Microsoft today held a jam-packed session at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, detailing Windows 8 and its plans for the future. Throughout Microsoft’s nearly two-hour showcase, the company often used the term “fast and fluid.” Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s president of the Windows Division, as well as a few of his colleagues, slung around the …

BARCELONA, Spain–App developers and consumer advocates are unhappy with news this week that AT&T may be considering a plan that would allow data-heavy service providers to pay upfront for the bandwidth their customers may use. AT&T CTO John Donovan, seen here at a trade show in 2009, says the carrier is considering a 1-800-like data service. Marguerite Reardon/CNET Earlier this …

Samsung’s Galaxy Beam — the phone with a projector built-in for no reason other than “hey, why not?” — will cost just short of £400 when it goes on sale this summer. Unlocked Mobiles has priced it up at £385 including VAT. The handset will go on sale in July — not an ideal time of year to use a …

If you were salivating over the Samsung Galaxy S II last May, but were bummed because you’re on U.S. Cellular, you’ll be happy to hear that it is available on the carrier’s network right now. For customers who are eligible for an upgrade, the device is $249.99 after you sign up for a two-year agreement and send in a $100 …

Apparently, new phones, tablets, and other hardware aren’t making the only news coming out of Barcelona, Spain, this week, as popular social discovery engine StumbleUpon has just released its newest Android app. A featured developer at the Google Android booth, StumbleUpon got to show off its updated Android app as well as its new logo and color scheme at Mobile …

Now playing: Watch this: Windows 8 beta unifies desktop and tablet–but will people… 5:24 Microsoft pulled back much of the scaffolding and secrecy surrounding Windows 8 today at Mobile World Congress. I’ve been using the Windows 8 beta (download), officially known as the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, for the past week, and it’s by far the most integrated and capable …

Windows Phone is in a “tooth-and-nail battle” with Android and iPhone that could last a decade, according to Microsoft. Windows-powered smart phones may not be selling in huge numbers now, but Microsoft promises that after Windows 8 explodes on to the scene, 2013 will be “the year of Windows Phone”. I sat down with Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman, director for Windows …

Microsoft just went a long way toward getting Windows 8 Consumer Preview users to download boatloads of apps. The company said today at its address at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, that all applications in its Windows Store will be available for free. There is just one catch, however: the deal will only be available in the Windows 8 …

Windows 8 in its many forms, on display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. Aloysius Low/CNET Asia Editor’s note: We used ScribbleLive to cover Microsoft’s presentation today at Mobile World Congress. You can see highlights in the story that follows, or skip down to the embedded ScribbleLive module to replay the event along with commentary from our readers and …

It’s become very fashionable lately to talk down the personal computer. HP infamously flirtedwith dropping out of the PC business before backtrackingunder a new CEO, and a Dell executive recently said, “We’re no longer a PC company, we’re an IT company.” Add two years of non-stop iPad fever (and the resultant tablet gold rush), and that old-fashioned keyboard-touchpad-screen device sitting …

BARCELONA, Spain–When Foursquare co-founder and CEO Dennis Crowley talks about recycling data, he isn’t talking about being green. Crowley is referring to the wealth of data that comes in through its Foursquare mobile check-in app, which can be turned into a recommendation engine for consumers looking for new places to explore. “We’re enabling people to cut through the data stream …

BARCELONA, Spain–University students reportedly protesting education spending cuts held a rally in front of Mobile World Congress today, choking traffic to and from the venue. A large row of students stood in the roundabout in front of the Fira Barcelona, the event space for Mobile World Congress. Between the protesters and the Fira was a two-deep row of policemen decked …

BARCELONA, Spain–Today at Mobile World Congress, Ericsson CEO Hans Vestbeg, saunters over to a bicycle on the far edge of his keynote stage and touched a spoke. Instead of hopping on the bike, like many in the audience undoubtedly hoped he would, the leader of the Swedish network equipment giant announced that this particular bike is a connected device. The …

Whoa there — the iPad 3 is launching next week, we know that much, but a new Apple TV could be coming too. Unfortunately it won’t be the fabled TV set Apple is said to be working on, but rather its dinky set-top box. But still, should be quite a day. 9to5Mac quotes reliable sources as saying the new box …

Soon LG and Samsung won’t be the only TV makers to offer the ability to control your TV by talking to it. Yesterday Nuance Communications announced that its Dragon TV voice control platform would be shipping with some Panasonic TVs in Europe this year. Plans for a US introduction were not announced, and a Panasonic representative I spoke to didn’t …