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 …