mwc

BARCELONA, Spain--We've seen lots of interesting hardware at Mobile World Congress, and yesterday when the team met to talk about what product should get our best of show award, there were plenty of gadgets in the mix. Asus' Padfone Infinity was in the running, along with its FonePad, the Nokia Lumia 720, and Sony's Xperia Z tablet.

But the nine-strong judging team from our San Francisco, New York, and London offices quickly discounted those products. We were much more interested in the product category that has arguably generated more buzz at MWC and is potentially much more disruptive: … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--With Samsung holding a dedicated launch event in March for its flagship Galaxy S4, Mobile World Congress is perhaps something of a sideshow, but that doesn't mean the phone giant hasn't got a raft of things to show off in Barcelona.

The big boy in Samsung's range is the Galaxy Note 8. At 8 inches, it's much more tablet than it is phone. You certainly won't be sliding this one easily into your Levi's pockets, but its stylus will make note taking on the go a bit easier.

The Note 8 is joined … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--We're through the looking glass, people; as a great man once said. And as we trawl the halls of phone and tablet industry shindig Mobile World Congress, we bumped into this happy chap wearing Google Glass high-tech specs.

Google Glass is a set of high-tech spectacles that records and broadcasts everything you see. The 21st century superconnected eyeglasses aren't for sale yet, and are only spotted adorning the facial space of Google employees. I spotted one such Google fellow on the show floor at MWC checking out Ubuntu Touch on the Google … Read more

Alongside myriad new tablets and phones, Mobile World Congress 2013 also gave us our first real look at Mozilla's Firefox OS and the Samsung and Intel collaboration, Tizen OS.

While Android might dominate the smartphone landscape today, it's only five years old. I can recall plenty of headlines in 2007 and 2008 that doubted whether there was room for yet another player in the space. At that time, RIM was a powerhouse, the iPhone was brand-new, Palm's WebOS was in development, and Microsoft's Windows Mobile was slipping into obscurity.

My, how things have changed. Now the … Read more

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is just a day away from closing in Barcelona, Spain. Housed in a brand-new venue and bigger than ever, the show burst at the seams with everything wireless. Sure, there were a ton of new phones and tablets, but those headline devices only scratched the surface. CNET's team of reporters scoured the show floor to find everything from a GPS-enabled cane to a touchless touch screen.

So if you can't be in Barcelona, join CNET for a video tour of some of the hottest devices and most fascinating finds of the show.

As expected, the annual Mobile World Congress has delivered an army of new Android devices. Really, though, we'd expect nothing less from the world's largest gathering of mobile-minded products and services. And with Android playing a dominant role in the smartphone landscape, it stands to reason that a majority of new phones and tablets would launch with the Google platform.

A number of standout devices made headlines this week, including the ZTE Grand Memo, Huawei Ascend P2, and the Sony Tablet Z.

LG got things started last week with the refreshed Optimus L series as well as new … Read more

Imagine waking up, reaching for the tablet on your nightstand, and turning on your coffee maker from bed. You catch a few more winks before it alerts you that your hot java's ready. If Qualcomm's concept Wi-Fi coffee maker ever goes into production, your mornings may never be quite the same.

The coffee maker, however, is just one of many odd and unusual gadgets on display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Gone is the giant Android figures, the twisty slide, colorful pins, and free ice cream sandwiches. Gone is the massive, head-turning booth that clearly established Google as a major player at Mobile World Congress.

In its place is a small meeting room with a blank glass placard on the outside. A white curtain provides privacy for the briefings inside.

Google has largely run under the radar, taking a few meetings with the press, vendors, and other partners at the show. But the company isn't listed as an exhibitor, and its name and meeting room doesn't appear on … Read more