Tag Archives: mwc 2013

LG Optimus L Series II: L7, L5, and L3

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OPTIMUS L SERIES II

Introduced at MWC 2013 in Barcelona last week, the next gen Optimus L Series is believed to deliver an enhanced user experience with a 4.3-inch high-resolution IPS display and extended capacity battery. Powered by a 1GHz Dual-Core processor, the L Series II is also configured with up to 4GB eMMC / 768MB RAM and support Micro SD.

OPTIMUS L SERIES II

For user’s convenience, the Optimus L Series II also pre-loaded with QuickMemo, Quick Button and Safety Care those unique to LG smartphones. The Dual SIM version of the Optimus L7 II will be available first and the lucky country is Russia. The Optimus L7 II will include LG’s unique UX features such as QSlide and QuickTranslator. But you need a little bit longer to get the 3.2-inch Optimus L3 II or the 4.0-inch Optimus L5 II.

OPTIMUS L SERIES II

“LG has a history of pushing the envelope when it comes to style and Optimus L SeriesII builds on this heritage of design innovation,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “By evolving the sophisticated style and premium features of the original Optimus L Series, its sequel is expected to continue the popularity of the L Series around the world.”

Power Matters Alliance garners support from BlackBerry, NEC, TI and ZTE

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Power Matters Alliance garners support from BlackBerry, NEC, TI and ZTE

Another Mobile World Congress, another round of highfalutin' talk surrounding the concept of wireless power. We already witnessed a consumer approach by PowerbyProxi, and now we're hearing that the Power Matters Alliance is getting a second wind as well. The self-proclaimed "leading ecosystem and standard for wireless power" took to Boston-area Starbucks locations last fall, and now it has notched support from BlackBerry, NEC, Texas Instruments, ZTE and dozens more. There's still no word on whether all of these factions are going to bite the bullet and come together in order to actually make some progress that consumers can appreciate, but hey -- we've got nothing but time, right?

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Source: Power Matters Alliance

Indigo is a cloud-based, cross-platform personal assistant for Android and Windows Phone 8 (hands-on)

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Indigo is a cloud-based, cross-platform personal assistant for Android and Windows Phone 8 (hands-on)

The idea of a personal assistant needs no introduction: you already know Siri, and those of you fortunate to own a Jelly Bean handset (or at least a hacked ICS one) have the privilege of using Google Now. So there's very little we haven't seen here. And yet, we were inclined to take a look at Indigo, a new personal assistant for Android and Windows Phone 8 that launched yesterday, and will be available as a free download in the coming weeks. Meet us past the break to find out why.

Gallery: Indigo personal assistant hands-on

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Source: Indigo

Hands-free Fruit Ninja: NUIA makes it easier to code PC apps with eye control (hands-on)

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Hands-free Fruit Ninja: NUIA makes it easier to code PC apps with eye control (hands-on)

We know what you think this hands-on is about. That laptop you see up there has a Tobii eye-tracking sensor affixed to it, and you're probably wondering why we're still dwelling on it after getting hands-on twice at CES 2012 and once more at CES 2013. But that's not what we're here to show you today. While wandering the halls of Mobile World Congress, we came across NUIA (Natural User Inter Action), a German company whose software is designed to make it easier for developers to code apps that make use of eye tracking sensors, such as Tobii's. In particular, devs will only have to write one extension, even if they're making use of multiple sensing devices (e.g., eye control and gesture recognition).

That comes in handy for a game like Fruit Ninja, as the required gestures extend beyond the bounds of what Tobii can do by itself. (Tobii lets you do things like zoom in, select objects and scroll, but not swipe flying fruit.) If you venture past the break, you'll see yours truly trying (and occasionally succeeding) at Fruit Ninja, though obviously this game is just one use case (albeit, a very fun one). There's nothing stopping developers from applying this to creative, productivity or even enterprise apps, too. As for availability, well, it's pretty clear the hardware will have to come before the software -- a NUIA spokesperson told us she doesn't expect its kit will be commercially available until sensing devices like Tobii become integrated into Windows 8 PCs. And if Tobii is any indication, that might not happen until next year at the earliest.

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ASUS posts MWC highlights, relive the weirdest press conference in recent memory

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ASUS posts MWC presser highlights video, relive the weirdest press conference in recent memory

Man, oh man, ASUS certainly didn't disappoint with the verbally confusing back to back launch of the new PadFone Infinity and FonePad, but the real star of this morning's Mobile World Congress was sheer insanity, outdoing even that bizarre Columbus video from last week. What happens when you let the Magicians Guild run your show? A smattering of confused applause from an audience wondering if they hadn't partied a little too hard while out on the town in Barcelona the night before. The video's after the break. Come for the gadgets and stay for the mind-boggling strangeness of it all.

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The Engadget Interview: Nokia head of design Marko Ahtisaari at MWC 2013

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The Engadget Interview Nokia head of design Marko Ahtisaari at MWC 2013

Hot on the heels of our interview with Stephen Elop, we sat down with Marko Ahtisaari -- head of design at Nokia -- to chat about the Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 Windows Phones along with the basic Lumia 301 and 105 models. The four handsets, which were introduced today at Mobile World Congress, share the same design language -- in fact, this marks the first time the company's extending its signature Lumia look and feel to devices costing as little as €15 ($20). We discussed the evolution of Nokia's current aesthetic from the Nokia N9 (and the Lumia 800) to the present day. Mr. Ahtisaari touched upon the engineering challenges involved in building affordable smartphones like the €139 ($184) Lumia 520. We talked about the Lumia 720's thin and light unibody shell and the Lumia 620's double-shot color scheme, then asked how the Asha design language fits into the current lineup. Curious about the answer? Watch our video interview after the break.

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Visa and Samsung ink worldwide NFC deal, practically guarantees payWave on your Galaxy S IV

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Visa and Samsung ink worldwide NFC deal here comes the payWave bloatware

First, the good news. It appears that Visa and Samsung's Olympics trial went over so well, that it's expanding those mobile payment dreams to a global audience. Now, the rough news -- Visa has convinced Samsung to pre-load the payWave app onto every future Samsung smartphone with an NFC module. Granted, you'd be using that anyway for contactless payments... but only if you had a Visa card. At this point, it's practically a given that the impending Galaxy S IV will boast not only an NFC chip, but payWave integration from the factory.

The deal also gives banks the ability to load payment account information over-the-air to a secure chip embedded in Samsung devices (thanks, Mobile Provisioning Service), but neither company is coming clean on what devices in particular will be taking advantage. Unfortunately, this news may be even gloomier for non-Visa users -- it's unlikely Samsung's contract will allow it to announce similar deals with competing mobile payment services, but we suppose we'll see in time.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Visa

We’re live from ZTE’s MWC 2013 press event!

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ZTE is chasing the premium smartphone experience -- and it might not come with too heavy a price tag. While we've already seen its skinny phone-tablet, expect some news on a more global appearance, alongside, hopefully, more news on its Nubia range. Oh, and finally a closer look at that Firefox phone -- unless Mozilla has that on lock-down. The event will kick off Sunday at... the time you see below.

February 25, 2013 10:00 AM EST

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ASUS FonePad official: 7-inch tablet with phone functionality, priced at $249 (hands-on)

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ASUS FonePad official 7inch tablet with phone functionality, priced at $249 for 16GB handson

We already knew ASUS was prepping a product called the FonePad, a 7-inch tablet with built-in phone functionality (yes, just like the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0). Well, ASUS just formally unveiled it here at Mobile World Congress, which means we've got a few more details to share than we did previously. First off, the speculation about its specs was all true: this does indeed have an Intel processor -- a 1.2GHz Atom Z2420, to be exact -- along with 1GB of RAM, a PowerVR SGX540 GPU, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and an HSPA+ radio. What's more, the 4,270mAH battery is said to get up to nine hours of runtime, which would put this in the same league as other Atom tablets we've tested recently.

In terms of hardware features, the FonePad has a smooth metal back (available in gray and gold), making it drastically different in appearance from the similarly sized Nexus 7. 'Round back you'll find a panel where all the usual antennae are, and hidden underneath are both the micro-SIM slot and the microSD reader. That microSD slot, by the way, supports 32GB cards, which should come in handy considering this has just 16GB of built-in storage. Additionally, the tablet has a 1.2-megapixel front camera, attached to a 7-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display.

The FonePad will be available in Europe for £179 / €219. Here at MWC, ASUS also confirmed a US dollar price of $249, though we had heard rumblings it wouldn't actually be sold there. It arrives in March, but the specific on-sale date hasn't been revealed yet. We're hoping to test one ourselves soon enough, but until then, stay tuned for the usual round of hands-on shots.

Update: Our hands-on photos and video are in! Enjoy!

Gallery: ASUS FonePad

Gallery: ASUS FonePad hands-on

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ASUS PadFone Infinity announced: 5-inch, 1080p screen, Snapdragon 600 CPU and full HD tablet display (hands-on)

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ASUS PadFone Infinity announced 5inch, 1080p display, Snapdragon 600 CPU and full HD tablet display handson

You may have heard a new PadFone was on the way -- it's not like ASUS has been dropping obvious hints or anything. In any case, surprise! ASUS just unveiled a new model, the PadFone Infinity. Like other PadFones, this is a handset that slips into a tablet-like dock, allowing you to make use of a bigger screen. This time, though, it ships with Android 4.2, and the display has grown from 4.7 inches to 5. The resolution is now 1080p (up from 720p), which comes out to 441 pixels per inch. Additionally, the tablet's 10.1-inch screen has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200, up from 1,280 x 800 in the last-gen model. It's plenty bright, too, at 400 nits, but that's a slight step down from the last-gen model, which lit up to 500 nits.

What's more, the phone's gotten an upgrade on the inside: it now packs a quad-core, 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 chip with an Adreno 320 GPU, some of the freshest components Qualcomm has to offer at the moment. Also on-board, you get 2GB of RAM to help boost performance, with your choice of either 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage. As far as connectivity, you're looking at EDGE, GPRS, GSM, WCDMA, LTE and DC-HSPA+, along with all the usual radios: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, A-GPS and even GLONASS. According to an ASUS rep, the device uses a nano-SIM rather than micro-SIM. Around back, ASUS has added a 13-megapixel autofocusing camera with an LED flash, five-element, f/2.0 lens and burst shooting at eight fps. There's a front camera too, capped at 2MP, in case you want to do the occasional video chat. Meanwhile, the 2,400mAh battery promises up to 19 hours of 3G talk time, and up to 40 with the dock attached.

Like every other PadFone that's been released, this won't be available in the US, but the phone-and-dock combo will cost £799 / €999 when it goes on sale in Europe this April. The phone is also headed to Asia, though we don't have any more details. You'll also have your choice of colors, we hear: gray, gold and hot pink, if that's what you're into. Check out our hands-on gallery for a closer look.

Update: Hands-on photos and video now added. You're welcome.

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