Motorola Executive Defends Tablet Price Tag

Motorola mobility chief Sanjay Jha confirmed that the company’s new Xoom tablet will go on sale in the U.S. at $800, a higher price tag than current market leader Apple’s iPad.

And in what has been described as the worst kept secret in the tech world, he seemed to confirm the existence of Google’s much talked about music service. Mr. Jha, speaking to reporters at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress, said a device that was 4G compatible on U.S. carrier Verizon’s network was worth the extra money. A 32GB iPad with 3G currently retails in the U.S. for $729.

“We felt that our ability to deliver 50Mb/s would justify the $799 price point. It is 32GB with 3G and a free upgrade to 4G. Being competitive with iPad is important. We feel that from the hardware and capabilities we deliver we are at least competitive and in a number of ways better [than the iPad].”

He did admit that Samsung’s experience with the Galaxy Tab had shown that the sell-through and the return rate on tablets launched so far have been “concerning.” Nevertheless the company was going to launch a product more expensive than the market leader.

He promised a Wi-Fi-only version would also go on sale. He would not be drawn on the exact price, but said it would be “meaningfully cheaper. The price is set by iPad at $599 and we will be right around there.”

Google Androids. Gotta Collect Them All

Kudos to Google’s Android team for a clever piece of marketing at Mobile World Congress. A great example of “gamification”, the use of game mechanics in real life.

As you walk around this vast trade show, attached to many delegates’ lanyards are a growing number of Google Android pins featuring the cute little robot mascot (it must have a name) in a variety of poses, outfits and designs.

There are some 86 different pins and delegates are trying to collect them all. Some people have 20 or more on their badges.

Who Would Have Guessed? Sex Sells

If you are a Russian-based tech company whose marketing material begins “CBOSS (Convergent Business Operations Support System) is a transnational corporation and a world leader in the development of innovative convergent IT solutions for end-to-end automation of telecommunications enterprises, delivering a competitive edge to telecoms …” well, you get the picture. It is a hard sell.

Their solution? Sex.

You may have thought that the world had moved on since draping a scantily-clad young woman over a boring product was considered a good idea. Apparently not, given the large crowds of men gathered around the stand taking pictures of the Russian girls.

“It is a bit embarrassing,” said Nicholas Nigay, the technical expert on the stand,”but you know what, it works.”

Shift to Mobile Strengthens ARM

ARM CEO Warren East talks about the shift in computing towards mobile and how the U.K. based chip designer is capitalizing on it.

Mr. East talks about Microsoft’s dabbling with ARM-powered devices and the likelihood of a ARM-based netbook.

Analysis: Alliances Sought in Barcelona

• Commentary
• By Ben Rooney

If you want an illustration of the speed of change that is taking place in the mobile industry, take two examples; Windows Phone 7 and HTC’s announcement of the “Facebook” phone (we have to put it in quotes because Facebook have made it clear that it isn’t really their phone at all).

Here you have two large companies; HTC has been around since the late 90s and Microsoft quite a bit longer than that. Both of them made big announcements about how integrated their phones are with companies that hardly existed a couple of years ago.

Microsoft proudly announced that Windows Phone 7 is going to be closely integrated with Twitter and HTC’s appallingly named “Salsa” and “ChaCha” phones—really, is that really what you want to call them—which have Facebook woven into the phone like the raspberry in a raspberry-ripple ice cream.

Smartphone as Car Key and Credit Card

Near Field Communications technology will be embedded in the next range of smart phones. Expect your phone to become your travel ticket, wallet and even your car keys.

In the video, Jeff Miles, director, Mobile Transactions Worldwide at NXP, shows how the technology will be deployed iin the future.

8×8: Wednesday’s links

Techmeme: Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store
You may have seen the WSJ coverage of Apple’s new subcription service for digital content sold through the iPhone and iPad, which wraps up a lot of industry comment. If you’re wanting more - lots more - this Techmeme page is tracking it, as commentators around the web continue to unravel the implications for publishers.

Nokia Plan B: Calling it quits
That didn’t take long. Yesterday we linked to the website of a group agitating for a Plan B at Nokia - including the removal of CEO Stephen Elop, and the abandonment of the newly-announced partnership with Microsoft. But today a note posted on the group’s blog says they’re giving up. They blame negative responses from institutional investors who “are legally bared [sic] from supporting radical initiatives like seating a bunch of kids on the board of directors.”

Seekingalpha.com: Microsoft And Nokia: Together, They Could Make the Worst Phone Ever
The article doesn’t quite match the promise of the headline, but is still a strong sceptical roundup of Nokia and Microsoft’s past failings. Louis Bedigian writes: “Though it would be great to view the new partnership as something that both companies need to turn things around, the reality is that Nokia is just as clueless as Microsoft.”

Arstechnica.com: What is the best way to use a Li-ion battery?
A splendidly geeky, but very practical, piece on how to look after the battery in your cell phone or laptop. It can be tricky to do the best by your battery. As the article notes, “in a unfortunate twist of fate, laptop batteries usually spend the most time in the worst possible state: plugged in at 100 percent charge, running at an elevated temperature.”

[More links over the jump]

Business Cards Will Never Be the Same Again

An embedded chip in a smart business card allows you to take your mobile and transfer all the card’s contact information onto your phone in one second. Take a look as NXP shows off this technology at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

HP Shows What $1.2 Billion Palm Purchase Has Bought

• Commentary
• By Ben Rooney

A mobile phone with very slick interface that is substantially different to all the others, a huge established tech company backing it, but a tiny ecosystem and almost no momentum. Sounds familiar? This time it isn’t Microsoft and Nokia, but HP, extremely keen to show what it got for $1.2 billion in buying the troubled Palm.

If having a winning strategy was just a question of ticking boxes, HP would be sitting back and waiting for the cash to flow in. Differentiated product that stands out? Check. Integration with Facebook and other social networks? Check. Chic and intuitive interface? Check. Enormous marketing muscle and global distribution chain and sales channels? Check and check.

But alas for HP (and Nokia), it isn’t that simple. Without a doubt, WebOS is a lovely product; clean, very easy to use, and above all intuitive. But, through the eight cavernous halls and among the 50,000 delegates of Mobile World Congress here in Barcelona, the buzzword is “ecosystem”. Without one you are dead. Nokia ate its own children because they didn’t have an ecosystem. Does HP?

[More over the jump]

LG Unveils World’s First 3D Phone

LG Electronics Inc. unveiled the world’s first full 3-D smartphone, called the Optimus 3D, as well as a new tablet at an event on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

With the Optimus 3D, consumers will be able to watch 3-D videos without wearing special glasses as well as capture 3-D content themselves via a special double camera on the back of the phone.