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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!
Microsoft's budget Lumia 650 finds a few ways to impress
Microsoft's Lumia 950 wasn't a bad phone, just one that didn't seem to live up to its potential (when we tested it, anyway). We've encountered some stunners since then, but Microsoft's latest effort — the Lumia 650 — manages to impress despite its modest aspirations.
Mad Catz has a gaming pad for Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
Now that the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are officially out of the bag, it's time for peripheral makers to introduce products for Samsung's latest flagship smartphones. Not surprisingly, Mad Catz is spearheading that movement. The company has brought a refreshed version of its S.U.R.F.R mobile gamepad and media keyboard to Mobile World Congress 2016, and it works perfectly with the new S7 and S7 Edge. While the add-on has been around since last year, this model is part of Mad Catz's recent commitment to the Designed for Samsung program, an effort by the Korean tech giant to offer quality control guidelines for accessories.
Up close and personal with Xiaomi's gorgeous Mi 5
After a few minutes playing with Xiaomi's Mi 5, a thought runs through my head: "I really shouldn't be surprised." The company has found enormous success in its native China, to the point that new allotments of phones sell out in minutes. Since Xiaomi phones have virtually no presence in the United States (or the Western Hemisphere, for that matter), my previous experience with them was limited to fits of fondling in Hong Kong phone shops. Xiaomi just held its first European press conference here at Mobile World Congress and brought new Mi 5s to share, and now — finally — I get the appeal.
Jolla's 'Aqua Fish' phone quietly surfaces at MWC
So this is a surprise. Jolla, the Finnish mobile company known for its gesture-based Sailfish OS, quietly showed up to MWC with a new handset called "Aqua Fish." The Sailfish-based phone is the result of its partnership with Indian firm Intex Technologies. Aqua Fish is the first handset to come out of Jolla's licensing ambitions, which the Finnish company launched after its fumbled crowdfunded tablet launch.
LG's cute Rolling Bot takes a casual stroll at MWC
LG has a new friend for its G5 flagship smartphone. LG named it Rolling Bot. Rolling Bot is cute, though right now it doesn't do very much. You can control it with a G5, but it moves very slow -- so slow. There's a laser in it, so your cat will probably love it.
Xiaomi's latest mid-range phone is a sequel to the popular Mi 4
Xiaomi global VP Hugo Barra just rolled into a Barcelona press event on a hoverboard, but the company already unveiled its new devices at a companion event in Beijing. Beyond the high-end Mi 5 and its Snapdragon 820 chipset, we've also got Xiaomi's Mi 4s, a more-than-modest update to the very popular Mi 4. Seriously: Something like 16 million Mi 4 phones have been sold since its launch two years ago, and Xiaomi is clearly hoping to capture some more of that lightning in a bottle.
Xiaomi's 'most beautiful' flagship rocks a Snapdragon 820
As promised, Xiaomi has unwrapped its new flagship phone for us here at Mobile World Congress. The Mi 5 is the long-awaited successor to the Mi 4 from 2014, which took a backseat to the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro last year. The new handset runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, a beefy processor that only breached the market in January. Every Mi 5 sports a 5.15-inch 1080p display, but you can choose between the regular model with 3GB of RAM -- coupled with either 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage -- and the Pro version, which comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of space. Display aside, the latter is an absolute beast of a phone, at least on paper.
Here's our first look at the HTC Vive consumer edition
After announcing that the consumer version of the Vive VR headset will be going on sale for $799, HTC finally let us get a close look at its hardware today at Mobile World Congress. For the most part, it looks a lot like the Vive Pre we saw back at CES, but HTC says it reworked the headband and added other tweaks to make it a lot more ergonomic. We weren't able to touch the headset (by threat of tackling), so we can't say if it actually feels any different. Pre-orders for the Vive will begin on February 29th, and it'll start shipping out in early April. Chris Velazco contributed to this report.
A one-man protest at Mobile World Congress
Conferences like Mobile World Congress are typically exciting times. Details of glitzy product launches and demos fill websites and newspapers with promises of a better tomorrow. While the world watches Barcelona, though, groups are taking the opportunity to highlight other causes. Public transport workers, for example, are striking this week in the city, causing widespread disruption. It's an effective bargaining chip for those upset with their contracts, as attendees at the world's largest mobile conference have seen simple 10-minute subway journeys turn into two-hour traffic jams.
Exploring Barcelona's greatest museum with Project Tango
Lenovo and Google are hard at work on the first consumer-friendly Project Tango smartphone, but actually building the thing isn't the only hurdle that needs clearing. The bigger problem is an existential one: How do these huge companies convince people that spatial-sensing smartphones are worth buying over another shiny flagship? The key is building fun, useful experiences that are possible only with the fine-grained location data Tango devices can capture, and I got to play with a couple on a field trip to Barcelona's gorgeous Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
ICYMI: Tricksy smartphones, fake kidney implants and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170{width:100%;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170").style.display="none";}catch(e){} #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-25170").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: Brand new Mobile World Congress smartphones can both take heat map selfies and charge your phone with a power pack using salt and water (aka break-up tears). Vanderbilt University researchers developed an artificial kidney that uses the patient's own kidney cells to filter blood and avoid rejection. And it turns out cancer cells get healthy cells to to join their tumor party by engaging in some old-fashioned arm-twisting. Researchers recorded cancer cells extending fibers to reel other cells in and it is not a pretty sight.
Oppo can fully charge a smartphone in 15 minutes
Most people might not drool over Oppo phones, but they're going to get a feature that might get those salivary glands pumping. This morning at Mobile World Congress, the company showed off its new SuperVOOC quick-charging technology. If real-world results are as promising as they say, Oppo fans will be able to fully charge some of their devices in 15 minutes. No, seriously.
Zuckerberg finds it funny some still don't trust Internet.org
Despite onstage sweat, several wireless microphone issues and pointed (but important) questions from his interviewer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held his ground at Mobile World Congress tonight. For the most part, the keynote discussion wasn't very different from his previous talks at the conference, which included a recap of Facebook's recent initiatives. But Wired's Jessi Hempel, who moderated the chat, pushed him to open up around India's recent ban of Facebook's Free Basics program (a part of the Internet.org initiative).
Oral-B's new smart toothbrush tracks movement with your phone
Oral-B debuted its Smart Series of connected toothbrushes last year, and at Mobile World Congress 2016, the company announced a new model. The Oral-B Genius touts Position Detection tech that uses motion sensors and your phone's camera to track your oral hygiene. Those bells and whistles keep tabs on location, pressure and brushing time to offer feedback on how well you're cleaning your teeth. All of those details come to you through the companion app on your trusty handset. In fact, there's a holder that comes with the high-tech toothbrush so you can put your phone on the mirror in front of you while brush.
Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Gear 360 event: Here's what you missed
Samsung wasn't going to let LG have all the limelight. The mobile giant's press show at MWC was memorable, to say the least, not just for the launch of the Galaxy S7 (and S7 Edge), or even the Gear 360 VR camera, but because parts of the show were delivered over Gear VR headsets. Oh, and some chap called Mark Zuckerberg showed up. Catch a breakdown of everything that happened right here.
LG came out fighting at Mobile World Congress
MWC proper hadn't even started, yet LG was already poised to be the talk of the show. Its G5 flagship surprised everyone with its snap-on accessories, but that wasn't the main talking point. The company also introduced a dizzying array of accessories that covers everything from audio to aerial drones. There was a lot to cover, but we break it all down for you right here.
Motorola chief Rick Osterloh weighs in on life under Lenovo
Motorola's split from Google and absorption by Lenovo left many people wondering if one of the world's most interesting phone makers would get mismanaged into oblivion. Motorola President Rick Osterloh sought to clear the air with a candid chat session at Mobile World Congress, where the answer was a pretty emphatic "no." "We've done an enormous amount of great stuff as part of a broader company," he said.
Kyocera shows off another solar-powered prototype smartphone
Last year, during Mobile World Congress, Kyocera teased a rugged smartphone with solar charging built in. What made that concept device interesting was how its sun-powered films were laid out: they sat between the LCD and touch panel, as opposed to being somewhere on the outside of the body. Now, Kyocera's building on this idea with a new prototype handset, which it has once again created in tandem with Sunpartner Technologies, a French company that focuses on solar tech.
Cyanogen's 'MOD' platform is a whole new level of Android tweaking
Android has always been the mobile platform of choice for tinkerers, a trend that also directly led to Cyanogen's success as a custom version of the OS. Now Cyanogen is launching a platform called "MOD" that'll give developers access to portions of Android they could never reach before. For example, Microsoft has developed a mod that puts Skype right into the Cyanogen Android dialer. Another one lets Cortana take voice-activated selfies. It's an entirely new frontier for Cyanogen -- which has often been described as an Android mod -- but also a necessary one.
