MWC 2012: news, previews, rumors, and more!
Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sony, HTC, Acer, and Asus are just some of the big names set to descend upon Barcelona's city center for the annual Mobile World Congress trade show. MWC 2012 will once again serve as the stage for some of the year's biggest new launches in the mobile industry, plus there's always the potential for a software giant like Google or Microsoft to spring a surprise announcement. To stay abreast of all that happens during the show, keep your eyeballs locked to this stream.
How long does it take to 'launch' a smartphone?
What does the word "launch" mean to you? Angry Birds players might define it as the righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate aviary agent, but phone manufacturers are much more elusive. Some see the launch of a product as the penultimate step before sending it out to retail shelves, while others — perhaps, most — seem to treat it as just an opportunity to drum up fresh consumer interest.
To test where the world's major handset manufacturers sit on that sliding...
HTC One S official: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Android 4.0, thinnest HTC phone ever
The long-awaited launch of HTC's next mainstream superstar phone is upon us and its name is the One S. Eschewing the tired motifs that have characterized HTC design over the past year, the 4.3-inch One S looks bold, distinctive, and extremely slim. Its software is right up to date, shipping with Android 4.0 plus added Sense 4.0 skinning, it features a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, and its 8-megapixel camera is the same as on the HTC One X. Combining an f/2.0 lens with a backside-illuminated...
Huawei unveils K3 quad-core processor
At Huawei's MWC press conference today in Barcelona, the company has just unveiled a new Huawei-made processor, the K3. We'd heard rumblings that Huawei was considering the move, and it's a big one for the company to be sure. It's a quad-core A9 CPU, with 16 GPUs inside as well. Huawei claims it has the lowest chip temperature on the market, and the smallest footprint. Huawei compared the new processor to the chips inside the Eee Pad Transformer and the Galaxy Nexus, with the K3 coming out on...
Mobile
Huawei debuts Ascend D quad, 'the world's fastest smartphone'
MWC is just getting under way, and Huawei's kicking off the show with a new flagship smartphone: the Ascend D quad. Part of the company's new "Diamond" series of handsets, the D quad is powered by a quad-core processor, and Huawei says it's "the world's fastest smartphone." It's running Android 4.0, with three capacitive buttons below the 4.5-inch, 720p display. The handset runs on Huawei's new K3V2 quad-core processor, clocked as high as 1.5GHz, and is just 8.9mm thick and weighs 4.6 ounces...
LG Optimus 3D Max hands-on photos and video
LG's Optimus 3D Max doesn't have the highest-end specs of LG's offerings here at MWC, but it is a marked improvement over its predecessor, the Optimus 3D. That said, you have to really want the 3D in order to accept a phone that's still stuck on Android 2.3. The phone overall feels decent enough, with a small bump on the bottom of the soft-touch rear panel.
Spec-wise, the Optimus 3D Max is not especially notable beyond the fact that it can do 3D on its "brightened" 4.3-inch display. When not...
Android
LG Optimus Vu hands-on photos and video
The LG Optimus Vu is not a shy phone / tablet. Like the Galaxy Note, it has a large 5-inch screen, but its 4 by 3 aspect ratio makes it a very difficult device to hold in one hand. Being only 8.5mm thin certainly helps the phone-tablet hybrid feel like it's something you could carry around, but if you have designs to use this LTE phone with anything fewer than two hands, we have bad news for you. The Galaxy Note feels big, this feels massive.
The Vu has a small button on the top that brings...
MWC 2012
Huawei Ascend D quad pictured, promises to be 'the world's fastest smartphone'
It seems to be growing increasingly difficult to keep device announcements under wraps these days, and Huawei has become the latest victim of some premature exultation. An advertising board at Barcelona Airport has started displaying a handset called the Ascend D quad, which the company will most likely make official at its upcoming MWC press conference today. Its name suggests that this will be the quad-core smartphone that was rumored a couple of weeks ago. Huawei is adding in an extra bit...
MWC 2012
Nokia Lumia 610 image and specifications leaked?
We are less than 24 hours away from Nokia's Mobile World Congress 2012 press event and it appears one of the company's new Windows Phone devices has made its way online. A single image of an alleged Lumia 610 handset was posted to Twitter this weekend by an unofficial Nokia_N8 account. We are unable to confirm the authenticity of the image, but specifications for the rumored device appear to have leaked too.
BGR India claims the Lumia 610 will feature a 3.2-inch display, 3-megapixel camera,...
MWC 2012
Galaxy Tab 2 coming in 10.1-inch version as well
Samsung has just announced a 10.1-inch version of the Galaxy Tab 2 Android tablet after revealing the 7.0-inch version earlier this month. The Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) will have a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 LCD and a 1GHz dual-core processor running a Touch Wiz-skinned version of Android 4.0. The 9.7mm-thick tablet has 1GB of RAM and will come in both a 3G + Wi-Fi and a Wi-Fi only version, with the former supporting quad-band HSPA+. Both versions will have a 3-megapixel rear camera and a VGA...
MWC 2012
Samsung introduces Galaxy Beam, an Android smartphone with built-in projector
It's only 4AM in Barcelona, but the Mobile World Congress news is already popping — Samsung just took the wraps off the Galaxy Beam, an Android 2.3 smartphone with a built-in HD projector. Outside of the projector, the phone's other specs are fairly pedestrian. There's a 4-inch display with an 800 x 480 resolution, 1GHz dual-core processor, 5MP back camera with flash plus a 1.3MP front-facing camera, and 8GB of storage onboard (plus a microSD slot). As for connectivity, it'll run on GSM...
Android
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 revealed in Mobile World Congress signage
We've been expecting Samsung to bring the Galaxy Note branding to its next 10.1-inch tablet for a few weeks now, but now a journalist at Mobile World Congress has confirmed that there is indeed a Galaxy Note 10.1 that will be unveiled this week. Journalist Anders Frick apparently took a peek behind a large covered sign in a hotel that Samsung rented out in Barcelona and saw some signs that read "It's 10.1, it's Galaxy Note" and show a new Samsung tablet. There isn't much detail to be gleaned...
Mobile
HTC One X full specs and features leak: Tegra 3 and 'dual shutter' camera
The HTC One X leaks are coming fast and furious now. We got a look at some tentative specs from an online retailer in Italy earlier this morning, and now Greek site FullGSM has leaked what it claims is the full product sheet for the phone. According to the document, the Android 4.0 device will feature a 1.5GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, a 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD2 display, and 32GB of storage. The phone is also reported to have NFC capability — noted as being compatible with Google Wallet...
Asus Mobile World Congress teaser suggests colorful, playful devices
With Mobile World Congress almost here, Asus has released another teaser that only slightly hints at what we'll see from the company in Barcelona next week. Unlike yesterday's teaser, which hinted at tablets with enhanced screen resolution, the latest video is a bit less clear. Under the tagline "Red, white, and blue, what can we play?" the 16-second clip shows someone finger painting, followed by the line "colors in transformation, endless possibilities." We already know that Asus will be...
HTC counting down to Sunday MWC announcement
HTC wants you to know it's announcing something on Sunday, but it's being coy about what exactly that is. Starting Wednesday, the company has been posting a five-day countdown, each image accompanied by an enigmatic caption. On Wednesday, it was "This Sunday you’ll discover something fast." Yesterday, we got "This Sunday you’ll hear something authentic." Today, "This Sunday you’ll see something iconic" showed up with the picture above.
There's little we can deduce from this except that...
MWC 2012
HTC One S checked out ahead of Mobile World Congress debut?
All signs point to new HTC hardware being unveiled at Mobile World Congress, and the leaks continue today with additional details on the so-called One X and One S. ITProPortal has come across several photos of what they believe are the two upcoming HTC smartphones. Curiously though, the handset in question appears identical in both sets of images, and the design here differs slightly — specifically around the earpiece — from what we saw yesterday in a purported press image of the HTC One...
Android
Acer launches Liquid Glow smartphone: Android 4.0, NFC, and a 3.7-inch display
Acer has today announced the Liquid Glow, a smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Liquid Glow has a 3.7-inch display, 5-megapixel rear camera, and NFC capabilities, and will be available in early summer. As for processor, screen type, radios, and the rest, details are a little thin on the ground at the moment. The device is due to be officially unveiled at MWC next week, and we'll be there bringing you extensive coverage of the Liquid Glow and the rest of Acer's lineup for...
Samsung teases new quad-core mobile processor
Samsung will soon officially announce its first quad-core mobile processor, a successor to its current Exynos chip. At the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Samsung offered a look at the new processor, which comes in dual- and quad-core format and will use 32nm rather than 45nm technology. The chip is supposed to have 26 percent higher performance than its 45nm predecessor, and Samsung promises a 34 to 50 percent improvement in battery life. It's also supposed to improve video...
MWC 2012
Asus promises 'twice the detail, twice the fun' with Mobile World Congress teaser video
We mentioned in our Mobile World Congress preview that Asus would be making its presence felt in Barcelona next week, and the company has now posted a teaser video to reinforce that sentiment. Clocking in at 17 seconds, the brief clip doesn't spoil much of anything. What it does seem to indicate is a focus on increased resolution and/or pixel density. The spot features a wooden box containing a number of colored balls that quickly multiply into a much denser group, in turn presenting a more...
Mobile
HTC One X (Endeavor) shown in leaked press image
By all appearances, one of HTC's 2012 flagship devices has just leaked in its final form: meet the phone that Pocketnow is calling the One X, which we've heard a lot about over the past few months under the "Endeavor" and "Edge" codenames. The image that they've obtained almost certainly seems real considering the date- and location-accurate weather widget (we're expecting this to be announced at HTC's press conference this Sunday in Barcelona at MWC), the unique design, and the presence of a...
HD & Home
Qualcomm Atheros announces 1.3Gbps 802.11ac Wi-Fi modules
Qualcomm Atheros is releasing a family of new chips for 802.11ac — an emerging, faster wireless standard set to overtake 802.11n. If you're a manufacturer ogling Qualcomm's Snapdragon 4, the single-stream WCN3680 with 802.11ac and integrated Bluetooth and FM complements the Snapdragon's impressive benchmark scores and built-in 802.11b/g/n connectivity. On the other hand, if you're looking for a standalone Wi-Fi module, you could do worse than the QCA9860 (3-stream) and QCA9862 (2-stream)...
Android
ZTE sets the stage for MWC: eight new smartphones, including quad-core model
Chinese handset maker ZTE has made no bones about its ambitions to break into the high end of the smartphone market, and with Mobile World Congress just around the corner, it's setting some real expectations. The company has announced it will be showing off no less than eight different Windows Phone and Android smartphones at MWC, some featuring LTE support, with a new quad-core model to top off the lineup.
We already know what to expect in a few instances: the PF200 will feature a 1.5GHz...
MWC 2012
LG Optimus 4X HD announced with quad-core Tegra 3, Android 4.0
Whether you're ready for a deluge of quad-core Android handsets or not, LG is getting things started with the Optimus 4X HD. Inside, its Nvidia Tegra 3 processor is clocked at 1.5GHz, sits behind a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 IPS display, and within an 8.9mm-thin body. Thankfully, it will launch with Android 4.0, which should sing quite nicely on the quad-core chip along with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. If you weren't aware, Tegra three actually offers a "companion core" with its...
Mobile
MWC 2012: The Verge Preview
The year's greatest celebration of mobile technology, Mobile World Congress, kicks off next week in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. With the exception of Apple, virtually every major phone manufacturer around the world takes MWC very seriously — it's a consumer electronics show whose buzz level is rivaled only by CES — and we're expecting a slew of announcements starting with press conferences from Huawei, Sony, and HTC this coming Sunday, February 26th. Though we'll undoubtedly get a...
Mobile
HTC Ville and Huawei Prism revealed in leaked T-Mobile document
A purportedly leaked document has revealed a trio of new devices coming to T-Mobile, including the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G, HTC Ville, and Huawei Prism. Samsung and T-Mobile have since officially announced the Galaxy S Blaze 4G, which will be coming out in March and will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, while the other two devices will likely be officially revealed at Mobile World Congress at the end of the month.
A video of a prototype HTC Ville — reported to be a 4.3-inch dual-core handset...
Nokia teases 'pure view' camera innovation for MWC 2012
Nokia has given us a little hint about what it intends to reveal at Mobile World Congress early next week via a teasing video clip. Offering viewers the chance to "capture a pure view," the ad shows a highly detailed closeup of a snow-freckled tree branch and a majestic view unto a rural landscape. Pure detail, pure depth, and pure definition are the not-so-humble promises accompanying the impressive visuals.
It's clear that Nokia is cooking up something extra special from its camera...
MWC 2012
LG unveils Optimus 3D Max
LG has today unveiled the Optimus 3D Max, another 3D smartphone for Korean and International markets. Last night the company announced the Optimus 3D Cube, and we're struggling to find differences between the two handsets right now. Both are powered by 1.2GHz dual-core processors, have a 5MP dual-lens camera, LG Tag+ NFC, and run Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The Cube has 16GB storage and a 4.3-inch Nova IPS display, whereas the Max has 8GB storage and "LG's exclusive brightened" WVGA 4.3-inch...
Android
NEC's new trio of Android 4.0 LTE phones includes an inside-out Tablet P
NEC is showing off a trio of new Android 4.0 LTE handsets in Japan today before it brings them to Barcelona next week for MWC. From left to right, the first is the folding dual-screen "Best Cloud Device," which promises to be easier than anything else for accessing cloud services. Unlike Sony's Tablet P, the screens are on the outside when folded, allowing you to use the tablet as a smartphone, and can be unfolded to provide a larger screen for web browsing, etc. The device is also said to...
Samsung Learning Hub on Galaxy Tab devices to take on iTunes U
It looks like Apple taught Samsung a thing or two with the launch of iBooks 2 and iTunes U, as Samsung just announced its own education-focused tablet app, the Learning Hub. Samsung plans to show the app off at Mobile World Congress next week, but divulged a few details before the show. The Learning Hub will offer 6,000 textbooks and educational videos from 30 providers, multimedia teaching tools, note taking, and be aimed at traditional education markets as well technical training. Samsung...
Mobile
LG Optimus 3D Cube announced with 3D video editing, available this March in Korea
LG has announced yet another phone in the run up to MWC, this time the Optimus 3D Cube. It mostly hews to the specs we previously saw for the Optimus 3D successor: 4.3-inch IPS display, 1.2GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, 16GB of storage, and a 1520mAh battery to power it all. The device is indeed as thin as we'd expected, measuring 126.8 x 67.4 x 9.6 mm, and within that frame LG has also included an NFC chip and made the Android 2.3 software compatible with its "LG Tag" system for...
MWC 2012
Huawei 10-inch tablet photos leak, reveal thin metal exterior
Huawei demonstrated its super-thin Ascend P1 S smartphone at CES and it looks like the Chinese company has a thin 10-inch Android tablet in the works too. Russian site hi-tech.mail.ru has managed to snag a bunch of shots that show off the metal exterior of Huawei's rumored tablet. The site claims the 10-inch device is lightweight, runs Android 4.0 and may come equipped with 3G support and a microSD slot. A rear 8-megapixel camera with flash is also included despite the apparent slim body, and...
Mobile
Qualcomm's dual-core Snapdragon S4 sets new performance benchmark
Qualcomm's next generation of Snapdragon system-on-chip, the one built around the Krait CPU, has been put to the test by AnandTech this week and the results are nothing short of astounding. Anand and his accomplices got ahold of Qualcomm's MSM8960 Mobile Development Platform reference unit and ran its dual-core 1.5GHz SoC through a gauntlet of popular Android benchmarks. Linpack scores, both in single- and multi-threaded tests, approximately doubled the highest results from any shipping...
Mobile
LG announces L-Style Android phones: 4.3-inch L7, 4-inch L5, and 3.2-inch L3
In a press release today, LG announced three new devices that will be hitting the show floor at MWC next week. From left to right in the picture above they are the L3, L5, and L7. All three devices will feature LG's Floating Mass display technology — the displays on the devices appear to be floating — a reference to the closeness of the actual display to the glass. This is the same technology found in LG's Prada 3.0 phone, whose styling seems to have carried over to the new devices. In...
Sony ST25i (Xperia U?) sized up against Xperia S in leaked photos
After initially being spotted in a leaked shot last month, Sony's ST25i — now believed to be branded as the Xperia U — has made another appearance ahead of its expected Mobile World Congress reveal. A set of new images at ePrice compare the handset with the Xperia S, and apart from some slight modifications near the rear camera, it's fair to call Sony's latest device a "mini" take on the Xperia S, carrying over traits like the transparent bar below the screen and a removable battery.
S...
Panasonic officially announces Eluga, a waterproof, dustproof smartphone for Europe
Panasonic announced that it was re-entering the smartphone market in Europe this spring, and now the company has officially taken the wraps the Eluga, a 4.3-inch smartphone with a 960 x 540 resolution and NFC onboard. The phone was unveiled at the Panasonic Convention 2012, is headed to Europe in March, and will be waterproof, dustproof, and "very light." The company hasn't posted any other details or specs yet, but said it would be officially releasing information on its website tomorrow....
Android
Fujitsu bringing 'wide range of smartphones and tablets' to Europe, says FT
We heard that Fujitsu was planning to launch at least one Arrows tablet in Europe a while back, and it looks to be part of a full-scale offensive on the continent. The company will indeed be releasing a range of smartphones and tablets on both Android and Windows platforms this year, according to a report in the Financial Times, and will likely show off products at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2012. Note that it's not necessarily Windows Phone we're talking about here — Fujitsu does...
Android
ZTE teases PF200 and N910 (and Mimosa) Android 4.0 smartphones before MWC
We heard that ZTE was going to try to make a statement in the US with some high-end smartphones (it already makes plenty of inexpensive ones), and now the company has announced at least two that are going to be shown off at MWC next week. First up is the PF200 (pictured above), an Android 4.0 smartphone with a 4.3-inch, 960 x 540 screen and a 1.5GHz processor. It'll have an 8-megapixel rear shooter and a front-facing camera that can record up to 1080p video. Rounding out the specs are your...
Microsoft
Nokia 305 and Lumia 610 pass certification in Indonesia
Two new Nokia handsets have passed a certification process by Indonesian authorities this week. A Nokia 305 handset (likely part of the low-end Asha range) appears to be on the horizon, alongside a 610 model, ostensibly the rumored Lumia 610 Windows Phone. Details of Nokia's Lumia 610 have leaked to several publications recently, with Pocketnow claiming the handset will be entry-level and TechRadar suggesting it could enter the UK market as a pay-as-you-go only handset running Windows Phone...
Android
HTC Endeavor to purportedly feature SLCD display, Android 4.0.5
The first rumored details on the HTC Endeavor — which may end up being called the One X — leaked out last week, and now we've got a new set of alleged specs to further flesh out the device. MoDaCo is now reporting that the phone's quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor will be model AP33, and that it will utilize a Super LCD panel for its 4.7-inch 720p display. The device is also said to be notably thin, with a backlit sensor for its 8-megapixel camera, 32GB of internal storage (which will...
Android
HTC One X, One S and One V: the rumored names for HTC's MWC Android phones
There's no shortage of information about HTC's planned Android handsets for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month, but now we can flesh out those spec sheets and leaked images with what are expected to be the official product names: One X and One S. The HTC One X, reports Pocketnow, will be what we call the quad-core device known alternately as the Edge or the Endeavor up till now, while the One S, says SlashGear, will be the moniker attached to the Ville. An intricate little detail...
Mobile
Huawei announcing quad-core processor at Mobile World Congress?
We already know that Mobile World Congress is going to play host to a bevy of Tegra 3-powered quad-core phones, but now we're hearing rumors that Huawei is looking to spoil Nvidia's party in Barcelona by launching its own quad-core chip. Details are light, but the claim we're hearing is that the Chinese manufacturer's processor could be up to twice as fast as the Tegra 3 and include optimized power management features. It's not clear whether Huawei designed the chip and outsourced the...
Microsoft
Windows Phone 'Tango' screenshots leak, reveal MMS improvements and memory limitations
Screenshots of an alleged Windows Phone "Tango" build leaked to the internet today and demonstrate a number of new features in Microsoft's next Windows Phone update. Russian site WP7forum says that Tango will include the ability to export contacts to SIM, manage domestic / international roaming, and handle multiple attachments in a single MMS message. MMS currently supports single images and Tango will allegedly add support for video messages too. Microsoft also appears to be building in a...
MWC 2012
LG X3 screenshots reveal stellar Quadrant scores and Android 4.0
We've been hearing a lot about the rumored LG X3 leading up to its expected introduction at Mobile World Congress, and now MoDaCo has uncovered a few more specs we hadn't heard before. Apparently, the battery powering this quad-core phone will be rated at 2,000mAh battery on board; the processor will be clocked at 1.5GHz when running on a single core and 1.4GHz when running between two and four cores. The reporte also corroborates specs we heard earlier: the X3 should include a quad-core...
Did Samsung just reveal a Galaxy Note 10.1 for MWC?
Samsung's official website may have revealed the name of a heretofore unannounced product: a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. The name appears on the company's invitation to a Samsung Developer Day at MWC this year, alongside the Galaxy Note (the company's original 5.3-inch stylus-enabled Android tablet), and the Wave 3 and Wave Y Bada phones. Notably, the dev event is going to be centered around the software development kits (SDK) for the S Pen, Samsung's own-branded Wacom inductive stylus, and the...
MWC 2012
Music streaming service on the way from HTC and Beats?
HTC has been pushing its music credentials of late, releasing audio-focused phones such as the Rezound and including Beats Audio technology in its Sense UI for Android 4.0. It's not a stretch to imagine the company starting a cloud-based music initiative like compatriots Acer, and according to GigaOm that's exactly what's planned. A new streaming service will apparently be preloaded on future HTC phones and tablets, serving as the default media player, but the company is still working out...
Mobile
Optimus 3D 2 pictured again before MWC, rumored to be thinner and lighter than the original
What you see above is supposed to be LG's Optimus 3D 2. The biggest change between the this and its predecessor, the Optimus 3D, is that it's rumored to be 2.1mm thinner and 20 grams lighter, which lines up well with earlier rumored specs for the device (we reportedly saw the gunmetal gray version of the phone, known as the CX2, last month). While you can't see them in this picture, the Optimus 3D 2 most certainly has capacitive touch buttons (we think the new white sheen masks them in this...
MWC 2012
LG Optimus Vu pictured next to Samsung Galaxy Note, may come with a stylus
We're not sure what focus group studies are providing fuel for this race toward 5-inch smartphones, but at least now we can compare two of the most fashionable candidates side by side: LG's Optimus Vu and Samsung's Galaxy Note. The first image of the two jumbo Android smartphones has emerged from Korea, showing LG's squatter 5-inch device is a little wider and bulkier than Samsung's more elongated 5.3-inch tabletphone. This is partly down to the unconventional 4:3 aspect ratio of the Optimus...
Mobile
HTC Endeavor details allegedly leak: quad-core Tegra 3, to be announced at MWC?
HTC CFO Winston Yung recently stated that his company would be looking at different component suppliers moving forward, and that change may be happening even sooner than expected. According to MoDaCo, the company is preparing to announce its new HTC Endeavor smartphone, which will feature a 1.5GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor at its heart. The Ice Cream Sandwich device is also said to have a 4.7-inch 720p screen, 8-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, and a quad-band HSPA+ radio. The latest...
Android
Acer CloudMobile Android 4.0 phone to be unveiled at MWC
With two weeks left to go before Mobile World Congress, Acer has announced a new phone it says will be its flagship design. The Acer CloudMobile will be the first phone to support the AcerCloud connection service, and will have a 4.3-inch HD display. According to Pocket-Lint, it may ship with Android 4.0, and is slated for release in late 2012.
The announcement was precipitated by the CloudMobile receiving an iF Product Design Award, which is given to outstanding commercial products every...
More photos of LG Miracle / Fantasy Windows Phone leaked
The LG Miracle, or possibly Fantasy, is still unannounced, but pictures of the phone briefly appeared on a Romanian online market, giving us our first view of what looks like a working version. GSMArena has several pictures of an apparent prototype unit — marked "not for sale" — that were pulled from the market soon after apparently being posted under the name of "LG Fantasy E740." The photos show the same phone we saw back in December, but this time we're also getting shots of the...
Android
Nvidia confirms quad-core smartphones for MWC via press invite
We were already expecting to see some Tegra 3 Android devices in Barcelona and Nvidia has all but confirmed this by sending out press invites this week, offering a sneak peek at its "quad-core firsts" during Mobile World Congress (MWC). The image includes a smartphone, hinting there's some details to be shared on some of the first quad-core Android handsets. We saw the first Android quad-core handset at CES 2012, but it was displayed behind glass so we've only had hands-on time with the Tegra...
Microsoft
Microsoft to launch Windows 8 'Consumer Preview' on February 29th
Microsoft revealed today that it plans to launch the highly anticipated "Consumer Preview" version of Windows 8 on February 29th. The company will hold an event at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 29th to launch the Windows 8 Consumer Preview between 3PM and 5PM (CET). The unusual choice of venue (a cellphone conference) could hint at the company's plans for the future of Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
Details on Windows Phone 8, codenamed Apollo, leaked last week and...
Mobile
Samsung won't host an MWC 2012 press conference
It was shocking enough to hear that Samsung won't introduce the Galaxy S III at MWC later this month, but now the company has gone further by announcing that it won't even hold a press event during the 2012 show. Sascha Segan over at PC Mag was first to hear this troubling news, which deprives us of one of the most colorful and frankly ostentatious events of the year. Samsung should still have a new product or three to launch at MWC, as promised, however the usual big set-piece event is now...
LG Miracle Windows Phone leaked, reportedly has NFC
An image of what looks to be a new LG Windows Phone has been leaked by PocketNow. Codenamed the LG Miracle, it's allegedly the same device we reported on back in December, known then as the "Fantasy". According to the leaked specs we're looking at a mid-range 1GHz Snapdragon handset with a 4-inch super-bright NOVA display (though it's not clear if it'll be the NOVA Plus tech featured on the latest Prada phone), 8GB of storage, HSPA connectivity, a front-facing VGA camera, and a five-megapixel...
Mobile
DASH streaming format for LTE aims to make video less jumpy
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications at the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin have devised a new web streaming format to make video less jumpy on your mobile device when you’re watching it over LTE. The web format, called DASH (dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP), allows network cell Radio Resource Managers (RRMs) to dynamically switch between different versions of a video or image on the fly, feeding users a low-quality stream when traffic is high or reception...
Android
Samsung: Galaxy S III will not launch at MWC
Samsung has confirmed it will not launch its Galaxy S III handset at Mobile World Congress 2012 later this month. We had heard that the company originally planned to introduce its S II successor in Barcelona this month, but that the firm had decided to delay the news. Samsung released a statement today confirming our report. "The successor to the Galaxy S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the...
Mobile
Samsung Galaxy S Advance GT-i9070: dual-core, curved 4-inch screen, LED flash
It might not be the Galaxy S III, granted, but it looks like Samsung could be taking at least one new Galaxy S phone to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. The Galaxy S Advance GT-i9070 has shown up in the Philippines, and appears to be a halfway house between the Galaxy S I and II. There's a 4-inch, 800 x 480 screen, and 5-megapixel camera like the original S, but the display has gained a Nexus S-style curve and the camera is backed up by an LED flash. The Advance's front fascia...
MWC 2012
Rumor: Samsung Galaxy S III will not launch at MWC next month
We're hearing from people familiar with the matter that Samsung — which had originally planned to announce its 2012 flagship Galaxy S III phone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona late next month — has now decided to delay the news. It's unclear when or where the new announcement will be, but we're told that it'll still be out there "before summer." Though MWC seems like a logical choice for the GSIII's unveiling (the GSII was announced there last year), the speculation is that Samsung...
Mobile
Huawei reportedly planning high-end 'Diamond' series smartphones for MWC
Huawei introduced one of the more surprising products we saw at CES — its incredibly thin Ascend P1 S smartphone (pictured above) certainly marked a break from the inexpensive featurephones the company is typically known for, and it sounds like there's still more to come. According to a report from TWICE, Huawei is planning to launch a "Diamond" series of smartphones, with performance that will exceed even that of the Ascend P1 S. Device chairman Richard Yu reportedly told TWICE that these...
Android
Sony Ericsson ST25i 'Kumquat' appears in leaked photo?
We're sure hope Sony's announcing some new phones a Mobile World Congress 2012 considering all of the leaks we've seen. Xperia Blog has posted a photo of what it thinks is the ST25i "Kumquat." We wouldn't blame you if you thought this was just another photo of the Xperia S or the rumored LT22i Nypon, but it does look to be a different model due to the placement of its front-facing camera. A tipster told the blog that the Sony Ericsson-branded phone should have a 3.5-inch display, 1GHz...
Android
Sony Xperia family portrait shows off a few new phones
The shot above (which we've tweaked for clarity) isn't just a family portrait of Xperia phones: there are a few secrets in there, too. Xperia Blog points out that this is the first time we've seen the two devices highlighted by red arrows, and that they're both the same (we're inclined to agree). The blog also suggests that the phone to the far right of the middle row is the rumored Xperia Nypon and that the phone in the middle of the bottom row, which looks like the recently-announced Xperia...
Mobile
RIM to debut BlackBerry 10 in February, on only one smartphone
RIM's next operating system — once BBX, now BlackBerry 10 — has yet to be released on a smartphone, but there's a small light on the horizon: RIM reps told Pocket-lint that the company will show off the new operating system at Mobile World Congress in February. RIM will apparently be at MWC "in force," showing the new OS as well as touting its current-gen BlackBerry 7, particularly its NFC and BBM capabilities. Unfortunately, it appears there still won't be a device running BlackBerry 10...
MWC 2012
HTC Quattro specs rumored: Tegra 3, 10.1-inch screen, Beats Audio
The HTC Quattro is rumored to be announced at Mobile World Congress in February next year, but PocketNow appears to have gotten a hold of the specs a little bit early. According to the leak, HTC's first Tegra 3-powered tablet will be under 9mm with a 10.1-inch 1280 x 768 screen, 1GB RAM, 16GB of storage, and a micro SD slot. For comparison, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 powered by Tegra 2 is 8.6mm thick with a 1280 x 800 display. Wireless capabilities should include Bluetooth 4.0, 5GHz Wireless N, and...
HTC quad-core tablet and smartphone rumored for MWC in February
A week ago, Peter Chou said HTC intends to stand out in the tablet market next year with a truly original device. Today, some of the details of this forthcoming slate might have been revealed, courtesy of the Commercial Times. The Taiwanese newspaper reports that HTC plans on introducing a quad-core tablet at Mobile World Congress — the Barcelona-based trade show that kicks off on February 27th in 2012 — which will be powered by Nvidia hardware. Obviously, that means Tegra 3 under the...
