While we were having a blast in Barcelona, Spain during Mobile World Congress last week we had the opportunity to check out a few awesome new technologies. One that stood out is Scalado's camera and imaging technology. We've mentioned Scalado Remove in the past, but today have a first hand look at their Sweep Panorama 360 for smartphones.
Qualcomm has dismissed NVIDIA's much-trumpeted five core Tegra 3 chipset as mere spec-sheet bragging, arguing that the company is unconcerned by HTC's defection from solely using Snapdragon cores. "No one company can stick to one supplier forever" Sy Choudury, director of product management at Qualcomm told us in an interview at Mobile World Congress this week. As for the HTC One X, the smartphone which will use Tegra 3 at least in non-AT&T form, Choudury argues the 4+1 chipset is more about marketing than actually delivering usable performance. "There's a difference between building devices to suit typical uses, and building for spec-sheet bragging" he said.
Taking our expectations from last year and once again knocking them out of the park with a gigantic Android-controlled cannon, Google has presented another "Google Pod" worthy of remembrance this year at Mobile World Congress 2012. They had everything from developers of games to free Android-version-flavored smoothies and back to the cult-classic Android pins promotion. There was even a robot making gemmed-up Galaxy Nexus battery covers for the most hardcore of shiny Android accessory lovers! Have a walk down Google way in our video tour for MWC 2012!
At what must be one of the most beautiful venues on earth to have a conference such as this, we've got Mobile World Congress 2012, a yearly event which takes the whole world's mobile device market and gathers it up into one big week-long masterpiece. Of course it's not as perfectly simple as that, and if you've never been to the event or have never tried to follow along with the news that spills forth from it before, you may very well have a hard time fitting all the pieces together. That's why we've got this easy to read, easy to decipher guide for you to work your way through all of the devices and services announced, displayed, and teased during the events - have a look!
During Mobile World Congress 2012, Google chairman Eric Schmidt gave an exceptional keynote that touched upon Android, Chrome, the state of the mobile world today as well as how the developing world will be affected by connected technologies in the future. And, he threw in some odd bits about personal robots. Well, now you can watch the entire keynote presentation for yourself as Google has posted the hour-long video on YouTube.
Microsoft has re-ignited the fervor behind its new ARM version of Windows 8 at Mobile World Congress today, and Qualcomm wants developers to know that it's behind them all the way. The chip manufacturer has announced that it will provide custom-made Snapdragon developer devices specifically for working on Windows 8 ARM. The hardware will be provided specifically with the intention of testing and optimizing new ARM-based Windows software, which will be quite a challenge as developers contend with new code and chip standards.
Intel's Atom Z2460 Medfield processor for mobile devices will struggle to compete with ARM-based chipsets such as the Snapdragon S4, Qualcomm's product chief insists, with the new x86 being more the product of desperation than inspiration. "Intel is very smart and very dedicated" Sy Choudury, director of product management at Qualcomm told us in an interview at Mobile World Congress today, "they can't afford not to have a [mobile] product line." However, Choudury thinks Intel has underplayed the challenge it faces by contrasting Medfield with existing, mainstream ARM chips like Qualcomm's own Scorpion. "They're getting better, but so are we."
Microsoft is holding a big Windows event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today (a venue that, any other year, would have seemed out of place for a Windows conference). We're expecting to see the latest update of Windows 8, but someone managed to get a sneak peek at some of the assets that will be used - specifically, Windows 8 wallpapers and lockscreens.
Microsoft has released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, allowing everyone to sample the brand new OS ahead of its official released later in 2012. Available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, complete with English, Chinese (simplified), French, German and Japanese language support, the new OS delivers Microsoft's new Metro UI for the desktop, laptops and tablets, along with the culmination of the company's OS work over the past few years.
This week we're taking a closer look at how the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (Krait) processor works as it exists first on the MDP8690, the newest Mobile Development Platform that the manufacturer has released for developers to fully experience the S4 chip in its Krait configuration. This version of the S4 chip, code-named Krait, is an ARMv7-A compatible CPU architecture and is made for TCMC's 28nm process, and inside the MSM9860 you'll find two of these cores running at up to 1.5 GHz along with Adreno 225 graphics, Qualcomm's new baseband, and improved ISP - it's all ramped up, basically. This device we're testing the Snapdragon S4 out on is not a consumer product, instead it's a device which accurately shows the power of the S4 chip exclusively.
Samsung has pipped Apple to the post and won the coveted GSMA Best Smartphone award at Mobile World Congress, the Galaxy S II taking the crown in devices and Samsung itself named Device Manufacturer of the Year. The news follows Apple's surprise victory with the iPhone 4 at MWC 2011 - despite not even attending the show. However, Samsung's tablets were less fortunate, with the iPad 2 grabbing the Best Mobile Tablet award as a product "that has defined the market."
It's strange to see a vehicle here at MWX 2012, especially one running BlackBerry - but here it is, a QNX Porsche 911 working also with a set of BlackBerry PlayBooks. This vehicle has the ability to connect to your BlackBerry smartphone using NFC to stereo telephony, while connections between devices then works instantaneously from there on out with Bluetooth. Control the music at the front of the car with the PlayBooks set in the seats in the back, play video from one part of the car to the other, and roll out on the web throughout the vehicle.