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AI continued its world domination at Mobile World Congress
Silicon Valley investor and web pioneer Marc Andreessen said in 2011 that "software is eating the world." The explosion of app ecosystems seems to prove his point, but things have changed dramatically even since then. These days, it might be more accurate to say that "AI is fueling the software that's eating the world," but I've never been very quotable. In any case, it's impossible to ignore the normalization of artificial intelligence at this year's Mobile World Congress -- even if a resurrected 17-year-old phone did end up stealing the show.
MWC 2017 showed us the power of nostalgia
Millennials may recognize the Nokia 3310 from the "Indestructible Nokia" meme, but us older folks will more likely remember it as the first cell phone we ever used. Here at MWC 2017, Nokia revived the iconic handset, giving it a 2-inch color display, a "smart" operating system and a 2-megapixel camera. Yes, those specs are atrocious in this generation, but thanks to the power of nostalgia, no one cared.
Here's everything from MWC 2017 in under four minutes
After a week of smartphones, sleepless nights and succulent meals, that's a wrap for team Engadget at Mobile World Congress! Even though this felt like a more subdued show than in recent years, there was still plenty to ogle at Barcelona's Fira Gran Via.
The makers of the most stylish Windows Phone embraced Android
Last year, at CES, I fell hard for a chubby, round Windows Phone called the NuAns Neo. Who could blame me? The two most notable Windows Phones at the time -- the Lumia 950 and 950 XL -- were drab, unimaginative-looking slabs. The Neo, with its friendly design and swappable back plates, was quirky enough to give me the kind of frisson that comes with seeing something totally out of the ordinary. Alas, Trinity, the company behind the phone, tried and failed to launch the Neo around the world by way of a Kickstarter campaign. The demand just wasn't there. Feedback from potential buyers told Trinity CEO Tetsushi Hoshikawa that they would've backed the campaign -- or bought a Neo in Trinity's native Japan -- had it run Android instead. You can probably guess what Hoshikawa did next.
Real watch hands on a smartwatch face actually makes sense
One of the biggest complaints about smartwatches today is that they don't always display the time, since their screens go to sleep after a while. Several companies have tried to alleviate the issue by offering always-on displays, but that comes at the expense of battery life. Swiss startup MyKronoz has come up with a creative solution by sticking actual watch hands on the face of its latest smartwatch called the ZeTime. And, after spending some time with a unit here at MWC 2017, I'm surprised by how effective it is.
Shooting photos with the Leica-branded Huawei P10
With the P9, Huawei made a pretty big push for the photography crowd. The company teamed up with Leica, an iconic camera brand, for a new dual-lens system on the back. It was a decent performer but far from revolutionary. So it was with great trepidation that I picked up the P10, Huawei's new Android flagship and the second to feature the Leica name. Once again, it's an attempt by Huawei to prove that it's more than a me-too smartphone manufacturer. Like Apple, it wants to be known as a company with art, design and taste at its core. But are the P10's photographs any good?
LG G6's dual cameras are good but far from perfect
Dual cameras are now the standard option when it comes to flagship phones, and LG has already put the setup to work in previous models. With the G6, the company opted for two 13-megapixel Sony cameras instead of one larger and one smaller like it did with the modular G5. The combination of the dual lenses, Qualcomm's Snapdragon zoom technology and LG's existing camera features help the G6 make a compelling case, especially in terms of imagery.
How Roborace is building driverless race cars
The lights dimmed and a hush fell over the crowd. The last hour had been building to this. Denis Sverdlov, CEO of Roborace, and Daniel Simon, chief design officer, took a step back as some knee-high panels were taken away and a silky cloth was lifted, revealing a mechanical monster underneath. More than a year after the project's announcement, the pair had finally revealed their first production-grade Robocar: a fully electric, driverless race car built from the ground up for a new breed of motorsport. One where the heroes are programmers, concocting the smartest and most competitive AI drivers.
Watch LG's G6 wallpaper get assembled by hand
During my visit to LG's headquarters in South Korea a few weeks ago, one surprising thing I learned was that the G6's hero wallpaper -- the one with a subtle "6" in it -- was not a digital render, but was in fact a combination of paper, acrylic, paint and two months of patience.
Peugeot concept learns from your IoT gear to improve the ride
While the Geneva Motor Show is just days away, Peugeot didn't wait for the festivities in Switzerland to debut its latest concept. Instead, the automaker revealed an autonomous car here at Mobile World Congress. Dubbed the Instinct Concept, the vehicle blends self-driving tech, home automation and cloud-based connectivity to define user profiles. The vehicle uses Samsung's ARTIK IoT platform to pull in all of your information from mobile devices, wearables and connected home gear to adapt the best driving or riding experience.
The hunt for Windows Phone
MWC -- the world's biggest phone show -- is happening all around me. Nearly every new phone that's been announced here in Barcelona is Android-powered, while the ever-influential iPhone keeps other halls filled with cases, add-ons and every color of Lightning cable imaginable. But where is Windows Phone? We know it still exists, somewhere between dead and living. If you browse through Microsoft's Windows Phone store online, you'll see HP's Elite X3 take pride of place (with a tiny Lumia footnote) ... but that's about it. A Microsoft spokesperson told me that the company "remain[s] committed to our universal Windows platform. We will continue to support and invest in these types of mobile experiences for Windows 10." But c'mon, this is MWC. There must be something here, right? Here's what I could find.
Nokia got better at Android phones, fast
In case you forgot, Nokia's new 6, 5 and 3 aren't actually the company's first Android devices. Many years ago, it made a mistake the Nokia X. It wasn't really aimed at western markets and (if you ever got to play with one), it wasn't really all that good. Fortunately, this second attempt demonstrates that the company's far more serious with Android, with a classy Scandinavian design notes and an unobtrusive (and importantly up to date) mobile operating system. All the devices clock in at under $250, too, which means Nokia's taking aim at the mid-range smartphone heartland. The company has learned fast.
Netflix learned how to stream good video on bad connections
This morning, a gaggle of journalists and I huddled around a table full of smartphones, watching a clip from Netflix's Stranger Things. There was plenty of grain and blockiness to be sure, but it was sufficiently -- even perfectly -- watchable. The kicker: That surprisingly decent video is what Netflix told us to expect on a 100 kilobit/second data connection. That's a fraction of a fraction of the LTE speeds we're used to in the US but something that's all too common in other parts of the world.
Mastercard app enables credit-card-free bar tabs
One of the most worrying things about going to a bar is the possibility that the credit card you handed over to open your tab with might get skimmed, or worse, stolen. Mastercard has a new digital payment tool that will let you open a bar tab through an app so you don't have to hand your credit card over to the bartender. Instead, showing them a 4-digit number (at least, during our demo) on your phone is all you have to do. You can pay for your orders from the app and leave after you're done, without having to sit around and try to catch the bartender's attention.
Google pulls the plug on its Pixel laptops
Although its new flagship phones have been doing brisk sales, Google's high-end, $1,299 Pixel-branded Chromebooks won't be seeing much love from the search giant in the near future. According to TechCrunch, reporting from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, Google's SVP of hardware Rick Osterloh has announced the second version of the Pixel laptop will be the last of its kind.
The Nokia 3310 stole Samsung's show at MWC 2017
In MWCs past, the event's news has typically been dominated by Samsung showing off its latest Galaxy flagship smartphone for the year. But the company's delayed announcement this time around meant that the scores of tech aficionados at the show needed something else to get hyped about. Surprisingly, it wasn't LG or HTC or even Samsung's own newly unveiled tablets that stepped up to fill the void. The phone that has everyone most excited here is the new Nokia 3310.
Motorola's Alexa mod is just the start of an important AI plan
Motorola might have lured people to its MWC press conference with the promise of new phones, but the real talking point came toward the end of the event. After hyping a pair of midrange devices and some fun Moto Mod concepts, the company confirmed that it's working with Amazon to bring Alexa to Moto phones. While the first steps of Motorola's Alexa partnership are now well-known, it's the stuff that Motorola later told Engadget about its plans that seems most exciting.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai calls net neutrality a 'mistake'
New FCC chairman Ajit Pai has made his views on net neutrality clear in the past: He's against it. But today at Mobile World Congress, Pai gave a wide-ranging speech in which he made his most pointed comments against net neutrality since taking over as chairman. When discussing the rules put into place in early 2015, Pai said they were "a mistake" and praised "light touch" internet regulation -- something that's sure to be on the FCC's agenda going forward.
Netflix's CEO plans on putting buffering to bed
It's no secret that video streaming is king right now and that the binge-watching craze Netflix helped establish is making other TV providers rethink how they offer content to customers. Here at Mobile World Congress, the company's CEO, Reed Hastings, was on hand to discuss global expansion, the future of television and the challenges of dealing with data caps.
Porsche Design reveals a Windows 2-in-1 convertible
Porsche Design had another Mobile World Congress revelation besides a limited-edition version of Huawei's Watch 2. The design group has also announced a laptop-tablet convertible and detachable hybrid of its own called Book One, which looks like it was designed to rival Microsoft's Surface Book. It runs on Windows 10 Pro and is loaded with all the features you'd expect on a Windows hybrid: It has Cortana and facial recognition through Windows Hello. Plus, you can take notes and draw all over the tablet's touchscreen using Windows Ink.