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FC Barcelona's stadium will soon be renamed Spotify Camp Nou
The audio streaming company will reportedly pay the soccer club $307 million under a sponsorship deal.
Debt-laden FC Barcelona begins selling NFTs
NFTs may be one way for Barcelona to help reduce some of its staggering, $1.5 billion, debt.
MWC 2021 has been pushed back to late June
The 2020 Mobile World Conference (MWC) in Barcelona was one of the first tech casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the February date canceled after a lot of debate. The next event was ambitiously scheduled for March of 2021, but that event has now been postponed as well. The GSMA, the industry association behind MWC, has announced that it will now be now be held from June 28th to July 1st, 2021.
Sony withdraws from MWC and will launch phones on YouTube instead
Sony has become the latest tech company to withdraw from Mobile World Conference (MWC) 2020 in Barcelona over fears of the novel coronavirus contagion, the company said in a press release. The news is a big blow to the event, because Sony is usually one of the larger participants and could unveil an important new phone, possibly the Xperia 5 plus.
Things are looking up for ‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2020’
After Konami lost the UEFA Champions League licensing rights to EA Sports in 2018, I was quick to count out the future of the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise. That's because, for me, having that European club competition was the only thing keeping from playing FIFA almost exclusively -- even if I do find the PES gameplay more fluid and realistic at times. Thankfully for PES fans, though, Konami isn't drowning in its sorrows over losing the Champions League to FIFA. And this year, the company is moving forward with eFootball PES 2020, which doesn't only comes with a shiny new name but also plenty of exciting features.
Recommended Reading: The cost of Fortnite's success
How Fortnite's success led to months of intense crunch at Epic Games Colin Campbell, Polygon There have been a few stories recently about intense work conditions, or crunch, at studios making high-profile titles. Earlier this month we read about Anthem, and now we're hearing about Fortnite. Polygon conducted interviews with employees at Epic Games who detail working over 70 hours a week and discuss how voluntary overtime became an expectation.
Scoot adds a bike-sharing service as it expands to Barcelona
Scoot is getting into bicycles. The company known in San Francisco for its red electric scooters populated by riders with lightning bolt-emblazoned black helmets is adding bikes to its lineup. But not in San Francisco. Instead, the company is opening its first international location in Barcelona where it'll drop 1,000 electric bikes and 500 scooters on the streets of the Spanish city.
How La Liga is making Barcelona and Real Madrid games high tech
La Liga, Spain's professional football (soccer) league, is home to two of the biggest clubs in the world: Barcelona and Real Madrid. And those teams are each anchored by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively, who are the two biggest players in the sport. While that alone is a reason to keep up with La Liga every season, the league isn't resting on its laurels and is working hard to make the game experience for fans more interactive -- particularly those watching at home. Through a partnership with Intel, La Liga is now letting TV viewers have access to 360-degree replays, thanks to the same True View tech that was recently implemented in the NBA and NFL.
Live from Samsung's Galaxy S9 event at MWC 2018!
Today is the day Samsung will be unveiling its highly anticipated Galaxy S9, the company's latest flagship smartphone. As we discussed earlier this week, you can expect an improved, smarter camera on the handset, as well as an answer to Apple's Animojis, animated emojis that will use face recognition technology to make your phone more interactive when you message friends or family. We'll learn all about the Galaxy S9 in the next few hours, so stay tuned to this post to keep up with the action as it happens. The event kicks off at 12PM ET/6PM Barcelona time. Enjoy!
We're live from MWC 2018 in Barcelona!
Spring season is right around the corner, and that means it's time for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world's biggest phone show. This year, you can expect to be introduced to Samsung's next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S9, as well as a slew of other handsets from big-name companies like BlackBerry and Nokia. Yes, you know you love BlackBerry and Nokia. Of course, we'll likely also come across a bunch of other tech products, such as wearables and others things that could be revealed at the show -- Facebook has a press conference, for instance. We're on the ground for the next week, which means you need to keep your eyes peeled to the site so you won't miss a thing from MWC 2018.
Dell founder offers low-key response to Charlottesville violence
Tech giants like Apple and Intel have vocally opposed both the racist violence in Charlottesville and President Trump's equivocating response to it, but former manufacturing council member Dell has remained silent. Where's its statement? Well, company founder Michael Dell has finally spoken. The CEO has sent a brief email to employees condemning both the Charlottesville violence and the terrorist attack in Barcelona, but in generic terms. His message declares that "hate is evil" and stresses that Dell is a company where "everyone is welcome," pointing to the company's culture code. And... that's it.
Get your BlackBerry MWC 2017 liveblog right here
It's February, which can mean only one thing: the MWC tanks are rolling into Barcelona. We're expecting to see a lot of new phones and tablets. The fun starts later today, with BlackBerry hosting a press conference, where we're expecting to see the final reveal of the "Mercury" phone we saw back at CES. There could be a few more surprises along the way, so be sure to tune in right here at 1PM ET.
Samsung will showcase C-Lab's AR and VR projects at MWC
Samsung will exhibit four new augmented and virtual reality projects out of the C-Lab program at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. C-Lab or Creative Lab is the chaebol's in-house initiative that gives employees time off to work on their most innovative ideas. For instance, the first of the four exhibits is Relúmĭno -- a visual aid app for the Gear VR that can help visually impaired people watch TV and read again "with new levels of clarity." The app does that by enhancing visuals, repositioning images to get rid of blind spots and correcting images that appear distorted for people with metamorphopsia.
Huawei is launching its P10 flagship smartphone at MWC
Huawei has confirmed that it's debuting its upcoming flagship handset at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona through a mysterious video teaser. Unfortunately, it doesn't even show you a glimpse of the phone. What you do get are the words "Change the way the world sees you," along with a photo of a hashtag and two eyes. That could be a hint that the P10 will have dual cameras, just like the iPhone 7 and its own predecessor, the Huawei P9.
Cancer consumes fat to feed its metastatic march in mice
Stopping cancer in its tracks may be easier than we thought and possible without debilitating rounds of chemo and radiation therapies. All we have to do is take away its energy source. Researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology in Spain have discovered that a cancerous cell's metastasization -- the process through which the disease spreads throughout the body -- relies heavily on the presence of a single molecule which allows the cells to absorb lipid fats from their environment.
The MWC wind-down: what Engadget (and friends) really thought
It's been a long, long week in Barcelona. Phones were launched. VR was everywhere. And there was a spherical, laser-touting robot, too. Because why not? With so much ground passing under our feet throughout this week, there was a lot to talk about. With all the news in the bag, though, just one thing remained on our task list: to make like a tree and get outta here. Time for a well-earned cola light, a tapa or two ... and a chance to talk it over. Join us below!
Epson unveils its third-generation Moverio AR glasses at MWC
Epson debuted the third iteration of its Moverio AR glasses series, dubbed the BT-300, at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on Monday. The new smart specs boast completely transparent lenses impregnated with OLED displays, a quad-core Intel Atom X5 processor and the Android 5.1 operating system. Plus, they weigh 20 percent less than their BT-200 predecessors, making them the world's lightest AR glasses. They're currently available for preorder and are expected to ship later this year.
We're live from MWC 2016 in Barcelona!
It feels like we never left. We are back in Barcelona to attend Mobile World Congress 2016, the European showcase for smartphones, tablets, hybrid laptops, internet services and a whole lot more. Back in 2015, we saw the introduction of devices like the One M9 and Galaxy S6, so you can expect more flagship announcements from the usual suspects -- including HTC, LG and, of course, Samsung, which is expected to reveal the GS7 and GS7 Edge.
Your phone knows if you're bored by how much you use it
Researchers at Barcelona's Telefonica Research lab have developed a smartphone-based algorithm that determines a user's level of boredom based on how much they're using the device. The algorithm also takes a number of factors such as time of day and how long it's been since receiving a call or text into account as well. With it, the researchers were able to accurately gauge a user's level of boredom 83 percent of the time.
Barcelona comedy club only makes you pay for the jokes you laugh at
Ever regret buying a ticket to a comedy show that just wasn't funny? Some day, you might not: the Teatreneu, a theater in Barcelona, Spain, has changed from charging for admission to charging by laugh. The theater has outfitted each of its seats with a front-facing iPad and PayPerLaugh, an app that uses facial recognition to detect smiles. Ever joke you smile at costs 0.30 euros (about $0.38), with a maximum charge of 24 euros per show (about $30). The theater says that ticket prices have actually gone up as a result -- monetary proof that its productions are legitimately funny. Teatreneu says its system is being copied in other venues throughout Spain, too. Would you prefer to pay by laugh? Skip through the break to the comments and let us know what you think.