eWeek Newsbreak, Feb. 17, 2009

At Mobile World Congress 2009, LG announced, among other products, the world’s first “market-ready” 3G wristwatch phone. The Watch Phone, which features 7.2M-bps 3G HSPDA compatibility, has a built-in camera and, according to LG, can handle video phone calls and text messages. It also has Bluetooth connectivity and voice recognition features as well as text-to-speech (TTS) technology ensures you won’t strain your eyes squinting at the phone’s 1.43-inch screen. Reuters reports that Sun Microsystems has planned to use the Mobile World Congress to highlight its data storage technology for smartphones that includes memory cards. Acer is now entering into the smartphone market with a new line of handset devices. Acer plans on using Microsoft Windows Mobile with its new line of smartphones. Sun Microsystems has announced the availability of the JavaFX Mobile platform, which enables the Java wireless ecosystem to create solutions that leverage the Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME). The BBC is reporting that in a short 3 years from now, there will be a universal phone charger. Firms to back the plan include Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Orange, 3, AT&T and Vodafone.