Even in its current state of transition, Nokia’s never been shy about attempting extreme cell phone design. We’ve seen everything form round keypads to square handsets, so it’s not surprising that the company puts out an occasional list of concept devices. Its latest batch isn’t very ambitious as concept phones go, but they show the …

Last week, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Google was beginning to take a firmer hand in controlling how partners use the Android operating system on their devices. Writers Ashlee Vance and Peter Burrows didn’t get too specific–they mostly relied on background interviews–but they described a few ways that the Googleplex is taking control. For example, Google now must be involved in …

From the moment AT&T announced a $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile almost two weeks ago, many industry watchers agreed that the deal would face close scrutiny from federal regulators. The deal would, after all, lump an estimated 130 million subscribers under one carrier and make AT&T the only major GSM provider in the country. AT&T has yet to file the …

San Francisco’s board of supervisors has agreed to put its Right-to-Know Ordinance under further review after the wireless industry’s lobbying arm claimed the legislation infringes on the First Amendment rights of cell phone retailers. In an interview with CNET, CTIA spokesman John Walls said the city cannot force retailers to distribute materials that warn consumers about the possible negative effects …

AT&T announced a new equipment protection plan today that bundles insurance, support, and phone location services for $9.99 per month. Most of the carrier’s current handsets (PDF) will be compatible with the AT&T Mobile Protection Pack, though iPhone and iPad users will have to resort to other solutions like Apple’s MobileMe and Find My iPhone/iPad. Customers who sign up for …

What a difference a trade show makes. Though Motorola dominated CES back in January, it didn’t even whimper at CTIA 2011 last week. Indeed, the company announced no new phones and its small booth was way at the back of the show floor. I had to look on the map to find it, actually, and once there I found just …

We missed this last week while we were at CTIA, but Aircell announced a new smartphone for making that all-important call from 35,000 feet. The Aircell Smartphone (catchy name, eh?) will allow air travelers on private business jets to make and receive calls just as they would while on the ground. It will be compatible with Aircell’s forthcoming GoGo Biz …

Get your game in with the Echo’s larger player view Bonnie Cha/CNET ORLANDO, Fla.–In addition to delivering lots of new phones, trade shows like CTIA 2011 offer an opportunity to see any recent models that haven’t yet to passed through your hands. This year, CTIA was my first chance to handle the Kyocera Echo, the dual-screen Android handset for Sprint. …

Orlando, Fla.–T-Mobile had more than the LG G2X and Sidekick 4G to show at CTIA 2011. And no, we’re not talking about a plan as to how customers will be affected form the planned merger with AT&T. No, T-Mobile also introduced four products for its HSPA+ network: a portable W-Fi hot-spot and three USB laptop sticks. The devices are optimized …

ORLANDO, Fla.–If you asked us a week ago whether CTIA 2011 would be hectic, we would have said “probably not.” But then last Sunday, two days before the show began, the news of a certain merger broke and we knew the week would be a wild ride. Indeed, CTIA delivered a fresh crop of phones and tablets, and like CES …