Wireless industry meets at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona

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The wireless industry began meeting this week with a bevy of flashy new cell phones, faster networks and more entertainment geared for the small screen taking center stage at the 3GSM World Congress.

The four-day event, which started Monday, is expected to draw more than 50,000 industry officials from major cell phone makers like Finland's Nokia Corp. and U.S. company Motorola Inc., as well as Samsung and LG.

On Monday, Microsoft Corp. unveiled its next step in mobile computing, Windows Mobile 6. The operating system, which is used on smart phones (the handheld gadgets that marry the functionalities of personal digital assistants with full-featured cell phones), sports a Vista-like design and connects more completely with PCs that are running the new OS, particularly in e-mail accessibility and speed, along with easier editing of Office documents, a frequent target of criticism from previous Mobile Windows efforts.

"Now, people can get their e-mails in HTML, with pictures, different fonts and images," said Scott Horn, a Microsoft general manager, adding that the company is expanding its customer base from beyond business users to general consumers.