already.

>>See the latest news in cell phone software, webware, and handsets from CTIA 2008.

Updated 12:30 p.m. PDT with comment from the Open Internet Coalition.

LAS VEGAS--It seems mobile operators have dodged a regulatory bullet by promising to open up their networks on their own.

On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he was rewarding U.S. wireless operators for their efforts to open up their networks by not pushing for more regulation.

During a keynote address here at the CTIA tradeshow, Martin said he is going to circulate an order among the FCC commissioners to dismiss Skype's petition to apply Carterfone rules to the wireless industry. The Carterfone decision by the FCC in 1968 forced the Bell telephone monopoly to open up and allow outside devices to run on its closed network, as long as the devices didn't cause damage to the system.

Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, addresses attendees at CTIA 2008.

(Credit: Tom Krazit/CNET News.com)

Last year, Skype, which offers free software to let people make phone calls over the Internet using their computers, asked the FCC to apply these rules to the wireless industry so that applications, such as Skype's, could be used on cell phones. Most mobile operators today ban Skype on their phones, mainly because it competes directly with their own voice service.

Skype's petition was part of a growing lobbying effort to get the phone companies to open their networks. Google successfully pushed the FCC to add open access rules in the big 700MHz spectrum auction.

Mobile operators responded to the threats of more regulation and rules by voluntarily opening up their networks. In November, Verizon Wireless, which has been known to have the tightest "walled garden," did an about-face and said it would create a new service in addition to its traditional service that allows any device that meets basic certification requirements and any application to operate on its network. This means that customers will be able to buy any pre-certified device from a retailer or device maker and add any applications they want to use without restriction. In addition, customers won't be bound to a contract.

AT&T has followed suit with its own open access network offering. And T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel are also moving in this direction by working with Google in its Open Handset Alliance to help promote Google's open software platform called Android.

Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel's CEO, who also spoke at CTIA on Tuesday morning, said the company will continue to make it easier for customers to get access to any application and to use a wide variety of devices on its network.

"The 'walled garden' networks are a thing of the past," he said. "As a charter member of Open Handset Alliance, we will explore and push wireless data even further than it's ever been pushed before."

Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam made it clear during his keynote speech here that the industry has to be proactive to keep regulation at bay. He said that if the carriers open up their networks and listen to what customers want, there will be no need for regulators to get involved.

"We must get rid of some baggage," he said. "This means getting rid of practices and policies that no longer make sense to our customers and listen even more closely to customers and respond quickly. That is how we un-invite potential regulation."

Martin said that the wireless industry's efforts so far have "not gone unnoticed."

"The requirements of open access is leading (the wireless operators) to realize the benefit of open access," he said. "And they've gone from vocal opponents of open access to vocal proponents, embracing open platforms."

Clearly the FCC's pressure has worked to hasten mobile operators' movement in this direction just as it helped push operators to allow cell phone subscribers to take their phone numbers with them when they switched providers and when operators implemented e911 location information to help emergency responders locate callers.

McAdam intimated in his talk that the industry made these changes on its own. But the reality is that Congress mandated number portability and the FCC demanded carriers adhere to e911 requirements. So while McAdam likes to pretend that he and his wireless brethren were simply listening to what customers wanted, that is a little disingenuous.

Still McAdam urged regulators to stay out of the wireless business.

"Remember what regulation has done to the wireline communications industry," he said. "We can't allow (wireless) to become a 21st century regulated phone company...To tamper with a formula that built this growth engine is extremely dangerous. Even as the economy has worsened in recent months wireless is one of few bright spots."

Consumer advocates say that the industry's promises of openness are not enough.

"It is important to recognize that despite the wireless carriers' discussion of increasing openness, the existing wireless handset marketplace for all consumers still remains closed," Markham Erickson, executive director of the Open Internet Coalition, said in a statement. "It would be a serious mistake for the FCC to dismiss Skype's Petition before we've seen whether the telcos will follow through on their promises."

Windows Mobile 6.1

(Credit: Microsoft)

Of the four major mobile operating systems (Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry), we hear plenty of complaints from users that Windows Mobile devices are the hardest to use because of the laborious navigation. And we certainly agree. Seriously, do you really need to go through several steps just to open or close an application? To be fair, Microsoft has heard the cries and made some headway in making its smartphones easier to use with Windows Mobile 6. But there's plenty of room for improvement, and the company is hoping its latest build will solve some of the problems.

At CTIA 2008 on Tuesday, Microsoft announced the latest version of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.1. The update includes several new features designed to make the devices easier to manage and help users save time. Here's a rundown of what you can expect:

New home screen
To start, there's a new home screen that provides a more attractive interface but more importantly, quicker access to key information and applications. There are now a series of panels, which you can scroll through up and down, left or right, to view your missed calls, e-mails, and voicemails; check upcoming appointments; peruse your multimedia library; and access certain settings, such as the Task Manager. There's also a Getting Started wizard that will walk you through your e-mail setup, changing the background image, and setting up Bluetooth connections. For Bluetooth headsets, it will even bypass the whole passcode process (the system automatically enters the manufacturer's default passcodes--usually 0000 or 1234) and automatically connect to the headset. Once you've set everything up, you have the option of removing the Getting Started panel from your home screen. And though minor, the clock size has been increased--a feature Microsoft says its customers have been asking for.

Internet Explorer Mobile
Navigating Web sites is made easier thanks to a feature that allows you to pan in and out. Instead of mercilessly scrolling through an entire page just to get to one part of the site, you can pan out, find the spot you want, and then pan in. Microsoft also announced that it will bring Internet Explorer 6, which means Adobe Flash support, to its smartphones around the holiday season.

Messaging and more
As for messaging, Windows Mobile 6.1 offers just a couple--but key--improvements. First, there's support for threaded text messaging. And you can now select multiple e-mails at once. Other enhancements include richer Windows Live capabilities (check out CNET News.com's Elinor Mills's story for more) and System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 and Exchange Server 2007 SP1 support for better device management and security.

So you're probably wondering, when can you get it? Windows Mobile 6.1 will be available sometime in Q2, and a number of manufacturers (HTC, Samsung Electronics, Motorola, Pantech) and carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Alltel) have already announced that they will offer the upgrade. A sample of supported smartphones include the Samsung BlackJack II, AT&T Tilt, Sprint Motorola Q9c, Sprint Mogul, and Alltel Touch. For the full rundown of devices and features, check out the Microsoft Windows Mobile Web site.

(Credit: Bluepulse)

What's the difference between Bluepulse, Facebook Mobile, and MySpace Mobile? Unlike the others, whose services were adapted from the Web site to the WAP site, Bluepulse was born on cell phones, and its engineering team focused solely on designing a simple, useful social network anyone can use on a Web-ready phone.

New features
Three new features keep to the mantras of simplicity and quick broadcasting while also adding convenience. People are now able to import friends' e-mails from Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, and AOL by either cherry-picking friends or importing them all. While there's a way to add friends by searching for their phone number, name, e-mail address, or Bluepulse log-in later on in the process, the new feature begs for a search field to keep the socially promiscuous from thumbing through 20 pages of friends.

A second new addition takes the form of a daily summary of your activity feed, sent to you via e-mail or SMS if you haven't logged on to Bluepulse for 24 hours. This complements a feature already firmly in place, the optional SMS or e-mail alert you get when you receive, for example, an invite request or message. The friends you've imported via e-mail will receive something similar to this in their in-boxes every time you send them a message via Bluepulse, but don't worry, they can opt out.

A selection of seven emoticons make up the final addition to Bluepulse's mobile social network. Now people can select "pixs" instead of "text" to send one of these smilies to anyone in their network. Like IM, I'd like to be able to mix images with words, but CEO Ben Keighran cites technical reasons why Bluepulse is currently holding back.

(Credit: MySpace)

"A lot of browsers can't handle text and pictures," he said. An image appended by more than four or five words can break simple mobile browsers, he says, but creating a full-blown emoticon and text set for select phones is definitely an option.

MySpace Mobile Web
Bluepulse isn't the only social network with a mobile presence to get work done. Earlier this month, MySpace Mobile Web left beta and made its big push as a much richer mobile app than the beta. Plus, deals with Sprint and Verizon make it much easier for people to directly access their MySpace content as a shortcut from the phone's Web portal. MySpace Mobile Web users can update their profiles, post blogs, peruse photos, and send and receive messages from these shortcuts or by pointing the cell phone browser to m.myspace.com.

>>See all the hot cell phone news from CTIA

Forget about paying several dollars to use 411!

ChaCha, the human-powered Web search service, has a service that puts all kinds of local search and other information at your fingertips, for free. The company is updating its service at CTIA 2008 in Las Vegas on Tuesday to allow you to ask your questions instead of having to type them in.

To use the new service you can call 800-224-2242 (which spells "chacha") and specify the information you want to an automated attendant. ChaCha then sends you a text message with the answer. You can access your questions and answers on the Web as well.

I tried it out and found it accurate and fast. Within a few minutes of me asking where I could get a veggie burger and a margarita in downtown San Francisco it came back with an answer: Perry's Downtown, 185 Sutter Street "They have a full bar, it's casual and good ratings." Bravo!

The service took a little bit longer with my other question: "What is the genesis of April Fools' Day?" The answer: "Is the day of unknown origin. Yet, most of the western world knows this is a day set aside for good hearted pranks, hoaxes & gags." Fair enough. It's not the best question to use to test out a mobile search service anyway. (For a more information on the obscure origins of the holiday visit Museum of Hoaxes.)

Eventually, you will be able to get the answer via voice too, says Scott Jones, chief executive of ChaCha.

The free service launched in January and so far has signed up more than 40,000 unique users and completed more than 600,000 queries, according to Jones.

There are no ads yet but the company is planning to run them in the second half of the year.

Voice input is great for people who are not accustomed to doing "fat-finger texting" or who are driving.

ChaCha had guides dedicated to the Sundance Film Festival and at South By Southwest but it sounds like Twitter was still the place people turned for information about important events at the show, like which parties had short waiting lines.