Vodafone snags Android-powered HTC Magic

To our disappointment, there hasn't been a ton of Google Android news to come out of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 so far. Huawei announced on Monday that it plans to start selling Android devices later this year, but other than that we didn't see a T-Mobile G2, and Samsung already said it would not show its Android phone at the show as it has been delayed until the second half of 2009.

However, we did get one device announcement. The bad news is that it's not for the US market. On Tuesday, Vodafone said it will bring the HTC Magic to market this spring--the first Google Android device for the carrier. The Magic will be a Vodafone exclusive in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and France and will be available on a nonexclusive basis in Italy.
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Run Windows Live Messenger from your SIM card

Soon you'll be able to run Windows Live Messenger directly from your Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.

Instead of installing the instant messaging app on your handset, a Microsoft and Gemalto collaboration will see the SIMessenger client preloaded on SIM cards. This eliminates compatibility issues with the various operating systems currently in the market as the solution is a SIM-based one. In a nutshell, if your phone needs a SIM card to function, Gemalto's SIMessenger will work.
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Yahoo rolls up mobile products into single service

At the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, Yahoo announced a revamping and reorganization of its mobile offerings.

Beginning at the end of March, the company plans to roll out a new test version of its mobile Web start page, along with new smartphone applications that consolidate several of Yahoo's mobile services into one application.

Applications for Apple's iPhone and other smartphones will let users search the Web, and keep an eye on Web mail accounts and widgetized data. The iPhone application, which is slated to be available in late March, will roll up Yahoo's OneSearch and OnePlace services on top of the previously available OneConnect.
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Micro-USB universal phone charger expected in (gasp!) 2012

'Fess up those of you who think this is such a no-brainer and wonder why you have to wait another three years for it to happen.

Members of the Open Mobile Terminal Platform, who developed the technical requirements for a universal charging solution, already announced back in September 2007 that they would adopt micro-USB as a common interface. Asked why it took this long for the mobile industry to do the same, GSMA chief architect Ian Pannell told ZDNet UK that the period of time was used to "toughen the interface specification up for regular mobile phone use" and work has only recently been completed.

As it is, there are already two to three versions of the micro-USB standard.

From a phone reviewer's perspective, I can see why this will be immensely beneficial to me. In fact, I'm quivering in anticipation (duh). In a nutshell, no longer will I have to deal with different chargers and USB cables for the HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Apple handsets I'm reviewing. Oh wait, you mean Apple is not on the list?
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i-mate's innovative PDA-phones

BARCELONA--The i-mate 810-F may be this show's first ruggedized PDA-phone, but the Dubai company is not done yet. Jim Morrison, CEO of i-mate, said that too many vendors have been copying technology and interfaces from each other. Instead, he plans to innovate, not imitate, the company's handsets such that each model is unique in its own right. The i-mate Centurion (shown above) is a credit card-sized, non-touchscreen PDA-phone with a full QWERTY keypad. Though tiny and really light, we've tried out the keyboard and found it surprisingly usable.
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