HTC Desire S gets priced by Amazon for April release in the UK

HTC’s Desire S was unveiled at Mobile World Congress last week, with a planned release in the second quarter of this year. Amazon UK has got more specific though, making the Android-based smart phone available to pre-order with an expected release date of 18 April, and a SIM-free price tag of £419.99. Good value? What you’ll be getting for your …

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Sony launches music

Sony has launched a new music-streaming service in Australia today, which offers users access to up to 6 million tracks without the need for downloads. The Music Unlimited service offers a choice of 6 million songs and up to 100 channels. (Credit: Sony) The Music Unlimited service will be available in two options: the Basic package (AU$4.99/month), which enables users …

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How I broke the rugged Sonim XP3300 Force (review)

The joke’s on you, Sonim XP300 Force. You taunted me with your thick rubber sidings and waterproof, mud-flap-protected charger port and headphone jacks. You bragged with your impressive laundry list of certifications for withstanding heat, cold, humidity, dust, salt, and shock. You laughed in the face of water. But now you’re cracked, over, kaput. Spilling shards of glass as effortlessly …

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Intel looking for new MeeGo partner after Nokia’s move to Windows Phone

Nokia has not abandoned the MeeGo OS it’s been jointly developing with Intel, but the former company’s decision to focus on Windows Phone for its smart phones looked like bad news. Intel isn’t throwing in the towel, though: CEO Paul Otellini says it’s looking for a new partner to keep the dream alive. “We will find another partner. The carriers …

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Nokia baits developers with free Windows Phones

Microsoft and Nokia may have spent much of Mobile World Congress trying to convince attendees of the meritsof their fresh, new partnership, but the harder step will perhaps be urging Nokia’s loyal Symbian developers to shift alliances. There’s nothing like free stuff to help change one’s mind. To that end, Nokia will be giving away one E7 smartphone and one …

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Nokia X2 makes its way to T

Even as Nokia makes its deal with Microsoft, it still has older Nokia phones to sell. This Nokia X2, for example, is a candy bar QWERTY phone that still runs on Series 40, and has just showed up on T-Mobile USA’s prepaid site. Features include a 2.4-inch display, text and multimedia messaging, e-mail, Opera Mini, a microSD card slot, and …

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Sony Ericsson has tools and vision to become dominant Android player

After a less than perfect start to its Android efforts, Sony Ericsson has hit the ground running in the new year. The company already has introduced four new smartphones since January and CEO Bert Nordberg told CNET at Mobile World Congress that Sony Ericsson is aiming to be the No. 1 Android player in the world. That’s a lofty goal …

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Ask Maggie: On hot trends at Mobile World Congress

BARCELONA, Spain–There are many reasons why I love Barcelona: the food, the wine, the art, the architecture–and of course, the mobile phones. You didn’t know Barcelona was a hotbed of activity for the mobile industry? Well, for a week every February, the GSM (Groupe Speciale Mobile) Association hosts the Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest trade show and conference for …

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Teaching your iPad new positions: Hands

Sometimes it feels like we’ve seen every iPad case in the universe–and then there comes a weird new design that takes iPad culture to an even deeper level. Enter the Joby Gorillamobile Ori and Yogi cases, both of which transform–in different ways–into some positions that even made us blush. Joby Gorillamobile Yogi and Ori iPad cases in all their poses …

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Back to the Future for iPad: A welcome addition to the present

Shortly before the calendar struck 2011, gamers and movie fans alike were treated to something special: a new “Back to the Future” adventure for PC and Mac. It was, by most accounts, a terrific game. Now it’s time for iPad owners to get their, er, McFly on: Back to the Future: Episode 1 HD ($6.99) has arrived. And it’s the …

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Mobile phone e

BARCELONA, Spain–Later this year you’ll be able to pay for clothes, taxi fare, and dinner with your mobile phone and leave your credit cards and cash at home. Visa is planning a commercial rollout in the U.S. in the second half of this year of a service for allowing allow people to turn their existing smartphones into electronic wallets. It …

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INQ boss on why ‘pretty girls’ prefer iPhone and BlackBerry to Android

Google’s Android stand at Mobile World Congress has been getting men of a certain age and scruffiness hot under the collar all week with its giant green robots and collectable pin-badges. But women? INQ CEO Frank Meehan thinks Android still isn’t androgynous enough. “If you go to a nightclub in any city in the world, the pretty girl has an …

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Highs and lows from Mobile World Congress

Another Mobile World Congress is in the bag, and as the CNET crew leaves Barcelona we can take stock of the mobile madness that was. It was my fourth year attending the show, and I can report that 2011 was one the busiest I’ve seen, with a ton of new smartphones and tablets. It was a lot to handle, but …

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