Between this, voice-to-text, and text-to-voice systems, the lines between talking and texting are getting very blurred indeed. NEC used the NXTcomm show in Las Vegas to show off its "Bubble Text" technology, which is really nothing more than voice SMS -- record a quick snippet of talking, send it off, and the recipient gets a note in his or her inbox with your sonorous speech attached to it. At a high level, it's no different than attaching a sound clip to an MMS, but NEC appears to have streamlined the software to the point where setting up and sending the message is no more difficult than sending a traditional text -- and depending on your circumstances, it can actually be quite a bit easier since there's no actual texting involved. NEC claims that seven carriers have already deployed Bubble Talk, and it's in talks (bubble talks?) with several others. Follow the break for a video of Bubble Talk in action.

[Via Unwired View]

If you're noticing a trend in Softbank Mobile's latest lineup, you're not alone. With the exception of a single device -- the PANTONE Slide 825SH from Sharp -- every single device here is a flip, although the Panasonic 921P rocks a dual pivot to make the one-seg viewing even more enjoyable. Here's a quick rundown of what we've got:

• Sharp 923SH. Huge 3.3-inch WVGA display with AQUOS branding. Early July launch.
• The Premium Waterproof 824SH from Sharp. Alleged to be the world's thinnest waterproof phone with a 15.3mm metal body. Early July launch.
• Panasonic Tropical 823P. We're not sure where the "Tropical" comes into play here, but it's waterproof. Late June launch.
• Sharp PANTONE Slide 825SH. Integrated motion sensors and a choice of eight colors are all well and good, but we think the 825SH's real selling point here is that it's the only slide in a sea of flips. Early July launch.
• NEC 821N. It's got a "cute incoming light," according to the translated press release, and that's good enough for us. Early July launch.
• Panasonic Mirror II 824P. It's alleged that the 824P's glossy surface changes color when you look at it from different angles, though it's the WQVGA display that we'd probably be spending most of our time ogling. Early August launch.
• Toshiba 824T. This one is targeted at women, according to Softbank, with a jewel-like surface and color options to match. Early September launch (so much for the "Summer" part of "Summer collection" on that one, we guess).
• NEC 821N GLAMOROUS. This extra-fancy version of the 821N is being launched in collaboration with GLAMOROUS Magazine, featuring custom designed shells, themes, wallpapers, and ringtones. Launches September 6.
• NEC 820N. A stainless steel 11.7mm body should be enough to sell this one to a few souls; one-seg and a 3-inch display aren't going to hurt, either. Early July launch.
• Toshiba 823T. The 2 megapixel camera isn't going to garner a lot of attention, but this might be our favorite design of the lot with some tastefully integrated carbon fiber accents. Launches early September.
• Panasonic 921P. Taking a cue from the 923SH, this one rolls with VIERA branding on its 3.1-inch WVGA display, which pivots in both directions for easy TV viewing. Launches early August.

It's not quite the varied motherload that the carrier's Spring collection swept in, but as usual, it still leaves the typical phone from... oh, anywhere else in the dust. We bow to your technical superiority, Softbank.

Femtocells may be one of the closest things we have to a win / win in the wireless industry, lowering infrastructure costs for carriers and giving customers on-demand, self-installable coverage where they wouldn't have it otherwise, all without requiring WiFi-capable handsets that UMA services like T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home do. It makes sense that a number of carriers would be rushing to get femtocells into end users' hands, then, and both O2 and Vodafone are doing exactly that in separate European trials. O2's trial involves NEC equipment in the UK, while Vodafone is turning to Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent to supply hardware to Spanish testers. Both trials involve 3G cells (yay!) and at least O2 has gone on record saying that a successful test will lead to commercialization by early next year. Kinda strange that Sprint is so far ahead of the curve on this one, but hey, do you see us complaining?

Read - NEC and O2 trial femtocells in the UK
Read - Vodafone Group trials 3G femtocell technology

Not to be outdone by a powerful Android presence, the boys and girls at the LiMo Foundation have brought it strong with a series of announcements at Mobile World Congress. Yeah, the SDK is en route, but that's just the beginning; first up, and perhaps most notably in its effort to fight the Android juggernaut, LiMo has managed to sign up a slew of new partners. Most notable on the refreshed roster include ACCESS (which just hooked up with MontaVista, itself a LiMo member), Samsung, and carriers Orange and SoftBank.

The foundation is backing up its talk with some walk, too, in the form of several production-ready handsets: the U9, Z6w, Z6, E8, RAZR 2 V8, and RAZR 2 V8 Luxury Edition from Motorola (all devices that have previously been launched using MOTOMAGX, Moto's own special flavor of mobile Linux), the Samsung i800 which is destined for Orange's airwaves, and the N905i, N905iu, N705, N705iu, P905i, P905iTV, P705, and P705iu -- a mouthful of models from members NEC and Panasonic for Japan's NTT DoCoMo. Also rocking out at MWC are prototypes from LG and Aplix along with the Purple Magic low-cost flip from Purple Labs. Is it all enough momentum to give some balance to the mobile Linux landscape and serve as the yin to Google's yang? Seems like a strong possibility, but we'll have to hold our horses until developers are playing with the final tools and handsets are in wide circulation.

Read - LiMo Foundation unveils first LiMo handsets
Read - New LiMo Foundation members introduced

We're not going to say that femtocell technology is "all the rage" right now, but we will admit that we're seeing some real players get into the game. If you've been wondering when these unicorn-like devices were going to start making their way into the real world, you can finally get some answers. With Mobile World Congress coming up soon, a number of new products and services centered around the signal-proliferating technology are being announced, including a handful of entries from Netgear and collaborators, as well as new products from Motorola. Check the press releases below and learn all about it. Remember, knowing is half the battle.

Read - NETGEAR and Kineto Wireless To Showcase 3G Femto Home Access Solution at Mobile World Congress
Read - NETGEAR and Nokia Siemens Networks Collaborate on 3G Femto Home Access Solution
Read - NEC and NETGEAR Team to Develop an Integrated 3G Access Point for Femtocell Solution
Read - Motorola Announces Family of Femtocell Solutions

Well, would you look at that! ACCESS has finally landed a whale of a customer for its overdue, underloved ACCESS Linux Platform, the mobile software stack (and sort-of successor to Palm OS Garnet) that has failed to garner enough hardware partners to make a splash in the marketplace thus far. The Japanese firm is partnering with NTT DoCoMo and ESTEEMO -- NEC's joint venture with Panasonic -- to build a standard Linux stack that incorporates ALP while still using the carrier's existing Linux-based MOAP(L) platform. That's not all, though: they're tasked with making the new platform compatible with the LiMo Foundation's specifications, too. A tall order? Maybe, but it's likely an order that has to happen -- NTT DoCoMo's involved in all sorts of Linux initiatives, and it makes good sense to bite the bullet and have some company tie it all together. The one piece of the puzzle missing here is DoCoMo's tie-up with the Open Handset Alliance, and as far as we can tell, this announcement steers entirely clear of Android's domain. Confusing, yes -- but for a company used to releasing 23 handsets in one fell swoop, it's business as usual.

We've already seen the idea of data-to-voice translation passed around, but NEC's latest software is far beyond the drawing board. Reportedly, the firm has developed a system that can understand around 50,000 Japanese words and translate them to English text on the mobile's display in just a second or two. The software was made compact enough to "operate on a small microchip mounted in a cellphone," and was designed especially to help users convert common travel phrases. Notably, it would be technically possible to make the English translation vocal, but according to NEC spokesman Mitsumasa Fukumoto, the firm isn't looking into that possibility at the moment. No word on when we'd see this technology hit the masses, nor if any other language combinations were in the works, but this would certainly make touring English-speaking locales a lot less strenuous for Japanese speakers.

[Via Physorg]

We started with the weaklings in NTT DoCoMo's latest round (and we use that term very loosely), so now it's time for the powerhouses. The 905i range is loosely bound by a general rule thrown down by the carrier: 3 inch wide VGA display, minimum (with one exception, and even that model still puts up WVGA resolution). That's the kind of rule we can definitely live with. Follow the break for the full breakdown.

With KDDI au and Softbank under our belts, we turn our attention to the granddaddy of 'em all, NTT DoCoMo. As usual, Japan's largest carrier has pulled out all the stops for its latest release, the 705i and 905i series rocking entries from Sharp, Fujitsu, LG, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, and NEC. Flips are the name of the game here (surprise, surprise) with an occasional slider thrown in for good measure, all with feature lists designed to please -- and in some cases, stun. We're going to kick things off here with a look at the 705i goodies -- so without further ado, read on.

Here it is, a moment that is both dreaded and eagerly anticipated by phone journalists across the land: the release of a new handset series by NTT DoCoMo. This particular flock belongs to the FOMA 704i line, offering three sliders and five flips for a grand total of eight lovely devices. The massive release is nothing out of the ordinary for a Japanese carrier -- they tend to do this with shocking frequency, in fact -- but what is surprising is that this particular lineup offers an LG phone, cementing Korea's ever-increasing presence in the launches. Click on for all the gory details!

While LG's ambitious plans didn't exactly pan out in 2005, the idea of upping those megapixels in mainstream cameraphones sure is getting a lot of attention today. Shortly after Kodak announced its plan to unveil a five-megapixel iteration for future phones, NEC is hitting back with a development of its own. Apparently, the company is already shipping samples of a "system chip capable of processing cameraphone images at resolutions of up to eight-megapixels," which even includes "image stabilization circuitry as an option." Best of all, the CE131 sample device is priced at just ¥4,000 ($33), and hopefully that cost will diminish even further as mass production goes forward in October. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

We kinda thought phones were thin enough, but NEC begs to differ, and it's showing off a new plastic to prove it. NEC's unusual bioplastic -- made primarily of corn -- is unique in that it conducts heat better than stainless steel, allowing manufacturers to forgo the use of other heat-diffusing materials inside handsets. The result is a thinner phone that is far more biodegradable than those whose cases are made from less science-fictiony materials. Paper-thin phones that get hot to the touch? Count us in!

[Thanks, Allen]