Shoppingkoo: Microsoft to pay Nokia 'more than $1 billion' to make Windows Phones

Though neither Nokia nor CEO Stephen Elop ever said there was an exchange of billions of dollars as a part of the company's tie-up with Microsoft for the Windows Phone platform, Bloomberg is sourcing "two people with knowledge of the terms" in saying that something in excess of $1 billion is flowing from Redmond to Espoo. Though the deal isn't yet finalized -- Elop said as much back at MWC -- it'd apparently call for Microsoft to pay out at least some of the cash upfront with Nokia sending cash in the other direction for device licenses. Interestingly, the deal is said to give Microsoft access to parts of Nokia's expansive patent portfolio -- and they'll have it for quite some time, too: the contract's apparently going to be good for "more than five years." That's more than most marriages, it seems (and roughly as expensive).

Sony Ericsson detailing Xperia Play development: buttons easy, touchpad just a little trickier

In a post on Sony Ericsson's Developer Blog coinciding with the official launch of the Xperia Play at MWC earlier this month, the company clued in developers on how to take advantage of the game-specific controls they'll be dealing with on that glorious slide-out board. In short, it's insanely straight forward for the most part: the hard buttons just generate standard key codes, which explains why existing games worked so well with the unit we'd previewed. The only tricky part comes into play with the center-mounted touchpad, which can't be accessed through the standard Android SDK -- for that, you'll need to turn over to the NDK, the native-code escape hatch that Android devs use when they need higher performance and want to get closer to the hardware. SE's published a 16-page guide on getting to the touchpad through the NDK, and it seems straightforward enough -- and plenty of game developers are well acquainted with the NDK already, anyway -- so we're guessing it won't be much of a hurdle. Getting devs to support an input method that's only available initially on a single commercial device might be a bigger hurdle... but we digress.

PlayBook Android app supporting mentioned during demo at MWC, old BlackBerrys show up in ShopSavvy's BlaAndroid logs

As far-fetched as it may seem, rumors that RIM is working on some sort of Android app support for its QNX-based PlayBook tablet have persisted in various forms for months now -- and they've turned up once again in a video posted by development community MobileMonday's Rio chapter taken at MWCearlier this month, where a RIM rep seemingly says "we will also support Android apps" after talking about Java-based offerings. Of course, this could've been staged by some rabble rousers or a rep could've simply been echoing back the rumors he's seen on the interwebs -- but regardless, it adds fuel to the fire. Follow the break to see the video of that.

But it gets weirder. ShopSavvy -- which makes versions of its app for iOS and Android -- has started turning up a couple of older BlackBerry devices in its Android build's usage statistics on Flurry: the Curve 8300 and 8520, to be specific, along with an 8600 model that doesn't exist (at least, not yet). The 8300, in particular, is pretty ancient at this point and we're having a hard time wrapping our brain around RIM's game plan in porting Dalvik (or a Dalvik-like) VM and associated libraries over to it; if anything, Flurry could be confused. Then again, a next-generation full-touch BlackBerry that just happens to run a full suite of Android apps in a sandbox could be a pretty compelling product, indeed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in] 

Nokia sneaking a look at new Symbian UI during China event

Perched behind Nokia's head of smart devices, Jo Harlow, at a recent event in China is what appears to be a new home screen on an N8, yet more evidence -- hot on the heels of the company's MWC event -- that Espoo still has plenty of love in the wings for its dead-platform-walking. Notably, it appears they're looking at migrating key information to the top of the screen to create a dedicated status bar, which would presumably stay visible as you navigate from screen to screen -- akin to most other platforms on the market -- accompanied by a string of soft button icons at the bottom. Interestingly, the UI in some respects mirrors what we saw on the leaked shots of the apparently killed N9 -- small black status bar and icons along the bottom -- which would seem to tell us one of two things: either the N9 was a Symbian device all along, or the company had planned on standardizing UI elements between its future Symbian and MeeGo roadmaps. Either way, this looks like a nice improvement... and in all likelihood, a far cry from what we'll see when these guys start busting out Windows Phone 7 devices.

Microsoft pushes small update to Windows Phones to prepare for copy and paste update later on

Don't get too excited when you see this update notification pop up -- as far as we can tell, it's got nothing users will notice -- but we've just been told by Microsoft that the company is getting ready to send out the first software upgrade to Windows Phone 7 devices in the field early this week. It's being billed as a "minor update to help prepare" for thecopy and paste stuff (which we're assuming is still targeted for early- to mid-March, per Ballmer's MWC keynote), though the exact timing of this first one will vary a bit depending on carrier. Oh, and a note before you hook up to try to grab it: it also required a recently-pushed update to the Zune software (or the Connector for Mac OS), so you'll need to get that first before restarting the app and looking for the phone firmware.

Question:HTC Incredible S auto-rotating buttons explained?

We were quite bedazzled by the HTC Incredible S after our hands-on at MWC, but it's the auto-rotating icons for the capacitive buttons that left us most intrigued. So we went back to the HTC booth to try to make sense of it all. From what we were able to observe, there's some optical trickery happening here: the icons appear to be glittering and shimmering depending on viewing angle as if lit through a prism, half-mirror or grate of some kind. We think that a pair of LEDs are used to project the intended icon onto the glass surface via either a combination of prisms and half-mirrors, or via horizontally and vertically polarized grates. Watch our video after the break, and let us know in the comments how you think this actually works. 

Just5 CP11 Review

We bumped into Just5 at MWC 2011 and while its handsets aren't even remotely in the smartphone world, its "Cingular" and simplistic approach to mobile devices and security is still kinda neat. So it is all in the name here, Just5 refers to precisely that: these sets have only 5 features. Included are a loud speaker, a radio, S.O.S. emergency button, thermometer -- we've no idea why -- and a flashlight. The set itself has impressive build quality that is in contrast with the really low-end pricing and our favorite bit, a novel screen that pops open stiletto-style when the two buttons on the sides of the phone are pushed. The S.O.S. feature is actually interesting: pushing and holding it results in text messages being sent to 5 pre-defined numbers and the handset then starts calling those 5 numbers until somebody picks up. Just5 is targeting this set at young folks, and of course anybody else interested in a no-nonsense handset -- including the elderly. The Just5 sets are available in Europe, and are on the way to the US as you read this. Video tour and a plump gallery follows.

TCTV News: Mobile World Congress 2011, Capsule Edition

There’s still a full day left at the conference here in Barcelona, but we’ve seen most of what there is to see, and summarized it all up in this video for ease of consumption. Of course, all our coverage can be found at the MWC11 tag, or just by going to MobileCrunch.

Watch the short video inside, and head to the links below for all our MWC love, plus a gallery of shots from around the conference.

Qualcomm shows AllJoyn peer-to-peer sharing / gaming technology

It's simple, but highly complex. You dig? Qualcomm's AllJoyn demonstration here at MWC was quite the eye-opener, but it's hard to say how much traction it'll gain in a world already inundated with short-range transfer protocols. Bluetooth, Infrared, Wi-Fi Direct... the list goes on and on (and on). Essentially, AllJoyn is an open-source software system that doesn't actually have to run atop Qualcomm hardware; if implemented in a particular app, it can enable peer-to-peer sharing with others based on location. If you're standing near someone who also has an AllJoyn-enabled application, you two (or more) can interact -- if you're both using Bluetooth, the range will be around 30 feet, but if you're both using Wi-Fi, it'll obviously be greater. Qualcomm's hoping to entwine its homegrown FlashLinq (more on that in a separate article) in order to let people use this while being up to 1km away from one another. 

The company describes AllJoyn as a software framework for developers that enables easy P2P access; rather than an app developer having to write this functionality in from scratch, they can simply grab Qualcomm's code and integrate it. Currently, the spec only supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but Wi-Fi Direct and FlashLinq support it in the works, and those will hopefully be added by the end of the year. We're told that the company's also working to create a constant link between devices, which could one day (soon) enable streaming support. There's C++, Java and Javascript models available, with Qualcomm's goal being to have developers port this all over the place. The demo (embedded after the break) involved a foursome of phones sharing photographs with one another, while a nearby laptop was shown engaging in a multiplayer game with two smartphones. We were told that the company's currently in talks with a number of large gaming firms to get this ingrained in future titles, but no specifics were available. Another application would be within a social network, enabling AllJoyn apps to alert users when a friend is nearby. A huge boon there is that this doesn't require data, so international groups who'd like to keep tabs on one another's location will be able to do so without roaming on a foreign network. So, any app developers considering bundling this in with your next update?

Qualcomm's AllJoyn peer-to-peer sharing / gaming technology at MWC 2011

Ittiam showing off four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4

Being Mobile World Congress, quite a few software vendors found themselves tucked into corners of bigger booths, eager and willing to showcase their latest work. Ittiam is one of those companies, relying on Texas Instruments' OMAP 4 platform to power its new HD video conferencing system. The demo shown here at MWC involved a foursome of TI development boxes, but the underlying platform was most certainly Android 2.2. Anil Kumar, the manager of Ittiam's video communications division, noted that the system would work just fine on Gingerbread and Honeycomb, enabling up to four devices (smartphones, tablets, whatever) to link up and enjoy a multi-faced call over a standard 3G network. 

Of course, the demonstration that we were shown used an Ethernet network for maximum stability, but the low-bitrate technology would allow bearable results on 3G networks (and better-than-average results on a 4G network). We were told that the company is in talks with "numerous" phone makers, in hopes of getting their VCS software integrated onto Android devices by the year's end -- think Qik, but for video conferencing -- but he couldn't hand out any specifics. Head on past the jump if you'd like to see a demo (and hear an awful lot more). 

HP revamps webOS App Catalog for tablet use, adding carrier billing and magazine-like view

If HP wants webOS to be a competitive mobile ecosystem, the platform's app store has an awful lot ofcatching up to do -- but in terms of raw features, it sounds like the company plans to get with the program soon. PreCentral attended a developer presentation at MWC 2011 where HP showed off a brand new version of the App Catalog specifically designed for the tablet-friendly webOS 3.0, and found it will come with a handful of features that should make it eminently more useful. As you can see in the image above, there are presently four tabs, but two of them are worth calling out: the "Browser" is said to be a magazine-like interface for browsing through apps, while the "Saved" tab lets you bookmark apps you're interested in to consider for purchase or download later on. Perhaps more importantly, the process of actually paying for programs should be streamlined quite soon: HP told attendees that carrier billing and promo codes would find their way into the webOS App Catalog by summer at the very latest, in time for a webOS 3.0 launch, which suggests that it could possibly hit smartphones even a mite sooner.

Will The iPhone nano to forgo local storage? Common sense says 'no'

Well, MWC is in full swing, where folks like LG, Samsung, Sony, and Nokia are pouring their souls out in front of us in device form. So, naturally, the rumors are swirling about... the iPhone nano. In a followup to the Wall Street Journal's big story, Cult of Mac is claiming some additional inside info from a source with a "great track record." The main idea is that the iPhone nano would rely on the cloud to such an extent that the device wouldn't really have any local storage to speak of, outside of a streaming buffer. This would of course go hand in hand with a MobileMe / Lala-powered streaming music service, and result in significant component cost savings (flash memory is still pretty spendy). While this sounds like a beautiful dream, it doesn't make much sense in 2011. Streaming all your music and other media over a capped 3G connection doesn't sound very consumer-friendly, and there are still plenty of situations where having a nice offline stash of music is a lifesaver. But there's a bigger problem: where do you put your apps without local storage? Android's historic shortage of app storage really bit it in the ass, and we doubt Apple wants to go down that route. Sure, we can see a 4GB or so ultracheap device, with a heavy reliance on streaming media (many people get most of their music from Pandora these days, anyways), but a memory-free iPhone just doesn't sound feasible at this point in time.

INQ Cloud Q busting from cover at MWC 2011 and we get glass-on

We've seen INQ's new Cloud Touch and heard about its QWERTY-packing sibling, the Cloud Q. Mobile World Congress has kindly given us the venue to switch heard for almost fondled. Yes, sadly our tour was eyes only as this set was carefully ensconced in glass, connected to cables, and generally unavailable to really touch. Of course, this is MWC and we're pretty certain we'll manage to wrangle one of our own -- but until then know that the same specs apply to both new devices. We were also told that while the devices above are the real deal, final hardware will feature a slightly tweaked keyboard. So until we get an opportunity to really check it out, feast your eyes on the pics and vids that follow.

INQ Cloud Q busts from cover at MWC 2011 and we get glass-on

HTC's Facebook-loving phone show up in a series of press shots

Just a few days ago we heard that HTC might be prepping some lower-end devices with dedicated Facebook widgets, and well, here they are. The two devices -- one featuring a full keyboard and a less ugly one with full touchscreen -- definitely have a Facebook button, and while we know nothing of specs yet, various sources have reported that Facebook updates will be streamed directly to the widget, the camera will upload directly to Facebook, and the phones, which will run a stripped down Android build, will have minimal storage. We're not soothsayers, but we have a feeling we'll know more tomorrow, when HTC's MWC press event gets under way. Hit the source for a shot of the other phone.

Alcatel Onetouch lineup hands-on - Android

Alcatel's on hand at MWC this year with a good pile of sets so we took a few minutes to checkout the Android offerings and a lower-end feature phone. The Onetouch 908 (dark gray set in gallery below) brings Android 2.2 to the world in a very inexpensive package with quad-band GSM, 3G in the Euro range, a 2 megapixel camera and we were told could move to Android 2.3. Also on hand was the Onetouch 890 loaded with Android 2.1, a 2 megapixel camera, and lowly quad-band EDGE -- positioned for a very entry level market, of course.

Alcatel also demoed the flagship Onetouch 990 (pictured above) device, featuring Android 2.2, a 5 megapixel shooter with autofocus, WiFi, 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, and everything else you'd expect in a vanilla Android set. Unfortunately, the device we used had some severe issues with load times, starting apps, and generally moving about through the UI. It felt a bit like something was hanging on to everything we tried to do and slowing the whole device down. Last set we peeked at was the Onetouch (beginning to notice the theme here?) 903, a small dual-band QWERTY feature phone with a 2 megapixel cam, Alcatel's own UI, and -- while likely targeted at the pay as you go market -- had a really great look and feel and a top notch keyboard. These sets should be shipping between March and May of this year.

ViewSonic ViewPad 4 MWC 2011

We've come across the ViewSonic ViewPad 4 once before, specifically at CES, but today at MWC, we took the "tablet device with a smartphone personality" for another spin and came away rather impressed. The hardware was noticeably more refined this time around and closer to final production, with significantly better fit and finish. While our demo unit was running Android 2.2, ViewSonic is planning to ship the light, thin, and angular, 4.1-inch glass and aluminum monolith with the "latest version" of Gingerbread on board. Might that be the ever-elusive Android 2.4? There's no word yet on pricing, but availability is slated for May. Check out the gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

ViewSonic ViewPad 4 MWC 2011 hands-on

Nokia Says: 'Our first priority is beating Android'

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is currently on stage at MWC in Barcelona, and he's had a few choice things to say about the recent announcement that Nokia will partner with Microsoft to create devices which run Windows Phone software. Elop told the crowd assembled there that Nokia's "first priority is beating Android," and he also took a moment to let everyone know that Nokia is not interested in being the only company producing Windows Phones -- countering some recent exclusivity chatter. The presentation is still going on, so we'll keep you updated.