Microsoft’s Tag Reader is an app that allows you to scan a product’s bar code using your phone’s camera. Your phone will then give you information on the product including promotions, videos and special offers. This is the Redmond based firm’s first application for Android and Tag Reader has already been released for the iPhone, Symbian, BlackBerry and of course, Windows Mobile platforms. The app is free and can be downloaded from the Android Market. If you Pre and Pixi users feel a bit left out, start bugging Microsoft and perhaps the next build will be for webOS.
source: Microsoft via Engadget, UnwiredView

There were a couple of Giga-BYTE smartphones that stuck up their heads over in the Ukraine – one is found running Android 1.6 while the other is Windows Mobile 6.5. The Giga-BYTE GSmart G1305 Codfish really sports some features that aptly follows its name – something that wouldn’t be considered a big fish in the sea of current high-end Android contenders. The Codfish features a 3.2” HVGA touchscreen, 256MB of RAM, 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, tri-band HSDPA connectivity, and quad-band connectivity. On the other hand, the Giga-BYTE GSmart S1205 Cougar might appeal to more people because it looks a bit more elegant – its name definitely radiates in its design. The unique thing about the Cougar is that it’s a dual-SIM quad-band GSM handset running Windows Mobile 6.5 and features a 3.2” touchscreen, 416MHz processor, 128MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, and GPS. Just by looking at the image of the handset, the Cougar has a somewhat square theme going on which attracts you to its luster. That’s basically all the information provided for now in regards to these handsets – hopefully more light will be shed on its pricing and availability soon.
via Unwired View

As we’ve already heard how Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha recently made comments regarding the possibility to forging a new relationship with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series, HTC looks to be in the same boat that Motorola once stood with the Redmond based company. It’s known that Motorola cut the product development for its Windows Mobile phones in favor of setting their attention on Android. During MWC, HTC unveiled a few new smartphones, but some may interpret it as a somewhat strained relationship considering all the recent Android handset announcements from HTC. When you look back at it, HTC has been a constant figure in the support and development of the Windows Mobile platform. Thankfully though there is no cause for alarm because HTC’s own CEO managed to settle things straight during a meeting at MWC. Chou said, “Our commitment to Microsoft has never changed. Of course, we are very committed to Android as well. We are very long-term committed to those two.” With that in mind, HTC plans to continue supporting those two platforms, as well as its own, in continuing its attack on the smartphone market. There’s no change of heart for this company – especially when their foundation was built to where it stands now thanks to its long time support for Microsoft’s platform.
source: Reuters via wmpoweruser

We’ll never forget how Motorola led the pack for Microsoft’s mobile platform with the release of the Motorola Q – it was sought to be the start of a long journey for the two. Even after what’s considered by many to be the golden years of Motorola, their relationship seemed to be strained as Motorola slowly lost its grasp in the industry. Now after sitting down and talking to the Wall Street Journal, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha provided some interesting personal thoughts about recent events that have unfolded in the industry. For example, it looked like the partnership with Android seemingly brought them back into the spotlight with the Motorola DROID being such a big hit for them. Looking back when Windows Mobile ran into some delays, Jha severed the product development with the operating system to keep the company from going under during that time – at that point, they were open to aggressively focus on Android. Now that things are starting to look pretty green over at Motorola land, Jha has a lot of ideas such as using the Motoblur interface with some of their set-top boxes. Jha goes on to say, “If I had more money for R&D, I’d be developing an operating platform.” If they had the capital of what other companies like Samsung has, they too would be developing their own platform; much like what Samsung is doing with Bada. When it comes to Microsoft’s announcement about Windows Phone 7 Series platform, he goes on further to say, “I’m open to it…I think I need diversity in our portfolio.” So there you have it, Motorola’s recent successes have really made them open to ideas that they couldn’t execute back then – we’ll see how things pan out for them.
source: The Wall Street Journal via Gizmodo

We’d suspect that most people are more careful about where they place their cell phones than they do with a TV remote control. It’s happened to just about everyone, but it’s made worse when you misplaced the remote as your favorite show starts to come on. Instead of relying on the all powerful TV remote to control your viewing programs, Motorola DROID and HTC Imagio owners can get the first taste of using the Verizon FIOS Mobile Remote app on their handsets – it basically emulates your remote by providing some of the functions right on your phone. In addition, it adds an icon-based favorites view of channels and the ability to transfer photos from the phone to your television screen. The setup may be a little bit more engaged than others – the handsets essentially connects to your FIOS box through your local Wi-Fi connection and requires the download of a widget for the set top box to get everything properly synced. Once you’ve managed to deal with the strenuous process, you’ll now be able to rely on your phone to control most of your TV watching functions. And we’re confident that these two smartphones will stay close by to your pockets as opposed to your standard remote.
source: Verizon via Engadget

Spring is going to end up being one cheery time for the many people who are excited about the recent announcements that HTC made during MWC. Aside from the wintery weather still lingering on, we’re sure that many people out there are looking forward to the warmer weather accompanying spring – still there is better news with some of HTC’s handsets going live some time around then. The HTC Desire, Legend, and HD Mini made one of the biggest headlines during MWC’s center stage – all are expected to be available through Expansys starting on April 12. They’re going for £419.99 ($656), £399.99 ($625), and £349.99 ($547) respectively. Although it’ll be some time before you see the handset get shipped, you can expect to be guaranteed a handset if you buy now. The next thing you’ll know is that spring is right around the corner and you can be one of the first to get your hands on one of HTC’s latest handsets. These devices won’t be cheap in any way, so just expect to save up a good amount if you want to be the first in your block to be holding one.
source: Desire, Legend, HD Mini

Mozilla’s VP of Mobiles, Jay Sullivan, recently sat down with TechRadar and had some interesting things to say. Firefox for Android is likely to appear late in 2010 the executive said, and added that Android is a great fit for Firefox. He said, “It’s a modern OS, and it’s a great fit with us. It’s the type of platform that has a high affinity with the early adopter, and it’s seen a lot of uptake.” Part of the reason for the delay is that while Android OS built on Java code, Firefox mobile uses C and C++. It wasn’t until late last year that the Native Development Kit was released, which allowed Mozilla to write the program for Android.

Sullivan also spoke about Windows Mobile. There is an alpha version for the OS but now that Microsoft has announced the made from scratch Windows Phone 7, Mozilla needs to decide whether or not to target Windows Mobile 6.5 or 7. And while Sullivan did say that he didn’t know too much about the MeeGo joint venture between Nokia and Intel, he deemed it an exciting opportunity. “Nokia has been a great partner for us, helped Firefox Mobile to get better, and we hope that continues, he said. “Mozilla has also been in Moblin (Intel’s previous Linux-based platform) for a while, and that company has contributed a lot over the years.It all lines up pretty well, although I don’t know how it will all shake out.” For Android users, it shakes out to another browser choice. For Windows Mobile, it depends on what Sullivan decides to do.
source: TechRadar via BGR

Windows Mobile won’t be the only one supporting the SPB Mobile Shell app that’s popular among end users and OEMs. Now it’s branching out with support for the Android and Symbian platforms with SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 – it exudes a new eye catching 3D engine and a new “natural interaction engine” that’ll be able to support multi-touch. These new eye candy glazed effects are seen in the 3D Media Player, 3D Photo Viewer, 3D Weather, and dynamic 3D widgets. Other major updates found on it are improved social networking integration that involves contacts, messages, photos, and statuses to be sync with popular services like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Although most of its features have been made known, there is still a cloud surrounding its pricing, release date, or if there are going to be any phones down the road that will come pre-installed with it.
source: SPB Software via Engadget

Similarly to what happened last year, Acer is putting up quite a strong performance at MWC 2010. The company has showcased four new cell phones, including two brand new beTouch family members – the Е110 and E400, based on Android versions 1.5 and 2.1 respectively. The Acer beTouch E110 is being introduced as an affordable smartphone that comes with 2.8-inch QVGA display, 3.2-megapixel camera and 3G support, but without Wi-Fi. Finally, it appears to integrate a weakling processor, the ST Ericsson PNX6715 running at 416MHz. The beTouch E400 is more of a mainstream device that packs 3.2-inch HVGA display, 3.2-megapixel camera, 600MHz processor and Wi-Fi. Both cell phones will bring rich software functionality via a number of additional applications, similarly to the Acer Liquid A1. The Acer beTouch E110 is due this March, while the beTouch E400 is expected in April.

The Acer beTouch E110 and E400

The other two handsets run Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and belong to the neoTouch series – meet the P300 and P400. They are models that do not shine with any spectacular extra features – the Acer neoTouch P300 integrates 3.2-inch screen with WQVGA resolution, 3.2-megapixel camera and hardware QWERTY keyboard, while the neoTouch P400 is equipped with 3.2-inch display as well (but with HVGA resolution), 3.2-megapixel camera and lacks QWERTY. Both devices will come with the standard pack of features typical of cell phones in the same price category, including 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The market launch of the Acer neoTouch P300 is scheduled for March, but the neoTouch P400 will get delayed until May.

There is still no information on the retail prices that Acer´s new models will be released at.

The Acer neoTouch P300 and P400

By the way, what the manufactured has showed at MWC as well is a new iteration of the Acer Liquid A1, called the Liquid e. The only difference to the original device is the newcomer runs Android version 2.1 and therefore, offers all corresponding software extras of the latest OS edition like 5 home screen pages, Live wallpapers, improved browser etc. Unfortunately, it´s still anyone´s guess when and what kind of price tag the “new version” is to appear on the market.

Stay tuned for our first impressions of all handsets that Acer has introduced at MWC.

source: Acer via SlashGear, more

We are expecting Adobe to release the plug-ins that will enable full Flash support for both webOS and Android sometime in the first half of the year. Now the company has informed that Flash for both platforms will be released at the same time, respectively through the Palm Catalog and Android Market.  The company has also brought working Android and webOS devices to the show. Windows Mobile users should not become disillusioned though, as Microsoft and Adobe have said that although it won’t be available on WM 7 at first, they are working to bring the browser plug-in to the platform in the future.

Additionally, Adobe has announced a new version of AIR, designed for smartphones. Adobe has that working on Android here at the MWC. This version of AIR should allow developers to bring Flash-based applications to all smartphones supporting the platform. Adobe has also developed a compiler that allows devs to compile Flash-based apps as native iPhone apps.
source: Adobe via jkOnTheRun