CTIA 2010 Roundup
Updated with links to new CTIA phone demos.
LAS VEGAS (
) -- Major new product announcements were few and far between at
this week, but the show was marked by a slew of alliances between big-name carriers and tech firms eager to tap the mobile Internet tsunami.
For
Sprint
(S) - Get Report
,
HTC
and
Qualcomm
(QCOM) - Get Report
, this meant launching the
world's first 4G smartphone
.
Samsung
and
Motorola
(MOT)
, however,
both unveiled shiny new
Google (GOOG) - Get Report Android phones
.
TheStreet
got demos of
Sprint's new EVO 4G phone
and
Samsung's Galaxy S
device.
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
and
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
focused their efforts on boosting network coverage. The telecom giant announced that it has been working with Cisco to build its new
device for routing wireless phone calls or data connections over a broadband connection.
|
Inevitably,
Apple's
(AAPL) - Get Report
was
a big talking point at CTIA
, although
Panasonic
(PC)
took the opportunity to
trash talk its tablet rival
.
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
was also beating the tablet drum in Sin City,
previewing its Mini 5 Android device
while
Marvell
(MRVL) - Get Report
discussed its low-cost tablet strategy
.
Despite all the tablet buzz, netbooks, or mini computers, were still prominent at CTIA.
Deutsche Telekom
(DT) - Get Report
subsidiary
T-Mobile
, for example,
, a
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
Inspiron Mini 10. T-Mobile also announced plans to upgrade its 3G service with
High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+)
technology.
Other hot topics at the telecom industry's annual get-together included mobile TV, as
championed by Qualcomm's FLO TV subsidiary
, and
.
A succession of high-profile telecom industry execs, such as AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, also
praised government plans to auction off part of the wireless spectrum
, explaining that extra capacity is needed to cope with ever-prowing data volumes.
The AT&T supremo, however, also urged Washington
not to over-regulate the telecom sector
.
Telecom infrastructure companies such as base station specialist
Crown Castle
(NYSE)
also were out in force at CTIA, outlining their strategies for
harnessing the mobile Internet explosion.
Elsewhere, amongst the myriad demos taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center,
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
showed off its new restaurant search application for iPhones
and
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
gave
TheStreet
a look at its
Windows Phone 7 operating system
.
Prior to CTIA, there had been
that
Verizon
(VZ) - Get Report
would make a major
4G
announcement, possibly with
Skype
. On Tuesday, however, Verizon and Skype announced that Skype Mobile will be available on Verizon Wireless, starting with nine 3G smartphones.
-- Reported by James Rogers in Las Vegas
RELATED STORIES
>>CTIA: Cisco CTO Talks Internet TV
>>Sprint CEO: 4G to Transform Healthcare
>>Sprint Swipes at Apple With 4G Phone
>>Panasonic vs. iPad in Hospitals
>>Marvell's $100 Android Tablet
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