Alcatel-Lucent’s booth from Mobile World Congress 2014. The company is back with bigger news this year. Sarah Tew/CNET BARCELONA — To network-equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent, Wi-Fi and LTE can be BFFs. The two wireless technologies haven’t always gotten along with each other. Wi-Fi has an open architecture using unlicensed spectrum, so just about anyone can set …
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BARCELONA–A flagship Lumia smartphone from Microsoft is coming. Just not today. Stephen Elop at Mobile World Congress in 2014. Sarah Tew/CNET Stephen Elop, head of Microsoft’s devices business, promised to bring out a flagship smartphone later this year, timed with the launch of Windows 10. The company has yet to say when the new operating system would launch. Microsoft, the …
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The new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will work with Samsung Pay. Josh Miller/CNET BARCELONA–Now it’s Samsung’s turn to take a stab at mobile payments. The world’s largest smartphone manufacturer on Sunday unveiled Samsung Pay, its own take on allowing you to pay for goods and services by waving your smartphone near the register instead of swiping a credit …
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BARCELONA — “Our mainstream for wearable devices is based on Android Wear.” The statement was repeated over and over by multiple executives at a Sunday press conference here, the highlight of which was the LG Watch Urbane LTE, a smartwatch that runs on an operating system that is definitely not Android Wear. The Urbane LTE instead runs on the LG …
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Elements of the BlackBerry Classic will find their way to the iPhone and Android. CNET BARCELONA — BlackBerry, best known for its trademark keyboard-equipped smartphones, wants to break out of its own shell. The niche device manufacturer on Sunday unveiled its plans to create a “BlackBerry Experience Suite,” taking BlackBerry features like its Hub messaging portal, virtual keyboard and security …
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The HTC One M9 takes an evolutionary approach with only minor tweaks to the body. Andrew Hoyle/CNET BARCELONA — HTC formally embarked on its mission to transform itself after unveiling not only a new smartphone, but also a fitness tracker and virtual reality headset. The trio of products highlights the company’s desire to move beyond smartphones, following in the footsteps …
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BARCELONA–IKEA wants to make wireless charging a reality in your home. IKEA will start carrying wireless-charging-capable furniture in April. Roger Cheng/CNET The world’s largest furniture maker said on Sunday that it would begin selling tables, work desks, nightstands and other pieces of furniture capable of wirelessly charging your smartphone when placed in contact. The new line of furniture will hit …
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WebOS, the cult favorite smartphone operating system pioneered by Palm, is making a comeback in mobile thanks to LG and its latest smartwatch. LG on Thursday took the wraps off the LG Watch Urbane LTE , the first smartwatch able to connect to a high-speed 4G wireless network. The smartwatch doesn’t run on Google’s Android Wear software, but instead on …
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Google Wallet hasn’t been broadly adopted. Google The war for mobile payments — the ability to pay at the cash register with your smarpthone — is heating up. Google said on Monday that it’s partnering with Softcard, a joint venture between Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile to expand the reach of its Google Wallet mobile payment service. As part of …
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HTC’s Creative Labs studio in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood is tasked with coming up with the software experience on all the company’s products. James Martin/CNET SEATTLE–I arrived in the tech-revitalized, hipster neighborhood of Pioneer Square on a crisp December morning, eager to see HTC’s Creative Labs studio and meet up with the team of designers responsible for the novel interface …
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