Cell phones

Fitbit adds $30M to its coffers

Successful health technology startup Fitbit has just gained access to a new round of investment funding, to the sweet tune of $30 million.

According to a report by venture capital watcher TechCrunch, multiple sources have told the outlet that Fitbit is in the process of raising over $30 million. This influx of additional cash has helped the company notch an impressive $300 million in valuation.

While the extra funding is eye-popping, these figures should not come as a big surprise to those following the personal fitness space closely. The category is exploding with a flood of players, from device makers … Read more

Nokia Lumia 822 software update adds messaging features

Nokia Lumia 822 owners can expect a small gift from Finland today. An over-the-air software update began rolling out to the Verizon Wireless Windows Phone 8 device at 1 p.m. ET.

New features in the update include improved performance for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and support for more microSD card brands. You'll also gain the ability to select an MP3 file as a ringtone, edit a multimedia message when forwarding, select multiple recipients for a message (yes!), and ignore calls with a text message reply.

A slightly downgraded Nokia Lumia 920, the Lumia 822 is one of three Windows … Read more

Sprint's Force brings LTE, but no Jelly Bean

If you didn't get enough new phones from Mobile World Congress this week, then I have good news for you. Sprint today followed through on a previous leak by announcing the Sprint Force, an Android smartphone made by ZTE.

Running on Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 and powered by an 1.5GHz dual-core processor, the Force Sprint has a 4-inch WVGA (480x800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display and, for a smartphone at least, a relatively compact build (4.88 by 2.54 by 0.47 inches; 5.4 ounces).

Inside you'll find Wi-Fi, a 5-megapixel main camera with … Read more

Why you want a dual-SIM phone

When I think about the features that I need in a smartphone, I tend to be pretty practical. Sure, apps, a media player, and a good-quality Web browser are great, but what I really want is a good dual-SIM card phone. And fortunately for me, the 2013 Mobile World Congress didn't disappoint.

Now I know that dual-SIM phones have been around for years, but the biggest OEMs in wireless haven't put a lot of resources behind them. Smaller manufacturers, particularly from China, have made up the slack, but those devices can be hard to find outside of Asia. … Read more

HTC expects Sense 5 for select 2012 phones

HTC quietly confirmed today (or should I say quietly and brilliantly?) that its custom Sense 5 interface will come to select 2012 Android smartphones. A post on the company's Facebook from last week tells of multiple models which should expect the new HTC experience.

The short list of devices tapped for the HTC Sense 5 UI are the HTC One X, One X+, One S and the HTC Butterfly. HTC does not explicitly name which iterations will see the update though it mentions "global variants." Depending on how loosely this is interpreted, we might see the Droid … Read more

Practical, affordable phones take center stage at MWC 2013

BARCELONA, Spain--Although mobile phones will always have a central role at Mobile World Congress, this year the red-hot buzz went to software, tablets, wearable tech, and other geeky-cool oddities.

With heavy hitter HTC announcing its flagship HTC One days before MWC, and Samsung saving its Galaxy S4 announcement for March 14, it was the sensible, midrange Android phones that made up the bulk of the announcements.

However, it was the outlier operating systems that really stole the show.

Firefox, Ubuntu, Tizen: The other, other OSes

The mobile, browser-based Firefox OS appeared on several smartphones, like the Geeksphone Peak (our pick … Read more

11 must-see videos from Mobile World Congress

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is just a day away from closing in Barcelona, Spain. Housed in a brand-new venue and bigger than ever, the show burst at the seams with everything wireless. Sure, there were a ton of new phones and tablets, but those headline devices only scratched the surface. CNET's team of reporters scoured the show floor to find everything from a GPS-enabled cane to a touchless touch screen.

So if you can't be in Barcelona, join CNET for a video tour of some of the hottest devices and most fascinating finds of the show.

Big screens and Jelly Bean mark Android trends at Mobile World Congress

As expected, the annual Mobile World Congress has delivered an army of new Android devices. Really, though, we'd expect nothing less from the world's largest gathering of mobile-minded products and services. And with Android playing a dominant role in the smartphone landscape, it stands to reason that a majority of new phones and tablets would launch with the Google platform.

A number of standout devices made headlines this week, including the ZTE Grand Memo, Huawei Ascend P2, and the Sony Tablet Z.

LG got things started last week with the refreshed Optimus L series as well as new … Read more

AA battery powers SpareOne emergency cell phone

BARCELONA, Spain--How much would you pay for peace of mind? The $100 price tag on the SpareOne Plus seems mighty steep when you're safe and sound, but if you faced an emergency, or desperately needed to make a call, a Benjamin might start looking like a bargain.

That's the company's pricing gambit, but strip it away and the SpareOne Plus is one of the most simple cell phones I've ever seen, but a unique one at that. For starters, it doesn't have a screen. In its place is a window to a single AA battery, … Read more