Category: MWC 2016
When we’re out and about living our jet-set life, covering events such as IFA and MWC, the one thing that is absolutely vital for us is connectivity. When we are in the UK that is not really an issue as there is an abundance of networks offering very …
Our old friends Elliptic Labs were in Barcelona again and I made a point of revisiting. If you’re not familiar with their tech, have a look at our coverage of Mobile World Congress last year and 2014. Basically put, they use radar technology to track your hand movements, …
I went out to SanDisk earlier today and thought it would be a good plan to check out thread latest wares. Unlike last year where they announced the 200GB memory card -the largest on the market – they did not have such a huge amount to shout about …
We paid another visit to the Sony stand yesterday but nobody could tell us quite what was happening with the Z series. Sure, the new Xperia X series phones are beautifully designed, but what of the Z series? Well, according to a Sony rep, it’s now dead, so …
HTC decided to quietly push out this handset here in Barcelona. No big launch, no explosions, just a funky mid-range handset. Well, three actually, but we’ll get to the other two in a minute. They all have an extremely similar design and this, the HTC Desire 530, packs …
The HTC stand of 2016, if I’m brutally honest, has a lot of similarities with the HTC stand of 2015. The HTC Vive is on show and there’s a lot of handsets that were released some months ago. There’s a lot of HTC One A9 devices here, and …
Lenovo had a slightly smaller presence at MWC this year. but nonetheless we still went out to see them and to see what other new products they were announcing. Phone-wise we have already seen most of their stuff for this year. That is taken care of under the …
Here at the crazy mobile shin-dig that is Mobile World Congress – if you get a special sticker – you can head backstage. There, amongst the tired exhibitors, you’ll find Samsung showing off their Galaxy S7 devices. We saw these at the exclusive Unpacked event on Sunday (which …
This morning I went over to the Sony stand. We’ve been there before and snapped their X Series handsets, but I wanted to see a bit more. So, I quizzed the guy on the stand about that Xperia Performance which, by the way, is listed on the UK …
MWC isn’t just about mobile phones and tablets of course. Showing off its new smartwatch in Barcelona is Haier. This is a company that makes fridges… and phones. Their Voyage V6 looks well built and comes in with a 5.5″ 1920×1080 LCD full HD screen. It’s dual SIM …
A few weeks ago we heard the very exciting news that Canonical, in conjunction with BQ, were going to be releasing a tablet device. I wrote a brief article about the device then with all the bits and pieces about it, and was very keen to get my hands …
LeEco also had some other toys to show us at MWC in the form of what they call a “rideable”. This is a connected bike that is designed primarily as a Hybrid Bike for city use. We did manage to have a brief look at this, and it …
This morning I headed out to meet a relatively unknown company, in the UK at least.They are called LeEco – formally LETV. The reason I was so keen to go out and meet them was that they were the first manufacturer to release a smartphone with the new …
Sure, we’ve seen curved screens in the past here at Mobile World Congress, but this is something else. A thin film of plastic has been created here on a prototype line in Cambridge. It’s the product of a very young company – formed only a year ago – …
Welcome to the Coolsmartphone Podcast Episode 166 – The Special MWC Road Trip Report. This is the first of this weeks special Mobile World Congress Podcasts and our roaming reporters Gary and Leigh have sent in their initial reports. In this episode along with their MWC thoughts, Leigh …
It might come as a shock to some readers, but Amazon is not the only manufacturer of ebook readers out there. Bookeen have a long history of producing reliable, if less popular devices. At MWC they are showing off a new case for their Cybook Ocean e-reader device. …
Yes, LG released a modular smartphone on Sunday, but that’s only partially modular, and it’s modular because it adds functionality. Here, you can argue that the Fairphone 2 is a whole lot more modular, and it’s modular so that you can repair the thing. Here Daria from Fairphone …
I thought it would be a good idea to take you on a tour around Hall 7 here at Mobile World Congress. Indeed, we got to see the Gionee S8 5.5″ Android handset with a full metal body and Intex, with their Cyanogen-based handset. Unfortunately, somewhere along the …
We took a chance to go out to see the Acer booth and whilst we were out there we came across the recently announced Jade Primo Windows 10 mobile. Now we have already covered this one during our IFA coverage from last year. Although we covered it there …
For those of you who have been following the site for a while, you will surely be aware of the fact that I am a massive fan of the Remix OS in all its forms be it the Remix Mini or the Remix Ultra tablet. Well, today I …
This isn’t the Nokia you know and love(d). This is the network side, but it’s good to see the name getting such massive exposure here in Barcelona. The stand they have here is nothing short of colossal, with lots of unused space just… because they can. There’s a …
Intel have quite a few innovations on show here, including tracking sensors and a pair of glasses with a miniature TV screen in to show you how fast you’re running or how far you’ve cycled. The glasses are called the “Recon Jet” (don’t ask me why) and display …
We posted the news yesterday that HP are re-entering the mobile market with a Windows 10 device. Now we’ve had some time to get hands on with one of the devices. I am very impressed with it but instead of reading my thoughts on it lets see what …
Right, let’s attack this straight on shall we? The booth babes aren’t here. Not strictly speaking, no. However, in reality a lot of companies have put very attractive ladies right at the front of the stands. It’s an age-old “trick” to attract the thousands and thousands of suited …
Ask me about a smartphone with a projector and I’ll probably point out the Samsung Galaxy Beam that we saw here in Barcelona some four years ago. It made a bit of a comeback in 2014 and Lenovo gave it a bash last year too. However, for reasons …
Sony has just finished their announcement for MWC 16 and along with some interesting looking non-phone devices, they released the new Xperia X Series. This series will come in two different versions; the Xperia X and the Xperia XA, there is also a Xperia X Performance but unfortunately …
This is a very light and very nice looking Windows 2-in-1 tablet. Initial impressions are very good, with a nod to both tech and style. First, let’s get the tech out of the way. This has a 12″ 2160×1440 IPS TFT LCD screen and is powered by a …
The concept of this is really rather interesting, and it was pretty freeing to be able to take the LG G5 apart. That slide-out battery, which we initially saw yesterday, slides out from the G5 and then actually detaches from the bottom part too. Let’s get to the …
During the madness yesterday some of you told us that we must’ve been hearing things when we mentioned the free Gear VR headset that you can get if you pre-order the Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge. Well no, it’s true. Sure, it doesn’t quite look like every network is mentioning this …
Valve, a name commonly associated in the gaming world with titles like Portal, have teamed up with HTC to unveil a consumer edition of its Vive virtual reality system. Vive is powered by Valve’s SteamVR. HTC and Value say that Vive enables you to stay connected to the real …
Short version. I’ve been doing this for a good amount of years now and I’ve developed my own way of covering live events. Also, after cycling over the pennines and from London to Paris with nothing more than a backpack, you learn to “go light”. So, here’s my …
In the madness of Mobile World Congress, you’ll quickly put together an article to meet the click-hunger that surrounds a large mobile phone launch. Last night, as we started seeing the phones in the flesh, there was an elephant in the room. These handsets may, to some customers, …
Long when we thought Windows 10 Mobile wasn’t going to see any support further than the Lumias and the Acer Jade Primo, HP has surprised quite a few people with the announcement of the Elite X3. Yes, that’s right – not only are HP going in on Windows …
For reasons I can’t quite explain, I’ve taken a look at the new LG kit and I can’t help thinking that we’ve seen some of this stuff before. Bear with me, because this week I’m going to be powered by coffee and biscuits alone, but when I see …
Well, we’re here in Barcelona and it’s time for the big Samsung launch. We’re in the huge CCIB exhibition centre but wait – the good news is that you can join us for the fun! Watch the YouTube video live below, or keep an eye on our Twitter …
Well, it’s not just a metal unibody we have here, this new LG G5 has a “modular type” design with a slide-out battery. It will arrive with some “companion devices” called “LG Friends”. a collection of companion devices, the G5 can be transformed into a Hi-Fi player, digital camera and …
Join us here in Barcelona for the best seat in the house. Things here will kick off at 1PM UK time, which is 2PM in the rest of Europe. https://youtu.be/mSb4upgFq-I LG have already announced a number of handsets, but this is definitely the big one. My last couple …
Just prior to MWC fully kicking off, Alcatel have made a couple of announcements. Firstly, they’ve changed their name. Alcatel Onetouch is no more, and they’re now just going to be called “Alcatel”. They’ve also revealed a new logo, which apparently “reflects the engagement of the brand with …
The parent company behind Three run several European networks, and they’ve made a name for themselves by being “different” to other mobile networks. They built their network here in the UK for data primarily, and they priced their plans aggressively. Now though, they’ve tweaked mobile packages and caused …
Usually the Samsung leaks are kept to a minimum ahead of Mobile World Congress, but with marketing material hitting stores, we’re getting a deluge of data on the two new Galaxy devices. As we mentioned recently, the IP68 dust and water protection has returned and will be available …
