The Engadget Interview: Sony product marketing manager Stephen Sneeden at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview Sony product marketing manager Stephen Sneeden at MWC 2013

After wowing us at CES with the Xperia Z, Sony enticed us at Mobile World Congress with the Xperia Tablet Z. Both devices combine top-notch specs with beautiful industrial design -- pure rectangular forms with a mirror-like finish packaged in thin, light and water-resistant shells. We sat down with product marketing manager Stephen Sneeden in Barcelona to talk about these iconic products. We discussed the "omni-balance" design and the common user experience shared by both devices, which was spearheaded when Kuni Suzuki became Sony Mobile's president and CEO. He explained that some of these design elements will likely be incorporated into future (non-mobile) products and that the both the Xperia Z and Tablet Z are premium, aspirational devices which will become reference points for more affordable models. We then chatted about the Tablet Z's specs, in particular its impressive thickness (6.9mm / 0.27 inches) and best-in-class weight (495g / 0.99lbs). Mr. Sneeden mentioned the TV SideView app, an electronic programming guide with voice activation that's available from the Play Store and takes advantage of the Tablet Z's built-in IR blaster -- he also pointed out that Sony's Music Unlimited and Walkman Player apps will be fully integrated by summer. We touched upon a few other topics, including the Xperia Play and PlayStation Certified program for phones. Check out the full video interview after the break.

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The Engadget Interview: VP of design Scott Croyle talks HTC One at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview VP of design Scott Croyle talks HTC One at MWC 2013

It's no secret that we're big fans of the HTC One here at Engadget -- we've already written at length about the handset's hardware design, software features and imaging chops. At MWC, we were lucky to spend some time with Scott Croyle, VP of design, to discuss the company's latest superphone. We talked about the handset's delightful zero-gap aluminum and plastic unibody and how HTC wanted to "break down that last barrier" of integrating antennae in a metal casing without making compromises. He explained that the One's design was inspired by high-end watches, and it turns out that the zero-gap machining process was developed in-house specifically for this device. Some of the antennae (such as WiFi and GPS) are actually machined as part of the unibody and coexist on the same aluminum panel.

We then chatted about the gorgeous 4.7-inch 1080p display which was supplied by the same manufacturer which provided the screen for the Droid DNA and One X, and the daring Ultrapixel camera, which packs four million large (2µm) pixels and OIS. Mr. Croyle mentioned that while the business side is incredibly important, the decision to use Ultrapixels was focused on the needs of consumers. We asked if limiting the number of pixels was in any way driven by the software -- the desire to implement Zoe and perhaps curtail the massive amounts of data gathered and processed by the feature. It turns out that the development of the sensor and optics started a long time before the software. As for Zoe, "nobody's redefined what a photograph could mean" and HTC was eager to try something new. Our full video interview is yours to watch after the break.

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The Engadget Interview: VP of design Scott Croyle talks HTC One at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview VP of design Scott Croyle talks HTC One at MWC 2013

It's no secret that we're big fans of the HTC One here at Engadget -- we've already written at length about the handset's hardware design, software features and imaging chops. At MWC, we were lucky to spend some time with Scott Croyle, VP of design, to discuss the company's latest superphone. We talked about the handset's delightful zero-gap aluminum and plastic unibody and how HTC wanted to "break down that last barrier" of integrating antennae in a metal casing without making compromises. He explained that the One's design was inspired by high-end watches, and it turns out that the zero-gap machining process was developed in-house specifically for this device. Some of the antennae (such as WiFi and GPS) are actually machined as part of the unibody and coexist on the same aluminum panel.

We then chatted about the gorgeous 4.7-inch 1080p display which was supplied by the same manufacturer which provided the screen for the Droid DNA and One X, and the daring Ultrapixel camera, which packs four million large (2µm) pixels and OIS. Mr. Croyle mentioned that while the business side is incredibly important, the decision to use Ultrapixels was focused on the needs of consumers. We asked if limiting the number of pixels was in any way driven by the software -- the desire to implement Zoe and perhaps curtail the massive amounts of data gathered and processed by the feature. It turns out that the development of the sensor and optics started a long time before the software. As for Zoe, "nobody's redefined what a photograph could mean" and HTC was eager to try something new. Our full video interview is yours to watch after the break.

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The Engadget Interview: VP of design Scott Croyle talks HTC One at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview VP of design Scott Croyle talks HTC One at MWC 2013

It's no secret that we're big fans of the HTC One here at Engadget -- we've already written at length about the handset's hardware design, software features and imaging chops. At MWC, we were lucky to spend some time with Scott Croyle, VP of design, to discuss the company's latest superphone. We talked about the handset's delightful zero-gap aluminum and plastic unibody and how HTC wanted to "break down that last barrier" of integrating antennae in a metal casing without making compromises. He explained that the One's design was inspired by high-end watches, and it turns out that the zero-gap machining process was developed in-house specifically for this device. Some of the antennae (such as WiFi and GPS) are actually machined as part of the unibody and coexist on the same aluminum panel.

We then chatted about the gorgeous 4.7-inch 1080p display which was supplied by the same manufacturer which provided the screen for the Droid DNA and One X, and the daring Ultrapixel camera, which packs four million large (2µm) pixels and OIS. Mr. Croyle mentioned that while the business side is incredibly important, the decision to use Ultrapixels was focused on the needs of consumers. We asked if limiting the number of pixels was in any way driven by the software -- the desire to implement Zoe and perhaps curtail the massive amounts of data gathered and processed by the feature. It turns out that the development of the sensor and optics started a long time before the software. As for Zoe, "nobody's redefined what a photograph could mean" and HTC was eager to try something new. Our full video interview is yours to watch after the break.

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The Engadget Interview: ARM president Simon Segars at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview ARM president Simon Segars at MWC 2013

We met up with ARM president Simon Segars at Mobile World Congress to talk about the company's recent milestones -- 8-core big.LITTLE processors, the powerful yet efficient Cortex-A50 architecture (which we discussed with James Bruce last year), MediaTek's Cortex-A7 quad-core SoC (the first of its kind) and Samsung's octa-core Exynos 5 chip -- to name a few. Hit the break to watch our video and read the interview transcript.

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The Engadget Interview: Jolla CEO Marc Dillon at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview Jolla CEO Marc Dillon at MWC 2013

Jolla launched its Sailfish SDK at MWC 2013 and we got the chance to chat with CEO Marc Dillon about the company's history and find out how things have been coming along with Sailfish OS since our hands-on late last year. We also discussed the time frame for Jolla handsets (still on track for H2 2013) and what the Sailfish SDK brings to the table for developers today. You'll find a full transcript of the interview along with our video after the break.

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The Engadget Interview: Samsung’s Nick DiCarlo talks Galaxy Note 8 at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview Samsung's Nick DiCarlo talks Galaxy Note 8 at MWC 2013

The Galaxy Note 8 -- it's the next logical step in Samsung's ongoing Note saga, and it finally launched in Barcelona. We spoke with Nick DiCarlo, VP of Product Planning for Samsung mobile, about the company's latest tablet. He mentioned that the voice capability, which is a very polarizing feature for some, was a common request among customers. It's unclear if the US carriers will keep this functionality intact, but he suggested that you, dear readers, might be able to sway them by emailing in. We discussed some of the Note 8's other selling points, such as the S Pen-sensitive buttons (finally!) and the IR blaster, which we think is located in the wrong place (the right edge instead of the top) -- possibly the result of Peel's landscape-centric remote control app. Design was an other area we touched upon, and something we feel Samsung's been complacent about this past year. Materials and build quality just don't do the company's products justice, especially on flagships like the Galaxy S III and Note devices. Mr. DiCarlo acknowledged our concerns but pointed out that the entire Galaxy line is light, thin and durable, something everyone wants in a quality smartphone or tablet. Let's see what the Galaxy S IV brings to the table, right? Until then, watch our video interview after the break.

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The Engadget Interview: Chul Bae Lee, VP of LG’s mobile design lab at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview Chul Bae Lee, VP of LG's mobile design lab at MWC 2013

We first met Chul Bae Lee -- VP of LG's mobile design lab -- in Seoul last fall and were lucky to spend a few minutes with him in the company's booth at MWC. LG's flagship Optimus G Pro made quite the splash in Barcelona but looks rather different from the Optimus G. We asked Mr. Lee to walk us through the design process behind the company's new superphone. He mentioned that LG offers two high-end product lines, one focused on premium design (Optimus G), the other on high-performance design (Optimus G Pro) and shared a diagram with us to illustrate this (after the break). The new handset puts an emphasis on ergonomics rather than style by featuring a comfortable and a friendly shape, with soft edges and round corners.

We discussed the extremely narrow display bezel, striking RGB notification ring around the home button, recessed camera lens and IR blaster (for the QRemote functionality). Mr. Lee explained that the placement of the buttons around the Optimus G Pro was carefully chosen to minimize interference with the power / lock key -- this includes the QNote button, which can be remapped to invoke other apps, and even double as a shutter key. We then talked about the new Optimus F series, which blends the design DNA of flagship devices with performance specs (like LTE) at a more affordable price, and the Optimus L II line, which offers unique designs for specific markets (single SIM in Europe, and dual-SIM in Latin America). Hi the break for our video interview and to check out the aforementioned design diagram.

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Visualized: Nokia’s product smorgasbord at MWC 2013

Visualized Nokia's product smorgasbord at MWC 2013

What you see in the shot above (and the gallery below) is a display containing almost every Lumia handset and accessory currently manufactured by Nokia -- all arranged buffet-style for your viewing pleasure. These photos, captured during a special event at MWC 2013, include the Lumia 920, 820, 720, 620 and 520, PlayUp speaker, Purity HD stereo headset and Luna Bluetooth headset (among others).

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The Engadget Interview: Microsoft’s Greg Sullivan on Windows Phone at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview Microsoft's Greg Sullivan on Windows Phone at MWC 2013

We caught up with Greg Sullivan -- senior product manager of Windows Phone -- for an early morning chat during Mobile World Congress. He was kind enough to give us an update on the state of Microsoft's mobile OS, which has apparently experienced a four-fold increase in sales since version 8 launched last fall and is taking share away from Android in the UK. We discussed the delightful user experience provided by lower-end Windows Phone 8 handsets like Nokia's Lumia 620 and asked how Microsoft plans to satisfy power users at the higher-end of the spectrum who are still missing critical features such as proper notifications, quick settings and CalDAV / CardDAV support (to name a few). It's clear that the company's aware of these shortcomings and is working to remedy most of them in a future release. We also talked about the ecosystem, what Microsoft is doing to improve app quality, how it meshes with Windows 8 / RT and whether the company is looking to expand its partnership beyond existing device manufacturers. Look for our full video interview after the break.

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