mwc2013
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Kyocera Smart Sonic receiver transmits call audio through cranial vibrations (video)
Kyocera's Smart Sonic receiver and tissue conduction technology have been around for some time, but this year at MWC, we had another chance to test it out. In case you didn't know, the receiver's a ceramic piezoelectric actuator that takes the place of a phone's speaker to let listeners hear phone calls in even the loudest environments. We got to test it out with a Kyocera Torque, and well... trust us, you'll want to see (and hear) the results in the video after the break.
PowerbyProxi debuts wireless charging solution, aims to fully integrate it into future smartphones (video)
The pathway to innovation is paved with failed attempts to produce wireless charging solutions that a) actually work and b) people genuinely want to use, but we've got yet another upstart here at Mobile World Congress willing to give it a go. PowerbyProxi's solution looks pretty similar to renditions we've seen from Fulton Innovation, but it's quick to point out the differences. The loosely-coupled method uses a bantam receiver that's "efficient enough to be integrated into the processor board of a smartphone without causing over-heating." While previous industry designs have resulted in longer charging times than if the device were plugged into a wall socket, PowerbyProxi's solution reportedly "provides charging at the same speed as wired charging." In fact, it claims to offer the only system that can rejuvenate up to three devices at the same time at full power. If you're wondering what working group these guys are going to side with, that much is still up in the air -- it's remaining "agnostic towards the selection of an ultimate standard" for now. We spoke with the company here at Mobile World Congress, and it confirmed to us that it's working with the top five major battery manufacturers, and we should see wireless AA and AAA cells "within 12 months." It wouldn't confirm how soon we'd see it in phones, tablets or laptops (yeah, it'll work in all of 'em), but it's clearly working with some of the top OEMs and hoping for the best. In the demo we witnessed, specially equipped Galaxy S III handsets charged alongside one another, even when barely clinging to the charging pad. Despite a bunch of metallic objects being heaped on the pad, it was intelligent enough to only send power to the phones, keeping gum boxes and coins cool, calm and collected. Head on past the break for quick video tour as well as a press release. Dana Murph contributed to this report.
ZTE Open Firefox OS phone announced at MWC 2013, we go hands-on
Alcatel wasn't the only one to flash some Firefox OS hardware at Mozilla's big MWC event. ZTE was also showing off two shades of its new smartphone, the Open. The device will launch in orange and blue in global territories starting in Q2. It has a very handy 3.5-inch screen, meaning there's no issues holding it in one hand but there's not a lot of premium feel going on here. The plastic shell felt like any low-end Android device, though we won't fault the grippy finish here. Other specs (that we've already snuck a peek at) include a Cortex-A5-based Qualcomm processor that could be clocked at either 600MHz or 800MHz -- we're trying to get a confirmation on that. There's also 256MB of RAM, 512MB of expandable storage and a humble 3.2-megapixel camera on the back. The 480 x 320 screen itself is nothing to shout home about. Again, it feels like a flashback to those sub-$150 smartphones that did the rounds back in 2011 and while it's not the flashiest spec sheet, ZTE (and Firefox) are pitching this at those millions of future smartphone users that haven't already plumped for a mobile OS. However, the search function looks pretty pervasive, able to tap into apps, the web and more in search of the answer you're looking for. Specific carriers will be able to add in their own apps (pre-installed or not) for its customers. We got a glimpse at a data monitoring app that could pull together your data habits and respective carrier plans -- even if there's no word on a US release beyond some time in 2014. There's a quick hands-on after the break. Myriam Joire, Terrence O'Brien and Sharif Sakr contributed to this report.
HP Slate 7 hands-on (update: video)
Well, this might just be the biggest news to come out of Mobile World Congress. Long after discontinuing the TouchPad (and the rest of its mobile devices, for that matter) HP is back with a new tablet. This time, though, it runs not webOS, but an old safety: Android. Interestingly, though, HP is returning to the tablet space not with a high-end flagship, but a lower-end device priced to sell. The Slate 7 is priced at $169, with modest specs that include a dual-core A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, a 7-inch, 1,024 x 600 display and dual 3MP / VGA cameras. All that said, it could be worth a second look when it goes on sale in April. Meet us past the break to see what we mean.
Mozilla CEO: looking at a 2014 time frame for a US Firefox OS release
With a number of other countries already in line to get their hands on Mozilla's Firefox OS, it's pretty clear that the company doesn't have the States at the top of its list of priorities. While attending its press conference at MWC today, however, we just had to ask: when will we be getting a turn at the mobile operating system? CEO Gary Kovacs assured us that the US is indeed on the list (albeit a bit further down), and his company has both plans and partners lined up for what looks to be a 2014 release time frame for the low cost operating system.
Alcatel One Touch Star hands-on
Alongside Alcatel's other launches today at Mobile World Congress the One Touch Star is another example of an affordable handset that still manages to maintain good looks with excellent fit an finish. Featuring a 4-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, quad-band GSM and 900 / 2100 UMTS, all powered by a 1GHz dual-core CPU. The handset is a little on the heavy side, but not in an awful way, more like a quality sort of feeling, reminiscent of iPhone's weight. Clever touches such as the corner tab being recessed a little more to get at the 1500mAh battery and SIM slots -- or dual-SIM slots when optioned with that -- is also a clever touch and just generally adds to the device's appeal. Of course the One Touch Star will be a budget phone but it is also a brilliant example of how lower pricing and excellent quality can coexist. Well done Alcatel, well done. No word on pricing but it is expected to begin shipping sometime in March 2013. A Gallery showing off the cranberry variety is just below the break.
Alcatel One Touch Fire joins the Firefox OS cuddle party, we go hands-on (video)
ZTE may have had a head start in the Firefox OS race ahead of MWC, but Alcatel's also got something similar to ride on the waves of some "500 million Mozilla users." Suitably dubbed the One Touch Fire, this entry-level phone is basically a rehash of the budget One Touch T'Pop announced back at CES, packing a 3.5-inch HVGA TN display, a 1GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB storage and a 3.2-megapixel camera. There are also the usual bunch of radios: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, FM radio and UMTS 900/2100 and 850/1900/2100 (up to 7.2Mbps for download and 5.76Mbps for upload). Underneath the removable 1,400mAh battery you'll find a microSD slot that'll take anything up to 32GB (a 2GB card is included), as well as a slot for an old-school Mini-SIM card. We got the chance to play with the Fire earlier today and while the glossy plastic body -- in either orange or pink -- felt solid enough, the performance wasn't quite there yet: the touch and software response were significantly sluggish, as you'll see in our hands-on video after the break. On the brighter side of things, the surprisingly large loudspeaker on the back produced some punchy bass, but don't expect too much from its audio quality. Alcatel has a few more months to grease up the phone before its June launch across Latin America and Europe, so we'll be able to give it a proper score then. Press release after the break.
Alcatel Idol X hands-on (video)
Alcatel converted its One Touch Idol line from a duo to a trio with today's launch of yet another set at Mobile World Congress: the Idol X. While not quite as thin as its 6.45mm-thin Idol Ultra sibling, at 7mm thick with a tiny 2.4mm bezel, it is definitely about as small as a 5-inch set can get. The Idol X's giant 1080p IPS display is fantastic to look at and Jelly Bean is snappy driven by a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 1.2GHz CPU. Like many of Alcatel's other sets, the range of configurations varies by market as we'll see both 13- and 8-megapixel variants -- both with 1080p front-facing cameras -- and dual- or single-SIM options, with the single variety getting a bonus microSD slot. While the Idol X is not equipped with LTE it does have 42 Mbps HSPA+ connectivity, quad-band GSM and offers dual-band UMTS in both 900MHz/2100MHz or 850MHz/2100MHz frequencies. Alcatel's all about mass market; it isn't chasing the likes of Apple or Samsung, but rather is quite happy to simply make "devices for people." So while 2012 marked its first foray into smartphones, judging by what we've seen so far in 2013 from them it seems they've nailed affordability while maintaining a surprising amount of quality -- a great combination. Pricing and availability remain a mystery, but until we find out more, go ahead and join Myriam after the break for a quick video tour.
Mozilla to bring marketplace to Firefox OS later this year, allow payment through operators
Mozilla has just announced live at its MWC 2013 event that it'll launch its marketplace for Firefox OS "later this year," and that you'll be able to pay for apps directly through your mobile operator. That's obviously different from Google and Apple's approach, perhaps to entice carriers to jump on board with devices packing the new mobile OS. You'll be able to grab apps in categories like games, news and media from outfits like EA, Disney, Facebook and Twitter. Mozilla's also touting "one-time use and downloadable apps" to let users test out apps before they buy them. The organization said that developers will be able to use "web technologies at the core," to create HTML5-based apps, in order to populate the new ecosystem quickly. The marketplace won't arrive to Firefox OS until later this year, but you can get a preview on Firefox for Android Aurora. For more info, check the PR after the break.
HP Slate 7 Android tablet rocks Beats, $169 price tag; due out in April
Mobile World Congress isn't just about the phones. Sometimes a company's got a little tablet love to give as well. HP's out in Barcelona talking up the new Slate 7, a Jelly Bean-sporting tablet with a 1.6GHz dual-core ARM processor inside. The tablet's got a (you guessed it) 7-inch display, plus front and rear facing cameras and, as the red backing not-so-subtly suggests, built-in Beats Audio. The device's biggest selling point, however, has to be that $169 starting price. The Slate 7's due out in April. In the meantime, have a read of the press release after the break.
Likely ZTE Open spotted at Mozilla press conference: it's blue and open, like the ocean
Remember that orphaned spec list we saw for the Mozilla-powered ZTE Open? Well, we think we've just spotted the device that it describes. It only came out for a second, clasped in the hand of someone from Mozilla, but we were just about able to grab a shot. As we saw in an earlier leak, it should be arriving with a 3.5-inch HVGA TFT screen, Cortex -A5-based processor, 512MB of RAM and a 3.2-megapixel camera. Check it out in the dark sea of shapes above and then remind yourself of the rest of the likely specs after the break.
Bell Canada set to launch Novatel's MiFi 2
Novatel's touchable MiFi 2 -- also known as the MiFi Liberate -- receives a fresh coat of paint in the form of a UI overhaul on its way to Bell Canada's network this March. No word on pricing or an exact date, but this 11-hour-lasting king of all portable access points is $50 on a two-year agreement on AT&T, so we'd hazard that sets a decent watermark on the potential price. No word on what the new UI tweaks entail but we're angling to get our hands on one some time this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Live from Mozilla's MWC 2013 press event!
Mozilla has gone from having zero mobile presence to being a big name waiting in the wings pretty quickly. The powerful open-source browser only landed on Android in 2010 (and in a "pre-alpha stage"), while Firefox OS (formerly Boot to Gecko) made its debut roughly a year ago this week. So, twelve months after the big reveal, whats does Mozilla have in store for us at this Mobile World Congress? You'll just have to check back in at the time below to find out! February 24, 2013 11:00 AM EST
Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 gaming headset hands-on
Mad Catz announced the F.R.E.Q. 7 gaming headset last week, and the company has the $200 cans on hand here at Mobile World Congress. As you may recall, the marquee spec is Dolby Pro Logic IIx processing, which expands 5.1-channel audio to 7.1 channels for a richer aural experience. Another cool feature: these over-ears come bundled with both a standard stereo connector and a cord with USB for connecting directly to your computer (both have mini-USB on one end). The F.R.E.Q. 7 wasn't plugged in so we can't speak to sound quality, but they feel lightweight, and the red color really pops in real life. (There's also a matte black option.) The devices are currently available for pre-order, but you can get a hands-on look now in our gallery. Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Acer Liquid E1 and Liquid Z2 smartphones hands-on
Last week, Acer got out in front of the Mobile World Congress madness by reintroducing its Liquid E1 smartphone and announcing the new Liquid Z2. Well, we're on the ground here in Barcelona and we just got to see them both in person. A quick recap for those who missed Acer's first Androids of 2013: the mid-range E1 runs Jelly Bean on a 4.5-inch 960 x 540 IPS display, has a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1,760mAh battery. The entry-level Z2 also runs Android 4.1, but has a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 screen, single-core 1GHz CPU, a 3-megapixel shooter and a 1,300 mAh cell. Both phones come in either black or white and can be had in single- or dual-SIM configurations. Peruse our galleries of photos below, won't you? Then join us after the break for a video and our full impressions.
AMD Turbo Dock promises better performance and cooling for hybrids, we go hands-on (video)
Here's a question we've been asking ourselves for a while: what if the dock for a hybrid tablet could offer not only a keyboard and battery, but also increased performance? Wouldn't that provide the best of both worlds, with long battery life when you're in tablet mode and true laptop productivity when you have a place to sit down? Turns out AMD is on the same wavelength. In fact, the company has already implemented the idea in a prototype device here at MWC, destined to appear in commercial products around the middle of this year. As you'll see if you check out the video after the break, it's built by Compal and includes a 13-inch 1080p display with a quad-core Temash chip, which when combined with its Turbo Dock delivers some serious power -- going from 8 W to 15 W, with extra air flow delivered through the connector to keep it cool. AMD says that the docked tablet offers general computing performance broadly at the level of a full-fledged 17 W Intel Core i3 notebook. Judging from Microsoft's Fish Bowl HTML5 benchmark, we're looking at a gain of 50 percent -- and yes, that's pretty impressive. Next stop, a dock with an extra discrete GPU for CrossFire gaming? Who knows, but it's the logical progression.
Lenovo outs three Android tablets, the 7-inch A1000 and A3000, and the 10-inch S6000 (hands-on)
Mobile World Congress might be the world's premier smartphone show, but that doesn't mean you won't find a bunch of tablets on display. In fact, that's pretty much all Lenovo is showing -- that, and the K900 phone, which you've already seen. All told, the company is introducing three new tabs, all of which run Android Jelly Bean, and fall into the budget / mid-range category. At the highest end is the S6000, which really isn't "high-end," per se, given that it has a 10-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display and a quad-core MediaTek's 8389 / 8125 processor, clocked at 1.2GHz. The tablet, which measures 8.6mm (0.34 inch) thick and weighs in at 560 grams (1.23 pounds), is rated for eight hours of battery life, and there's an optional HSPA+ radio too. Similarly, the 7-inch A3000 (pictured above) has a 1.2GHz quad-core MTK processor, IPS display and optional HSPA+ , but its resolution is a lower 1,024 x 600. Though it's smaller, it's also a tad thicker, at 11mm (0.43 inch). Finally, at the entry level, there's the A1000, a 7-inch tablet with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and Dolby Digital Plus audio (it's being marketed toward music enthusiasts as well as first-time buyers). Both models have microSD expansion, but the A3000 supports cards up to 64GB, while the A1000 can only handle 32. (The A1000 maxes out at 16GB of built-in storage, by the way.) The tablets will all be available sometime in Q2, with worldwide availability (yes, that includes the US). We won't find out prices until later, but we do expect to see these on display here at MWC, so stay tuned for the usual hands-on treatment.
Samsung HomeSync Android TV box packs 1TB HDD, dual-core CPU
A mobile-focused show like MWC 2013 seems like an odd place to show off a TV-connected box, but that's how Samsung has chosen to introduce its new HomeSync device. Powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU and running Android Jelly Bean, it's a media hub that the press release claims will let you view all your videos, photos and apps at full 1080p resolution, with streaming from local Galaxy devices. Additional specs include 1GB of RAM, 8GB Flash memory, a 1TB HDD, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11n 2.4 & 5GHz, Gigabit Ethernet, plus optical audio and HDMI 1.4 outputs. It even supports up to eight individual password-protected and encrypted user accounts, with each able to individually sync content from other devices and share it with the other accounts. There's no mention of Google TV, but it has access to the Play store to get apps on its own, while also allowing remote control from a phone. Also unspecified is pricing or any support for specific streaming protocols like Miracast or WiDi, although it's supposed to launch in "select countries" starting in April.
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
Live from Huawei's press event at MWC 2013!
One of the mobile world's Ones To Watch is back. Huawei's phones are getting bigger and better, but it seems two new phones just last month wasn't enough. The company's here at MWC and we're expecting to see some new slender models and hopefully something we haven't already been given hints about. The liveblog starts here -- but not just yet. You'll have to wait until the time stated below. February 24, 2013 9:00 AM EST
