MWC

ASUS Fonepad is a Supersized Phablet

Events, News & Features

ASUS Fonepad is a Supersized Phablet

I’m still kind of smitten with the Samsung GALAXY Note 8, but the ASUS Fonepad looks kind of tasty as well. The ASUS Fonepad is a 7″ Android tablet running Android 4.1.2. Like the GALAXY Note 8, the ASUS Fonepad can also function as a phone. (That functionality may not be available in all markets and all carriers. We will see how that plays out once the device begins shipping.) Now let’s admit that Judie looks kind of silly holding this 7″ tablet to her head as a phone. She wouldn’t be seen dead doing so in real life and neither…

Huawei Ascend P2 has Speedy 4G LTE

Events, News & Features

Huawei Ascend P2 has Speedy 4G LTE

When choosing a smartphone these days one of the key “features” worth considering is speed. After all, with smartphones now serving as powerful on-the-go pocket computers having a fast, ever-present connection is key. The Huawei Ascend P2 promises just that. Judie went hands-on at Mobile World Congress. Here’s a look. The company is calling the Ascend P2 the “World’s Fastest 4G LTE Smartphone”. It features a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and LTE Cat 4 that can offer speeds of up to 150 Mbps. The phone is just 8.4mm thick and sports a 4.7″ IPS HD in-cell touch display. Of course…

PowerSkin PoP'n Pop on Power Battery Charger Pops on the Power

Events, News & Features

PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger Pops on the Power

When I first saw the PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger (say that one five times fast!!) I didn’t think much of it. To me it looked like a clunky means of doubling your iPhone 5’s battery. Judie disagreed. Now that Judie saw and handled the PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger at MWC I have to admit she was right and I was wrong. Yes, the PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger is actually a rather ingenious way to quickly and easily double your smartphone’s battery charge. The PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger holds…

SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone is Ready for Any Disaster

Events, News & Features

SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone is Ready for Any Disaster

I sure wish I had had the SpareOnePLUS after SuperStorm Sandy took out most of the power in my area last fall. Sure, Elana and I had charged up all of the eternal batteries we had on hand and immediately went into “smartphone power conservation mode”, but the SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone would have made our smartphone-worries disappear. Judie got her hands on one last night during an event at Mobile World Congress. Let’s take a closer look. SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone gets its power from a single AA battery. So long as it is in range of a GSM cell…

HP Slate 7

Events, News & Features

HP Slate7 Marks HP’s Return to the Tablet Market

HP’s journey into tablet-dom didn’t turn out all too well the first time. Sure their tablet running WebOS gained some traction, but that was only after they dropped down to fire sale prices. Well Mobile World Congress in Barcelona just saw HP announce their return to the tablet market. This time out HP is going with the time-tested Android operating system and the budget price of just $169. Will they have a winner on their hands? Only time will tell. The HP Slate7 promises to be an affordable Android Jelly Bean tablet sporting a sweet spot 7″ diagonal screen. Designed…

XCom Global Is an Unlimited Access International Wireless Solution

Events, Travel

XCom Global Is an Unlimited Access International Wireless Solution

Before attending Mobile World Congress last month, I was a bit concerned that online access would be an issue. Not only is it ridiculously expensive to roam on 3G internationally, but WiFi service typically either carries a steep service charge, or it’s impossible to get decent speeds when the service is free — assuming you can even get on and stay on without being booted off. This year I had the opportunity to try a MiFi from XCom Global, or rather two of them. Since we had minor layovers in Portugal flying each way, XCom Global sent one MiFi that was marked Spain and one that was marked Portugal. XCom Global offers wireless broadband internet service to 195 countries, and it is…

Judie's Mobile World Congress 2012 WrapUp via Vonage Mobile

Events, Travel

Judie’s Mobile World Congress 2012 WrapUp via Vonage Mobile

Judie is on her way back From Barcelona where she attended Mobile World Congress. We had a chance to use the Vonage Mobile app (read the Sponsored Post/Review here) to catch up a bit and talk about the hits and misses of MWC 2012. Here’s the call with some of the pictures she took while she was there along with her wrap up video. What we saw… What we brought…

Intel and Visa Look to Make Cash a Thing of the Past

Events, News & Features

Intel and Visa Look to Make Cash a Thing of the Past

Intel is talking NFC here in Barcelona, and it looks more and more like 2012 will see the breakout of mobile pay via smartphones. In fact, Visa also took to the stage with Intel’s Paul Otellini to discuss a multi-year alliance that will result in Visa PayWave contact-less payment system being part of a variety of Intel powered phones. We’ve discussed whether or not we would want our smartphones to serve as our wallets on the site, but it is looking more and more like this is inevitable. And, thanks to Intel’s work with Visa it looks like it will…

Intel Goes Mobile at MWC in Barcelona

Events, News & Features

Intel Goes Mobile at MWC in Barcelona

While the focus has been on Intel’s partnership with various companies on the creation of the new Ultrabook category of laptops here at MWC they are talking about a very different kind of partnership. This time, they are talking about new partnerships that will grow their presence in the exploding worldwide smartphone market. Just one example of this is the Intel/Orange partnership that will see the release of an Intel phone in France and the UK this summer. ZTE will use processors in their smartphones and, India’s Lava will release the XOLO X900 in partnership with Intel as well. Let’s…

Pictures and Video from the Sony Press Conference on the Xperia Line of Smartphones

Events, News & Features

Pictures and Video from the Sony Press Conference on the Xperia Line of Smartphones

Sony had three phones in their Xperia line to show off yesterday. We posted on them at the time and you can get details here. Today we’ve got loads more pictures AND a video from the Sony Press Conference. Let’s start with the Press Conferences video and then you can check out all the pictures in the gallery.   Check out the entire gallery of pictures from the Sony Press Conference.                              

Nokia Makes a Number of Big Announcements at MWC

Events

Nokia Makes a Number of Big Announcements at MWC

Nokia had a number of announcements from their huge MWC press conference. Here are a few of the highlights with links to the Nokia site covering each of the items: Nokia advances on its new strategic direction, rolls out range of new mobile devices and services Nokia has extended the range of products with Windows Phone by introducing the Nokia Lumia 610, the most affordable Lumia yet, as well as targeting availability of the widely acclaimed Lumia 900 to additional markets beyond the U.S. Nokia also today ushered in a new era in high-end smartphone imaging. The Nokia 808 PureView…

How Tru Saved My Bacon in Barcelona

Editorials, Events

How Tru Saved My Bacon in Barcelona

Once I had decided that I was going to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain, I knew that one of my biggest “hidden” expenses was going to be what appeared on my mobile phone bill well after I had returned home. I fully expected to spend as much as $500 – 600 on top of my usual monthly bill during a week abroad between phone calls, text messages and whatever data I didn’t put on the Spanish SIM I had just purchased on eBay. Even though I had added AT&T’s $5.99/month “World Traveler” International Voice Roaming package (which meant that…

MWC: One Last Look at Mobile World Congress 2011

Events

MWC: One Last Look at Mobile World Congress 2011

Beyond hamming it up with wandering oompah bands at Mobile World Congress, Helena and I managed to  get hands-on time with some of the new devices and technologies that will be causing a stir in 2011 and beyond! HTC’s New Android Devices HTC won me over with their lovely new ChaCha. After using the BlackBerry Bold for a week, with its tiny little keys that I never got used to, the generously sized keys on the ChaCha, along with its softly curved body … I so wish that my Tru SIM had been installed in one of these babies. Helena…

MWC: Hands-On with HTC's Newest Devices

Events

MWC: Hands-On with HTC’s Newest Devices

Helena and I were able to spend some time at the HTC VIP lounge this afternoon, time that was well spent fondling the six devices introduced by HTC earlier today. Of course the one that most captivated us was the 7″ Flyer, HTC’s new tablet device. It will be shipping with Gingerbread instead of the newer Honeycomb, which seemed odd given that all of the other tablets and the majority of new phones we’ve seen have featured the newer version of Android. If it means that we can get our hands on it sooner (and that there might be a…

MWC: AppUp, MeeGo, Open Source, and Tablets

Events, News & Features

MWC: AppUp, MeeGo, Open Source, and Tablets

The partnership between Nokia and Microsoft that was announced the other day has caused some speculation that the Intel powered AppUp store in general, and the MeeGo in particular might be the losers in this story. Helena and I spoke with Peter Biddle, General Manager to AppUp Products and Services, and he said that despite this partnership, AppUp and Meego will thrive. Proprietary systems have a place in the ecosystem, and so do open ones. Further scaling the development of flexible, open software platforms and applications for all mobile devices, Intel demonstrated a compelling new MeeGo tablet user experience to…

A Lifesaver in Barcelona, the Tru Enabled BlackBerry Bold 9700

Events, Reviews

A Lifesaver in Barcelona, the Tru Enabled BlackBerry Bold 9700

I wanted to put in a quick mention for Tru, the service that offered to send me an international BlackBerry Bold 9700 to use for Mobile Congress Week along with their Tru SIM. The ultimate goal is that we’ll compare what I would have spent on the same amount of Tru usage versus AT&T’s best international rate (since they are my regular carrier) after Mobile World Congress is done. Here’s where it gets even better, though. DHL came through and got the BB Bold to me before I left. Because Tru was worried that it wouldn’t arrive in time, they…

MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony's Three New Experias

Events

MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony’s Three New Experias

CES saw the release of the new Sony Ericsson Experia Arc, but tonight we got to see three new Experias: the neo, the pro and the long-awaited PLAY — the Playstation phone. Oh my. I had a chance to attend the press conference where these were introduced, and a moment to fondle all three. The Experia neo: The phone I am most excited about personally is the neo; it has a beautiful screen and an amazing camera that works well in even the worst lighting situations. This phone is very media focused, and it comes equipped with HDMI support, an…

Mobile World Congress for a New Perspective

Events, Gear Bits

Mobile World Congress for a New Perspective

I’ve been to CES 9 times in the last 10 years, and for discovering or covering consumer electronics, there is no better show. But for really digging into the latest mobile phones and the technologies that power and differentiate them, there has been one show that has long been on my radar: Mobile World Congress. Last year, I was talking to Helena from Chip Chick, another long-time tech blogger who has never been. When the subject of MWC came up, we both got reflective, remarking upon how we had both always wanted to go. Without much thought for how we…

En Route to Mobile World Congress: Swiss Air Gets It!

Events

En Route to Mobile World Congress: Swiss Air Gets It!

There’s nothing like boarding an international flight with the worry of whether or not your battery will die become you are done working, or if you’ll luck out and have a charging port under your seat. Swiss Air takes a proactive approach and sticks a USB charging port at eye level; its the perfect solution for people traveling with Mobile devices!