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We're live from Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona!
We're embarked upon the capital of Catalonia, where warm and sunny days are a stark contrast to the chilly snows we experienced last year. But we're happy to brave it for the opportunity to see the latest smartphones, tablets and wearables. While a few companies didn't want to wait for the show to make their big announcements, there are always at least a handful of surprises hidden within the walls of the Fira Gran Via. Some of the fun begins tomorrow, which is also when you'll hear more about our liveblog coverage. Keep it locked to our Events page to stay up to date!
Mobile World Congress 2014: What to expect at the biggest mobile show on Earth
If you care about the latest smartphones, you need to pay attention to Mobile World Congress. The annual show will be held in Barcelona next week, and it's going to be filled to the brim with handsets, tablets and wearables of every shape, size and color. We've compiled all of the major rumors, teasers and official company announcements to give you a glimpse at what's to come. For more from Samsung, Nokia, LG and beyond, follows us after the break and keep it locked here next week for more from MWC.
Archos intros 8-inch Helium 4G tablet, octa-core Oxygen smartphone ahead of MWC
Even though Mobile World Congress 2014 doesn't officially kick off until February 24th, Archos has gone ahead and revealed some products it will be bringing to the event. For starters, there's the 80 Helium 4G, an 8-inch, £230 tablet that packs a Cortex-A7 quad-core processor, 4G/LTE and Android 4.3. Additionally, Archos is also introducing a 5-inch, dual-SIM smartphone called 50c Oxygen, which features a 720p IPS display, MediaTek octa-core CPU, Jelly Bean (sorry, no KitKat here) and a 6.77-mm thick body. Archos' 80 Helium 4G and 50c Oxygen won't launch until later this year, but the company is indeed planning to show them off in Barcelona -- and you know we'll be there.
Samsung Galaxy S5 might come with a fingerprint sensor
Folks excited to buy a Galaxy S5 so they can authenticate with their eyeballs and feel like Ethan Hunt might be in for a disappointment. According to Sammobile, Samsung's upcoming flagship will come with a fingerprint sensor -- one that's embedded on the home button à la iPhone 5S. If this report is true, however, that's about the extent of the scanners' similarities, as S5's is supposed to be markedly different and more sophisticated. Users reportedly need to swipe their finger from base to tip across the button (their print will appear on the screen as they swipe), and authentication will fail if their hands are wet. The phone can store up to eight fingerprints for different purposes, such as to launch particular apps or verify their Samsung accounts. Some of these stored fingerprints can also be used to access two new features called Personal Folder and Private Mode, where users can keep apps, widgets and files for their eyes only. We obviously won't know for sure until Samsung launches the Galaxy S5: thankfully, we might only have to wait a few more days to find out if any of these claims are even close to being real.
The Engadget Show Mini: Mobile World Congress with Stephen Elop and more
That's right, we went to Barcelona, so you don't have to. Join the Engadget team halfway across the world for a very special mini-episode of the Engadget Show, where we take you to center stage for the year's biggest mobile event. Back in January at CES, we bemoaned the lack of smartphone releases -- did those companies make up for lost time this year in Spain? Or will the trend toward single product events continue to rob the bigger shows of their highlights? We'll take you around the floor to show off some of our favorite MWC products like the HP Slate 7, ZTE Grand Memo and, of course, that GPS cane. We'll also be speaking to top execs like Nokia's Stephen Elop and Stephen Sneeden of Sony. Join us after the break for all the Mobile World Congress action you could ever possibly need (or at least as much as we could cram into a 16-minute serving).
China Mobile preps for iPhone with TD-LTE service
The wait for an iPhone may finally be over this year for customers on the China Mobile TD-LTE network, reports Patently Apple. China Mobile confirmed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week that it will be running tests of its TD-LTE network in more than 100 cities in China, which will provide fast data service to a potential customer base of more than 500 million people. The news follows reports that Apple supplier Qualcomm is producing a new solution that supports all available LTE implementations and that would allow phone manufacturers to provide a single mobile device that would provide global LTE roaming support. If Apple chooses to use this solution -- which also provides more efficient use of battery power -- in an upcoming iPhone, it could open the door to even more dynamic growth in sales of Apple's flagship product.
Distro Issue 80 goes mobile to tackle unlocking, form factors and the best of MWC 2013
Just as we had all recovered from the January trip to Vegas, it was time to ship a pack of editors to Barcelona for another week-long barrage of gadget news. In a freshly e-printed issue of our slate 'zine, we go hands-on with the best of what Mobile World Congress served up in 2013. To round out this Mobile Issue, Brad Molen decodes the new unlocking policy in the US and Sharif Sakr examines the death of the form factor phone. There's a truckload of other tech-centric goodness to peruse, so grab your copy and get to it. Distro Issue 80 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
The Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 10:15AM ET at MWC 2013!
We would say it's been an absolutely epic and crazy Mobile World Congress, but we'd be lying. Instead, we'll talk to you about what we saw, felt and heard -- some of it good, and some just outright disgusting. There's a span of two weeks to cover, so it should be a healthy podcast with lots of stuff to talk about. As a disclaimer, our connection here in Barcelona isn't incredibly strong, so there is a small possibility that our bandwidth may go out on occasion. If you don't mind that chance, however, join us at 10:15AM ET! February 28, 2013 10:15 AM EST
Samsung Wallet looks a lot like Apple Passbook
Over at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung just unveiled its "Samsung Wallet," which looks to be an exact ripoff of Apple's Passbook. Like Passbook, Wallet lets users store virtual passes such as movie tickets, boarding passes, coupons, concert tickets and more. Wallet also sends users location-based push notifications when they enter an area where a pass can be used, just like Passbook. Further, Wallet doesn't offer NFC support, just like Passbook. Instead, it relies on the user scanning a barcode on the virtual passes -- just like Passbook. Right now Samsung Wallet is only available to developers, but Samsung says the app will go live for all users in the "near future." Samsung says companies like Walgreens, Expedia, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Belly, Booking.com, Hotels.com and Lufthansa have already signed on, according to The Verge. Sigh. [Image credit: The Verge]
France-Telecom CEO: Apple now easier to deal with
France Telecom-Orange CEO Stephane Richard noted during a dinner with reporters on Monday during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that Apple has become easier to deal with. "Apple has [become] more flexible, paying more attention to everyone else, probably a little less arrogant than they used to be," Richard said, according to AllThingsD. He went on to compare the iPhone maker today with the iPhone maker under Steve Jobs' leadership. "I think they are probably a little more under pressure, and it is quite nice." Richard is known for his outspoken comments -- and they didn't end with Apple. He admitted that it will be hard for any other mobile ecosystem to gain a foothold over iOS and Android, saying that telecom CEOs hope a powerful third player will emerge, although that seems unlikely. As for the fledgling Windows Phone, Richard says he doesn't see it catching on as it lacks a "wow" factor and doesn't do anything better than iOS or Android. Richard's experience with the ease of working with Apple is clearly subjective, but given the increased competitiveness in the smartphone marketplace and the entrenchment of Android, it makes sense that the notoriously "my way or the highway" company might be more willing to give a little ground in order to keep its partners happy.
We're liveblogging Nokia's MWC event tomorrow at 2AM ET!
The last two events put on by Nokia at Mobile World Congress have been pretty solid affairs -- the PureView 808 last year, preceded by the earth-shattering partnership with Microsoft the year before that -- but we must admit, we're not quite certain as to what we should expect this go-round. Will there be another mystery product that we weren't expecting, such as a tablet or PureView Lumia of some kind? Hard to say, but what is certain is that we'll be there covering it for you. And as an extra bonus, if you want to follow along with us, Nokia is planning to have a live video feed available here as well. February 25, 2013 2:00 AM EST
MWC 2013 preview: what we can expect
We here at Engadget are awfully fond of those hunks of metal, motherboards and magic we call smartphones and tablets, and Mobile World Congress is determined to gather as many as possible on an annual basis. Indeed, this year's show, held in beautiful Barcelona at the Fira Gran Via, is not just a weeklong event -- in fact, it's already started. A handful of companies have announced their key products in an attempt to gather some crucial pre-show buzz, but does that mean there's nothing left for us to hunt for? Absolutely not. Gather with us beyond the break and we'll tell you about everything that's already been announced, as well as what we can expect from the rest of the mobile extravaganza.
HTC to hold press events on February 19th, will show off 'what's next'
It looks like some of the hottest MWC action won't take place in the same country -- or even in the same week, for that matter. HTC has confirmed that it will be holding a press event in New York on the 19th of February, which is a few days before the majority of MWC companies hold their press conferences. At the time of this post, we believe this will be the company's new flagship phone (currently rumored to be called the M7). We've also received official confirmation that an event will be held in London as well. Regardless of where they're held, we'll be there to get you the info on the latest and greatest from HTC!
Orange San Diego Medfield phone: a closer look at Computex 2012 (update: video)
Well what do we have here? Yes, it's the Orange San Diego we first saw at Mobile World Congress and it's going on sale in the UK today for £200. This isn't just yet another Android smartphone, but one of the first Medfield-based handsets on the market. We caught this pre-production unit chilling out at the Intel booth here at Computex 2012 and decided to go up close and personal. First impressions? It's thin, light and feels great in the hand thanks to a pleasant soft-touch back. The Gigabyte-made device packs a 4-inch glass-capacitive 1024x600-pixel LCD (that's 300dpi), an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 CPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. While the screen looks decent enough, it falls somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of viewing angles. The phone features Android 2.3.7 (Gingerbread) and runs most apps from the Google Play store directly via an emulation layer. Performance matched prior benchmarks and was on-par with current mid-range ARM-based Android handsets -- the experience was mostly smooth, but we noticed some lag when scrolling and zooming pages in the web browser. Battery life remains the major outstanding question when it comes to Medfield handsets, so expect more details once we have our very own review unit. In the meantime, check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.%Gallery-157275%
SK Telecom Smart Learning robots add twist to interactive learning, we go hands-on (video)
They aren't quite up to Johnny Number Five's level of fame and stature, but SK Telecom's new "Smart Learning" robots have something it (he?) never could have dreamed of: the power of a smartphone. The mechanical critters are designed to be next-gen educational tools for our posterity, and only function thanks to a Bluetooth-connected Android handset which serves as both the brains of the operation and the interactive display. We saw the robots in action last week at Mobile World Congress in a few different scenarios: a board game, a reading comprehension tool and other clever learning activities. This is just scraping the surface, because an SDK is in the works that will allow developers to find plenty of ways to take advantage of the tech. The robots are still prototypes for now, but we should expect to see them arrive in Korea within the next six months. Check out a video of the little guys in action after the break.
Engadget Interview: Richard Yu, Huawei chairman of devices
Countless smartphones were announced at last week's Mobile World Congress, but Huawei's showing was one of the more intriguing at the event. The company has some incredibly lofty goals, intending to ditch its past reputation as an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) focused on budget devices and embracing an exciting future as an industry leader. Since such a thing doesn't happen overnight, what's the vendor's strategy to come out on top in the coming years? We briefly caught up with Richard Yu, Huawei's chair of devices, and picked his brain on some of his company's ambitions.
Acer Allegro hands-on at MWC 2012
We covered Acer's two Android devices at last week's show, but what in the world happened to its Windows Phone? It's easy to forget about the Acer Allegro because we haven't seen it show up beyond the reaches of Asia and France, but we hunted one down at Mobile World Congress and snapped a few shots for posterity. Intended to tempt bargain hunters, the device offers a 3.6-inch WVGA display, 1GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU, 8GB internal storage, 5MP rear camera with LED flash and a 1,300mAh battery. It also features Fast Charge, which provides the Allegro with a full battery two and a half times faster than a standard Acer. On the unfortunate side, it's also 13mm thick and lacks a front-facing shooter, which may be enough for the hardcore Windows Phone fan to lose interest. But if you're still reading on, feel free to gaze upon our pics below.%Gallery-149195%Sean Cooper contributed to this hands-on.For more coverage of MWC 2012, visit our event hub!
Adéu, Barcelona: Mobile World Congress 2012 comes to a close
The mobile world's biggest players have exhausted themselves again, taking us with them in the process. While HTC and Nokia seemed to grab a lot of the attention, Samsung stayed quiet -- at least for now -- there was still a veritable pile of devices and news to cover from everyone else. Let's take a look at what caught our attention during the week.
HTC unveils new APIs, opens Beats, lockscreen and more to devs
APIs, as essential as they are to our modern computing experience, aren't the sort of thing we usually get too excited about. HTC is walking away from Mobile World Congress having announced four new application interfaces though, that have piqued our interest. First up, and the most spotlight hogging of the bunch, is Beats. Soon enough any music app, game or what-have-you will be able to take advantage of the bass-boosting software equalizer. Perhaps more interesting, if a little less headline grabbing, is the ability to integrate your app with the Sense lockscreen -- a feature we'd love to see come to stock Android. Now lockscreen widgets wont be limited to Google's own music app... so long as you've got an HTC. The manufacturer is also prepping a MediaLink API for streaming content over wireless HDMI. Now the One X is looking even better than before, huh?
Neonode zForce uses infrared LEDs to measure pressure, replace capacitive touch (hands-on)
Smartphone fanatics may recall the Neonode N2 -- a rather unique recall-plagued feature phone that ultimately resulted in the demise of the company's handset arm. Neonode is still a major player in the portable device market, but may be more familiar to OEMs that employ its infrared LED-based touch technology, rather than consumers that utilize it in e-readers, with tablets soon joining the mix. zForce offers several advantages over its capacitive-based counterparts -- it's incredibly responsive and accurate, and can now measure the intensity (or pressure) of your touch, and not just position. There's also a built-in proximity sensor that can be added to any device for a few pennies, which is considerably less than traditional offerings. However, because Neonode uses an array of infrared LEDs and photodiodes, a raised bezel is required to accommodate the additional hardware, making it impossible to integrate a flush display.We went hands-on with an updated smartphone-sized embed of the company's zForce technology that not only works with any object, such as a finger, pen or a paint brush, but also recognizes both the pressure of your implement and also its size, so a larger paint brush has broader strokes than a smaller one, for example. Because the device can operate at 500Hz all the way up to 1,000Hz (refreshing 1,000 times per second), it appears to be incredibly responsive, with an almost unnoticeable delay between the time you touch the pad and when your input is displayed on the screen. A second demo unit, called Stargate, offers dual-layer touch with support for 3D control -- you can literally reach inside the unit to manipulate an object. There's no word on when this latest tech will make its way into devices, or how exactly we'll see it used, but you really need to see it in action to get a feel for how it works -- jump past the break for our video hands-on.%Gallery-149305%
