What to expect from Mobile World Congress 2016
The first big mobile show of the year gets even bigger.
The first big mobile show of the year gets even bigger.
AT&T started selling BlackBerry's first Android-powered smartphone, a slider called the Priv, for $250 with a two-year contract, a price that could entice buyers who are reluctant to pay BlackBerry's own $699 off-contract price.
Every smartphone that has passed through our testing labs in 2016 has been rounded up on this page. Readers in the market for a new smartphone: this is a good starting point. Consider the smartphones available, narrow the selection down according to your price range and then begin qualifying either the retailer or carrier best suited to your individual needs.
At the end of 2006, the cell phone landscape was awash with devices that filled specific wants and needs. If you wanted the coolest way to make calls, you got the RAZR. If you needed to email colleagues on the go, you bought a BlackBerry. If you were constantly texting your friends during study hall, there was the Sidekick.
"Samsung continues to struggle to control its falling smartphone share, which was at its highest in the third quarter of 2013."
At this point, it's obvious Windows Phone is in trouble. The platform remains a distant third in almost every market behind Android handsets and the iPhone. It remains far behind behind both platforms in terms of available apps. Its market share contracted last quarter and many people don't even know the platform is out there. About the only good news for Windows Phone is that seems to be holding steady ahead of BlackBerry.
It's been a long time since I had an iPhone. I've spent a few years wishing I had one again. But now that I do, I'm not as pleased as I expected to be.
The new Apple-IBM partnership seems sure to help Apple sell more iPads to businesses, but it may also be setting off alarm bells at mobile device management companies large and small.
After encountering problems last year selling its newest smartphones, BlackBerry has shifted to a stronger focus on the enterprise, especially through distribution of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 mobility management client software.
Nokia's three new Android smartphones -- the X, X+ and XL -- could prove to be the biggest lesson for the smartphone industry at the 2014 Mobile World Congress.
Politics collided with the world of technology this year as stories about U.S. government spying stirred angst both among the country's citizens and foreign governments, and the flawed HeathCare.gov site got American health-care reform off to a rocky start. Meanwhile, the post-PC era put aging tech giants under pressure to reinvent themselves. Here in no particular order are IDG News Service's picks for the top 10 tech stories of the year.
Apple's App Store, Google's Play store and other app stores are packed with apps that can compromise your security and privacy without you ever knowing anything bad happened. What's a mobile app user to do?
Few tools of modern technology have become as prevalent as the cell phone, which allows you to be in touch from almost anywhere, almost all the time. And you can do more than just talk: Today's phones let you send and receive email and text messages, surf the Web, and play music and videos. Sifting through the sea of service plans and handsets can be difficult, but we'll walk you through what you need to know to get the phone and the service plan that are right for you.
The new BlackBerry Z30 offers a bright 5-in. display, exceptionally long battery life and improved software. But can the company stick around long enough to make it matter?
BlackBerry's fall means CIOs must quickly develop a new mobile strategy. The big three of enterprise mobility are familiar names -- Apple, Samsung and Microsoft. Who will win out?