NEW ORLEANS–As expected, the first day of CTIA 2012 was inundated with the release of new phones ranging from companies like Kyocerato HTC. Now that the trade show is settling into its second day, however, most of the buzz heard around town came from carriers. Don’t get us wrong; new handset announcements pop up arbitrarily, …

NEW ORLEANS — Kyocera isn’t a stranger to making water-resistant phones. Since 2008, the manufacturer has released 16 devices, all of which can withstand a good splash or two. Today, the manufacturer announced its newest addition to the lineup: The Kyocera Hydro. Unlike the Kyocera DuraPlus, which is aimed for an enterprise demographic, the Hydro is made to please a …

NEW ORLEANS–For those whose hearts go aflutter and fingers go a-flying for QWERTY keyboards, Kyocera’s newest Android Ice Cream Sandwich handset (yes, you read that right — it has ICS), the Kyocera Rise, may be up your alley. The phone manufacturer announced the handset at CTIA 2012. Along with the slide-out keyboard, it also sports a 3.5-inch LCD touch-screen display …

NEW ORLEANS–From a user point of view, ZTE’s head of the North American business, Lixin Cheng, prefers the Windows Phone OS over Android. “In my personal experience, the iPhone, of course, has a well-polished user interface experience,” Cheng told CNET. “And then Windows, and then Android.” But for the small-time phone manufacturing company, which has been steadily trying to plant …

Now playing: Watch this: Hear loud and clear with Clarity’s Pal 1:12 NEW ORLEANS–Sure, Pal by Clarity isn’t the sleekest or most high-tech phone on the market. It doesn’t go on the Internet, it can’t take pictures, and it definitely won’t let you play a round of Angry Birds on its screen. Instead, Pal was designed for an older demographic, …

Kyocera rep Brad Shewmake demonstrates how a Kyocera device equipped with hard-tissue conduction technology can be heard even through noise-canceling headphones. Lynn La/CNET NEW ORLEANS–In addition to the many niche devices Kyocera has under its belt, like its handful of rugged phones for enterprise workers, the phone manufacturer announced tonight its hard-tissue conduction audio technology. Considered a “revolution” in voice …

Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Focus 2 does $50 LTE 1:29 NEW ORLEANS–AT&T’s Samsung Focus 2 made an appearance today at an AT&T event before CTIA 2012 officially kicks off on May 8. Like the carrier’s other low-cost Windows Phone, the Samsung Focus Flash, the Focus 2 is also priced at $49.99 after a two-year contract. Unlike the Focus Flash, …

NEW ORLEANS–Omnilink, a company that provides industries such as fleet owners, construction companies, and law enforcement with location-based solutions, announced today that along with its long-time partner, Sprint, it will be releasing three new devices to help enterprise companies track their valuables. These products will be able to locate and monitor assets such as bank bags, ATMs, and cars. Even …

NEW ORLEANS–Today, I caught a glimpse of CTIA 2012 one day earlier than most and roamed around the show floor before its set to kick off tomorrow. Among all the construction and chaos, as companies in the mobile phone industry scurried to finish building their booths, I came across LG’s splice of convention real estate. CTIA 2012: Behind the scenes …

According to Sydney Myers, an editor from PhoneDog, T-Mobile said that it will release devices carrying BlackBerry’s new operating system, BlackBerry 10, starting this November. Related stories Can RIM make the virtual keyboard sexy again? No new devices, but RIM talks up its virtual BlackBerry keypad Hands on with the BlackBerry 10 keyboard and Dev Alpha phone The carrier’s support …