Lenovo's Legion Go S and Legion Go 2 are two of our favorite gaming handhelds on the market right now, serving different types of users who want either a more portable design or a more powerful experience.

Unafraid as always about the evolution of form factors, Lenovo brought a new gaming handheld concept to MWC 2026. It's unlike anything I've seen, and I'm confident I'm looking at a design that a lot of competitors will eventually copy.

The Legion Go Fold, as it's known, is Lenovo's most exciting concept device shown off this year. It's essentially an amalgamation of the Legion Go 2's detachable controllers, the ThinkPad Fold's folding screen (albeit at a smaller size), and the Surface Pro's 2-in-1 laptop design with stand and detachable keyboard.

What is Lenovo's Legion Go Fold concept and how does it work?

It's clear from what we've already got our hands on that Lenovo isn't exactly sure where it's taking this concept device, but it certainly is intriguing. It operates in four primary setups: three for gaming and one for regular productivity (or more gaming with a keyboard and mouse).

Here's how Lenovo lays it out. A standard handheld mode sees the controllers attach to the side of the pOLED (plastic OLED) display, which itself is folded over into a 7.7-inch format. Consider this to be the "portable" way to play your favorite games.

👉 Lenovo Legion Go 2 vs Legion Go S: Which is better?

With the controllers attached in the same manner to the sides of the display, the screen itself can be folded up to its full vertical size, effectively giving you two screens stacked on top of each other. One for streaming and one for gaming? Nice. Lenovo calls this vertical split-screen mode.

Lenovo wasn't satisfied with letting you use the screen vertically with controllers attached. In horizon full-screen mode, you can detach the controllers, rotate the screen 90 degrees, then reattach the controllers. This gives you a massive 11.6-inch display on which to game.

And, finally, because an 11.6-inch display is just begging to be used as a regular PC screen, expanded desktop mode sees a keyboard, touchpad, and folio stand connect to the horizontal display to become a 2-in-1 PC for gaming, streaming, and productivity.

The concept device runs on an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU, and it has 32GB of RAM. A 48Wh battery powers the device. It'd be great to see Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" chips with upgraded iGPU inside when (or if) the product makes it beyond a concept stage.

How do the Legion Go Fold's controllers work?

We got our hands on the Legion Go Fold's controllers to see how they feel, and we ultimately had no complaints. They're ergonomically sound with larger grips, and the thumbsticks — ringed with RGB lights — are symmetrical.

One thing that stands out is a small LED display that you can use to display several different readouts, like a clock, while you game.

The controllers are designed to slide on and off with ease, just like in the Legion Go 2. When disconnected from the main display, they can be joined again with an extra piece of hardware, effectively creating a standard gamepad. This extra middle portion can also serve as a stand for one controller, which itself can be used as a mouse.

I wish I had a date to share regarding an actual release, but the Legion Go Fold is still firmly a concept device that might not ever come to market. Still, it's a great representation of Lenovo's willingness to evolve PC form factors.

What do you think about Lenovo's Legion Go Fold concept handheld?

Do you think Lenovo is onto something with its Legion Go Fold concept? Is it something you can see yourself using? Let me know in the comments section!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

I'm admittedly a bit of a sucker when it comes to dual-screen laptops, so Lenovo's new modular ThinkBook, shown off at MWC 2026, grabbed my attention immediately.

Not only is it a fresh take on how a dual-screen laptop handles all the extra hardware, but it's also a dream come true for anyone who never seems to have the right selection of ports.

The ThinkBook Modular AI PC concept is built into a 14-inch frame, compact enough to remain portable as part of Lenovo's "carry small, use big" motto. The main 14-inch display is where you'd expect it on the inside of the lid, but beyond that is where normalcy begins to take a back seat.

The keyboard and touchpad slab isn't actually permanently attached to the base of the laptop. It clips into place with POGO pins and magnets, and it's easily removed to be used wirelessly via Bluetooth.

Why remove the keyboard from the base of the PC? To make room for a second 14-inch display, of course. It attaches to the same magnets and POGO pins that the keyboard uses, allowing you to create a dual-screen laptop that works in horizontal or vertical orientations.

Lenovo also placed POGO pins and magnets on the outside of the laptop's lid, allowing users to attach the display in an outward-facing manner. That's great for collaboration, and it also serves as storage for the second display when it's not in use.

Building on the Yoga Book 9i and Zenbook Duo's brilliant designs

This new Lenovo concept design reminds me a lot of what ASUS did with its Zenbook Duo that I reviewed last year, where the keyboard and touchpad are a separate piece that operates wirelessly.

However, on the Zenbook Duo, the second screen is fixed to the chassis and simply hides below the keyboard when not in use. It admittedly works really well, and I actually prefer the Zenbook Duo over the gorgeous Yoga Book 9i that I also reviewed, at least from a functional standpoint.

👉 ASUS Zenbook Duo vs. Lenovo Yoga Book 9i — here's what I recommend after testing both dual-screen laptops

But with Lenovo's concept, that second screen can be used apart from the rest of the laptop; connect it with a USB-C to POGO cable rather than the built-in POGO pins on the laptop's chassis, and you have a secondary monitor ready to go, no matter where you're working.

Lenovo's ThinkBook Modular dual-screen PC has swappable ports

Something else that Lenovo's ThinkBook Modular adds to the mix is swappable ports. The slim base of the PC includes a couple of cutouts where you can slide ports in and out as needed.

It looks as though Lenovo includes HDMI, dual USB-A, and USB-C modules with each laptop.

This being a concept PC that's still under development, Lenovo doesn't share any timeframe for when (or if) this PC will launch. I might be a bit biased here with my interest in dual-screen advancements, but I really do hope Lenovo gets the ThinkBook Modular into a state where it can see a real release.

What do you think about Lenovo's new dual-screen laptop concept?

Are you a fan of dual-screen laptops? In your opinion, what is the current best dual-screen laptop on the market? Let me know in the comments section!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Previously known as Mobile World Congress before its modern rebrand to MWC, the trade show was a repeated attraction for us when Windows Phone was all the rage.

These days, it's evolved into a much broader event that hosts prominent PC manufacturers showing off their latest mix of enterprise and commercial hardware alongside a handful of consumer devices.

At the center of it all, and my primary attraction to the exhibition, is a giant booth hosted by Intel as it unveiled its commercial AI PC portfolio powered by the Lunar Lake mobile processors I had previewed last year in Taiwan and its Arrow Lake successors.

Intel is facilitating accessible AI for all

It's been too easy to admire what Intel is achieving with its mobile chips, especially with Core Ultra Series 2 pushing what felt like more than a single generational uplift in efficiency and total battery life over its Meteor Lake predecessors.

After a tour of the Xeon 6 platform aimed at data centres, I had sincere chats with Intel's AI PC demo expert Craig Raymond, bouncing my thoughts on the category and its appeal to everyday consumers.

Raymond, clearly filled with the same passion for AI computing as I am, responded to my quest of finding the "killer AI app" at MWC with a series of demonstrations of agentic AI and indulged me in my appreciation for Intel's efforts in OpenVINO, a suite loaded with plugins and access to large language models (LLMs) running locally.

Here, we came to a mutual recognition that local inferencing, powered by the dedicated neural processing units (NPUs) in processors just like Intel's, could be the breakthrough hit that artificial intelligence needs to escape a couple of common misconceptions among the average consumer.

A broad misunderstanding of AI PCs

While I knew that my goal was to discover what the killer AI app might be to convince consumers that AI PCs are as revolutionary as our coverage suggests, I approached each brand at MWC with the same premise: I'm here to decipher the jargon and explain the appeal to consumers like my parents.

They aren't technophobes by any means, but they don't keep up with technology in the same way that I do, left at the mercy of advertising and a growing collection of acronyms.

After all, why should my parents know what TOPS are? Microsoft set a 40 TOPS minimum requirement for Copilot+ PCs, but I wouldn't expect them to learn about tera operations per second, even while they see Copilot advertisements in their daily travels.

In fact, my extended family still associates artificial intelligence almost entirely with generative AI like DALL-E for images, further intimidated by the alarming rise of deepfake images and voice-cloning tools unfortunately harnessed for telephone scams.

To them, "AI" is a negative buzzword and hardly anything they might link to the efficiency of their next laptop, and that's where I come in as someone who benefits first-hand from Intel's presence in AI.

AI PCs will quietly become the standard

As instrumental as AI PCs have been in driving what my editor-in-chief Daniel Rubino called a 'Great Reset' in the Windows PC industry, it's clear to me that the subcategory will eventually become insignificant.

It's not because the AI PCs themselves lack significance; on the contrary, they formed the single most important shift in personal computing in years — even decades.

Rather, the groundbreaking architecture inside will eventually feel less fantastical and more normal as mobile and desktop processor SoCs (system on chips) continue to include at least a CPU, iGPU, and NPU.

Local AI computing has been supported on CPUs and GPUs (both discrete and integrated) for years, with only the recent prevalence of low-power, ultra-efficient NPUs causing a significant intrigue with their ability to handle AI-centric tasks in the background, measured in milliwatts rather than watts.

As Intel iterates on its Lunar Lake NPU and AMD maintains focus on its Ryzen AI chips, the concept of processors lacking AI capabilities becomes a niche prospect — there aren't any logical reasons to backtrack on local inferencing if manufacturing costs aren't negatively affected.

In this, we'll likely stop referring to future laptops as "AI PCs" and just call them PCs. That's exactly how important artificial intelligence is to computing, and why it's crucial to navigate misconceptions around the term. AI is about much more than "thoughtful" conversational LLMs like ChatGPT.

The killer app will be the AI PC itself

My epiphany at MWC is that a single app likely won't be responsible for revolutionizing AI PCs or act as the catalyst that transitions them into the zeitgeist of standardized computing to become "just a PC."

However, allowing everyday users to harness local AI in a secure manner without sending a scrap of data to the cloud has the strongest chance of being a game changer, packaged as tens if not hundreds of different apps with varying styles.

Companion apps on PCs like myHP on the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 and Vantage on Lenovo's Yoga Slim 9i will undoubtedly continue to expand their AI-powered dashboards with local document analysis, including instruction manuals for that same laptop — a clever way of having the device answer questions about itself.

There will be more examples that better harness the trio of AI processing units inside an SoC, but they likely won't appear as a majority from OEMs like Dell, ASUS, and even Microsoft.

Instead, these giants seem more focused on utilizing their gargantuan enterprise presence to refine cloud-based AI into a package that translates from huge server farms to the commercial market and finally to consumer devices in an ultra-efficient manner.

Essentially, the top brands are doing all the hard work in artificial intelligence computing before it ever comes to a great AI laptop that my parents would likely buy in a brick-and-mortar electronics store.

Sure, that still leaves me hearing the question of "but what is my NPU actually doing?" and it's totally valid to anyone who watches the Windows 11 Task Manager to see little activity.

Right now, unless you're regularly harnessing OpenVINO plugins in apps like Audacity to split music into separate stems and transcribe speech into exported text files like I do, then you likely won't see that NPU pulse moving much.

However, more developers will offload background tasks to the low-power chip as time goes on, which has the brilliant side effect of increasing laptop battery life and reducing processor temperatures.

It's just a matter of which software giant makes the biggest splash first, and you'll be hard pressed to avoid the news when it happens as any power-saving performance bumps are always touted in graphs and one-page press announcements.

For now: there is no killer AI app, and its implied importance is far lower than I had previously thought — AI will just continue to make our PCs better until we forget it's even there.

Mobile World Congress ran throughout last week, giving us another glimpse of what's on the way for consumer tech. Lenovo unveiled a solar powered concept PC and a concept laptop with an 18.1-inch foldable display.

We also saw devices that will actually hit store shelves, such as the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition.

Outside of Mobile World Congress, Microsoft blocked its Copilot AI assistant from helping people pirate Windows 11. Copilot also got a non-pirate related update on Windows 11 and macOS.

Microsoft blocks (some) Windows 11 pirates

Pirating Windows 11 just got incrementally more difficult. Earlier this month, it was discovered that Microsoft Copilot would share advice on how to activate Windows 11 without a license.

Now, if you ask the AI assistant about activating Windows, Copilot will ask if you would like to talk about something else.

"Want to talk about something else? I'm not able to discuss that topic, but I'm always happy to chat about other things! What else is on your mind?" said Copilot to me when I asked about activating Windows 11.

When pushed on the topic, Copilot said the following:

"Unfortunately, I can't assist with bypassing licensing requirements for Windows 11. Using unlicensed software can have significant risks, including security vulnerabilities and lack of support from Microsoft.

However, there are legitimate ways to acquire a Windows 11 license. Sometimes there are discounts or programs that can help, especially for seniors, students, or through certain promotions. If budget is a concern, there are also free operating systems like Linux that could be an alternative. If you'd like, I can help you explore some of these options!"

Pirating Windows has never been difficult. Copilot helping people pirate Windows 11 was only newsworthy due to irony.

Lenovo concept PCs

Lenovo is the torchbearer when it comes to innovative devices these days. Plenty of PC makers try new things, but Lenovo is likely the boldest when it comes to new form factors.

On that note, Lenovo unveiled the ThinkBook "codename Flip" at Mobile World Congress (MWC). That device has an 18.1-inch foldable display. That screen can flip around for sharing or stand tall.

The resulting vertical screen makes the ThinkBook Flip rather top heavy. It is a concept device, so Lenovo will have to play around with the exact shape and weight distribution before shipping a device with a similar display.

Another concept device, the Lenovo Yoga Solar PC, has solar panels in its lid. Those panels use back contact cell technology that improves efficiency.

Lenovo claims the Yoga Solar PC can get one hour of playback after 20 minutes of charging in the sun.

I also think the solar panels look pretty cool, but I suppose that's subjective.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition

Lenovo announced more than concept devices at Mobile World Congress. The PC maker also unveiled its Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (Gen 10).

That laptop is powered by up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H and up to an NVIDIA RTX 5070 laptop GPU.

Those specs should be enough for heavy duty creative work. The Aura Edition branding indicates the PC meets standards for software, hardware, and AI features.

The latest Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition has a 16-inch screen that reaches up to 1,600 nits. That screen has a double layer of OLED pixels and is possibly the brightest laptop screen available.

Our Cale Hunt stays on top of the best laptops with bright screens and has not found a brighter laptop display than that of the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition.

Copilot app update

Microsoft previewed a new Copilot app this week on Windows 11. The app is built using Microsoft's native app UI framework, which is great news.

When Microsoft launched its new dedicated Copilot app for Windows last year, many were disappointed to find out it was just the Copilot web view in a wrapper.

The new new Copilot app that is in preview is a native app with a better interface. It also launches quicker and performs better than its predecessor.

Microsoft launched its new Copilot app for Mac slightly before the Windows version entered preview.

Windows Central Podcast

Our Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden talk tech each week during the Windows Central Podcast. In the most recent episode, they discuss the death of Skype, Lenovo's intriguing devices from Mobile World Congress, and updates to Microsoft's Copilot apps.

You can tune into the Windows Central Podcast each week on YouTube or catch up through your favorite podcast platform.

• Listen on Spotify
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Pocket Casts
• Subscribe via RSS

Reviews

We here at Windows Central love going hands-on with the latest tech. This week, our team looked at the lightest and longest lasting AI PC, a 4K Thunderbolt hub monitor, and a practically flawless monitor arm.

• ASUS Zenbook A14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Dell UltraSharp 27 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
• MSI MAG MT201D monitor arm ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Split Fiction ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
• VITURE Pro XR Glasses ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
• Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Deals of the Week

Our experts scour the web for the best deals — because who likes paying full price for things? The best gaming and laptop deals include discounts on WWE 2K25 Deadman Edition, the ASUS VivoBook S 15, and the Surface Pro Flex Keyboard.

Lenovo has been busy unveiling new AI-powered hardware at MWC 2025, and the company has also taken the opportunity to show off a few proof-of-concept (POC) devices that could one day see a full release.

Alongside a solar-powered Yoga PC and charging unit, Lenovo introduced a new AI Display POC with its own Neural Processing Unit (NPU) inside for handling local AI workflows.

Lenovo says the new AI monitor is part of its commitment to "smarter technology for all" and will especially benefit PCs that lack an NPU of their own.

Lenovo says the monitor concept allows non-AI PCs to use LLMs and an AI assistant. Lenovo has not stated the NPU's power in the AI Display, which is usually measured in TOPS.

The most intriguing part of Lenovo AI Display concept is its ability to automatically rotate, elevate, and tilt to offer the user the best viewing experience possible.

As someone who spends a lot of time in front of a screen, having the monitor make the right ergonomic decisions while my mind is elsewhere would undoubtedly be a benefit.

How well that idea would work in real life, however, remains to be seen.

For those who lack an AI PC but who already have a quality monitor, Lenovo's new AI Stick POC is designed to discretely add an NPU with 32 TOPS of AI power to any PC via Thunderbolt.

This discrete piece of hardware, designed to run Lenovo AI Now, LLMs, and AI-enhanced graphics, can operate on Thunderbolt power or AC power, the latter option opening up maximum performance potential.

Unfortunately, with only 32 TOPS of power, it wouldn't make the cut for Copilot+ features in Windows 11, which require at least 40 TOPS.

This being a concept, the performance numbers could change if the hardware ever sees a full release.

Lenovo's AI Stick looks to be about the same size as an external M.2 SSD enclosure, small enough to slip into a pocket when you're on the go.

These being proofs of concept, Lenovo hasn't shared any details regarding a full release or pricing.

Will Lenovo's AI-powered monitors and "NPU sticks" soon be a common sight?

Lenovo is clearly not afraid to experiment with AI-powered hardware add-ons in its latest PCs and accessories.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre neo Ultra I reviewed late last year introduced me to the idea of a discrete NPU. Unfortunately, it was ahead of its time.

So far ahead, in fact, that the discrete NPU wasn't actually enabled in my review unit, with promises that it would become useful after a software update.

The discrete NPU inside the ThinkCentre neo Ultra is a Kinara Ara-2, complete with 40 TOPS of power to handle Copilot+ tasks.

It remains unclear how many TOPS the Lenovo AI Display POC can offer, but it would assumedly be enough to handle all of the automatic positioning as well as run LLMs.

Lenovo has, on the other hand, shared that the AI Stick's discrete NPU has a 32 TOPS ceiling, barring it from Copilot+ tools.

Compared to, say, a discrete GPU — even NVIDIA's last-gen RTX 40-series cards can hit 1,300+ TOPS — the AI Stick's 32 TOPS is measly, but I don't think Lenovo is targeting the same audience.

The AI Stick is more of a convenience factor, a piece of hardware you can add to any system for a small boost to AI performance in order to free up the CPU and GPU for other tasks.

Using AI locally with a discrete NPU also adds an extra layer of security. Without having to tap a cloud-based AI, all of your information stays on the system.

The AI Stick will undoubtedly come in handy for a select few users, but as it stands now, I don't think the vast majority of people will find enough use for it to warrant a purchase.

That should, of course, change as more useful AI tools become available. That leads me to Lenovo's AI Now suite of tools.

What is Lenovo AI Now?

Mentioned alongside the AI Stick is Lenovo's AI Now companion, introduced around the same time as I was reviewing the ThinkCentre neo Ultra late last year.

It's a custom AI assistant designed by Lenovo, using "hybrid large models" while combining "your personal knowledge base" and "natural comprehension capabilities."

Lenovo AI Now is split into two sections. Here's how Lenovo defines them in official documentation:

• Knowledge Assistant: Lenovo AI Now provides an efficient and secure office environment where you can retrieve information, ask questions, summarize content, and generate text based on your personal knowledge. All of these are processed locally to protect your privacy and work data.
• PC Assistant: Lenovo AI Now provides you with a convenient PC setup experience and Lenovo's unique intelligent setup functions, which can make your PC work better without computer expertise and skills. And Lenovo AI Now provides you with timely Lenovo services, which can easily interface with various services of Lenovo PC.

Lenovo states that new features for AI Now are expected to arrive in the near future, and that support and features can vary based on your region.

Considering the AI Stick lacks the power to run Copilot+ — so far the most common use for an NPU in an AI PC — I expect Lenovo's AI Now suite to quickly pick up similar features to make the hardware worth buying.

Lenovo's "Aura Edition" initiative — in partnership with Intel — has been expanded with two new Yoga Pro laptops announced at MWC 2025.

The flagship Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (Gen 10) is a 16-inch creator's powerhouse, complete with high-end features and performance hardware, and its Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition (Gen 10) is a smaller 14-inch sibling made for creators on the move.

These new laptops join the established roster of Lenovo Aura Edition PCs already on the market, including the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 13) and Yoga Slim 7i (Gen 9) we reviewed.

Lenovo expects to launch the Yoga Pro 9i (Gen 10) in North America in Q2 2025 starting at $1,799.

The Yoga Pro 7i (Gen 10) is, unfortunately, not expected to launch in North America at this time.

Lenovo also introduced several other new Yoga and IdeaPad models at MWC 2025, and it looks like they'll be available as early as March.

Lenovo's Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition has a bright OLED screen AND an RTX 5070 GPU

Lenovo's Yoga Pro 9i isn't entirely new, with the Gen 10 model representing a generational refresh with new performance hardware and Aura Edition branding.

The Yoga Pro 9i (Gen 10) ships with Lenovo's Creator Zone software, which was introduced at CES 2024. It's a powerful AI image-creation tool that can transform sketches and ideas into artwork, all with automatic copyright checks in place.

Lenovo's X Power tool, also powered by AI, is on board to help balance heat and noise, which will come in handy considering how much hardware is jammed inside the chassis that measures 0.70 inches (17.9mm) thin.

Indeed, the main attraction here will undoubtedly be the inclusion of up to an NVIDIA RTX 5070 Laptop GPU, part of the latest "Blackwell" generation of hardware from Team Green.

If you often employ NVIDIA Studio, this could prove to be one of the best creator laptops around.

Lenovo, however, makes no mention of the new GPU's AI capabilities. The desktop RTX 5070 is expected to hit around 988 TOPS of power for AI work, and the mobile version should be somewhere close.

Instead, it seems like the baked-in AI tools from Lenovo will rely on up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H from the Series 2 "Arrow Lake" lineup.

The problem? These CPUs have a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that hits 13 TOPS, which isn't even enough to handle Copilot+ in Windows 11 (which needs at least 40 TOPS).

Windows Central's Zachary Boddy recently reviewed the Core Ultra 9 285H, highlighting the same concerns — it's a strong chip, but its AI abilities are severely lacking.

AI performance quirks aside, the RTX 5070 Laptop GPU will pair well with the 16-inch display that features a relatively rare tandem OLED setup, pushing brightness to 1,600 nits with a double layer of OLED pixels.

That's the brightest screen I've ever seen, easily besting the laptops I've included in my list of the best laptops with bright screens.

With 100% reproduction for sRGB, AdobeRGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts, as well as a 120Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision support, most creators won't feel a major need to connect to an external display.

Lenovo's Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition is made for AI-enhanced creativity

The 16-inch Yoga 9i Aura Edition (Gen 10) hits about 4.25 pounds (1.93kg) and has roughly a 14-inch footprint. That might be too big for some users, which is where the 14-inch Yoga 7i comes in.

The smaller Yoga 7i weighs about 3.4 pounds (1.54kg) and has a much smaller footprint, making it easier to tote with you.

The smaller size does not, however, provide enough space inside for a discrete GPU. Instead, the laptop relies on integrated Intel Arc graphics that come with the Core Ultra H-series chips.

New to the Gen 10 model is a reworked keyboard as part of the Yoga Premium Suite. It has 1.5mm key travel — anything above 1.2mm is usually quite comfy — with the keycaps giving way to four Dolby Atmos speakers.

Here, too, you'll find an OLED display. It's a smaller 14.5-inch screen to fit the more compact chassis, but it has the same 120Hz refresh rate, 16:10 aspect ratio, and Dolby Vision compatibility.

The resolution hits 3000x1876, and it manages 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 color reproduction. However, it lacks the Tandem OLED feature, meaning brightness tops out at about 1,000 nits.

What is Lenovo Aura Edition?

The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (Gen 10)'s expected starting price of about $1,799 caught me off guard.

While Lenovo doesn't specify right now the exact hardware in the baseline model, it's expected that the $1,799 price won't include a Core Ultra 9 CPU, RTX 5070 GPU, or the tandem OLED display (or at least not at a 3K resolution).

So why such a high price for the baseline model? It falls partly on the Aura Edition improvements that come with Lenovo's partnership with Intel.

Aura Edition — first spotted alongside new Lenovo laptops announced at IFA 2024 — is essentially a brand name for what every laptop maker is currently attempting to do: create AI features that people actually want to use.

Having an "Aura Edition" laptop grants you access to certain exclusive features with a focus on improved productivity, wellness, collaboration, security, battery life, sharing, and more.

More new Lenovo laptops unveiled at MWC 2025

Lenovo new "Aura Edition" laptops aren't the only new devices shown off at WMC 2025, with three others expected to launch in North America.

The Yoga 7 2-in-1 (Gen 10), available in 14- and 16-inch sizes, is a refresh, now with up to an AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU, integrated Radeon graphics, and a 2.8K OLED touch display.

The 14-inch Yoga 7 2-in-1 should launch in March 2025 starting at $899. The 16-inch model will come later in Q3 2025 with a starting price of $849.

Last is the 15-inch IdeaPad Slim 3x (Gen 10) expected to arrive in March 2025 starting at $649.

The Ideapad Slim 3x is a more affordable option that uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip for excellent AI performance and battery life. The laptop will be available with up to a QHD+ OLED display with 60Hz refresh rate.

What you need to know

• Mobile World Congress 2024 is in full swing, and Lenovo has announced another batch of brand-new Windows 11 laptops.
• The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 (Gen 4) continues the line with a refined design and capable Intel Core Ultra chips.
• Refinements to the hinge and display, an optional Windows Hello-capable front-facing camera, and new internals make it a compelling option for professional users.
• The new ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 is hitting the market as early as Mar. 2024 with a starting price of $1,169.

We may only be just over a month detached from the massive Consumer Electronics Show 2024 in Las Vegas, but that hasn't stopped Lenovo from also making a big appearance at Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. The company has announced updates to its business-oriented ThinkPad and ThinkBook laptops, and one of the more interesting is the new thin-and-light 14-inch convertible.

The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 (Gen 4) isn't the most exciting laptop on the block, but it does bring new Intel Core Ultra processors and a refined design to business users without charging a fortune and a half, making it especially compelling for small businesses and other professional users. It's also just around the corner, so potential buyers won't have to wait long to secure one of their own.

Lenovo's iconic ThinkBook design, refined

Lenovo's latest ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 isn't a dramatic departure from similar laptops of the past. It's still designed to be as portable as possible without sacrificing capability, being thin at around 17-19mm and light at less than 4lbs. The 360-degrees hinge keeps all four postures common with other similar PCs (laptop, tablet, studio, and tent), but Lenovo is now using a dropdown hinge that makes it easier to switch postures and helps minimize the bezels around the display.

Speaking of that display, you're getting a modern 16:10 aspect ratio with a 14-inch diagonal, which is the perfect size for a laptop in my opinion. It's not a world-class display, but it still gets bright enough for regular usage at around 300nits and features Low Blue Light and Eyesafe filters to make long-term usage more comfortable. Flanking that display are thin bezels and a FHD front-facing camera, which has an optional IR sensor for Windows Hello biometric authentication if you want it. Even if you don't get that option, every ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 bakes a fingerprint sensor into the side-mounted power button.

Elsewhere, you're getting all the features and amenities professional users expect. There are security features like a webcam privacy shutter and Kensington lock slot, plenty of ports spread across both sides (including one USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4, one USB Type-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort, two USB Type-A, and HDMI 2.1), an optional smart stylus that magnetically attaches to the side without blocking any ports, and a durable aluminum-and-plastic design that should happily take a beating and keep on ticking.

Intel Core Ultra brings power, efficiency, and AI

The external design is what you expect from a Lenovo ThinkBook, complete with an all-glass Microsoft Precision touchpad, Lenovo's infamously comfortable keyboard, and dual speakers with Dolby Atmos support. What's on the inside matters just as much, however, and the latest ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 joins the Intel Core Ultra bandwagon to offer improved performance, efficiency, and AI capability.

Not only will the Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 (Gen 4) comfortably best its predecessors in raw power and speed in everyday use, it'll undoubtedly last longer, too. For professional users, a laptop with reliable all-day battery life is a must, and the ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 has the right formula with Intel Core Ultra and a sizeable 60Whr battery. Of course, we'll have to properly test the laptop ourselves to know for certain just how long it can last away from the charger.

Lenovo is also taking advantage of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) contained in all Intel Core Ultra chips to deliver some AI features. Smart Power aims to balance performance and efficiency depending on your current needs, while Smart Meeting will optimize your video and audio during conferences to ensure you always have the best quality possible. With up to Windows 11 Pro, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage, there's plenty of flexibility for users to get the perfect convertible laptop for them.

Affordable for professionals, and available soon

Lenovo offers a wide range of enterprise-focused laptops and PCs, and there are multiple significantly more premium 2-in-1 options in that family. Those devices are also exorbitantly expensive, so they're simply not options for a lot of users. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 (Gen 4) balances cost with its well-rounded feature set and the newfound capabilities of Intel Core Ultra, making it a far easier purchase for businesses and professional users.

Even better, it's also right around the corner. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 (Gen 4) will debut sometime in Mar. 2024 with a starting price of $1,169. It's not clear at the moment what the laptop's starting configuration will look like, however, so we'll have to wait a little longer to learn more about the individual models and options. ThinkBooks and ThinkPads generally aren't known to be affordable compared to Lenovo's more consumer-centric lines, but professional users are willing to pay extra for the specific features and design of business-grade laptops. When compared to those devices, the ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 should be a bargain.

We're back with another exciting episode of the Windows Central Podcast, and this week, Zac and Dan have a look at new Windows 11 features coming to the Dev Channel, and HoloLens 3 may not be dead after all. There's also talk about Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 benchmarks, NVIDIA's failed acquisition of Arm, and more.

This episode of the Windows Central Podcast was recorded on March 4th 2022.

Links:

• Microsoft suspends sales of products and services in Russia | Windows Central
• AMD and Intel reportedly are suspending processor shipments for industrial use to Russia | Windows Central
• Hands-on with the new tablet mode improvements coming soon to Windows 11 | Windows Central
• Surface Duo 2 gets its Feb update with improvements for touch, camera, performance, animations, and more | Windows Central
• Samsung announces four new Galaxy Book2 laptops at Mobile World Congress with Intel 12th Gen | Windows Central
• Best PCs and biggest news from MWC 2022 | Windows Central
• Lenovo unveils new ThinkBook 13s Gen 4 and 14s Yoga Gen 2 at MWC 2022 | Windows Central
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's son Zain has died at age 26 | Windows Central

• Subscribe to the podcast

  • Download directly: Audio
  • Listen via Spotify
  • Subscribe via iTunes
  • Subscribe via RSS
  • Subscribe via Google Play Music
  • Subscribe via Pocket Casts
  • Watch the live stream video archive

  Hosts

  • Daniel Rubino
  • Zac Bowden

  Make this show great by participating!

  Send in your comments, questions, and feedback to:
  • Email: wcpodcast@windowscentral.com
  • Twitter: @WindowsCentral with hashtag #wcpodcast

The situation around the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has led to massive efforts by the international community to keep the virus contained. As of Wednesday, the death toll from the outbreak had surpassed 2,000, according to Chinese health authorities, with the total number of infected topping 75,000. The vast majority of these cases have occurred in China, where the epidemic originated, but fears about its potential to turn into a pandemic have had far-reaching effects around the world.

Last week, this extended to the tech industry, as the GSMA announced opted to cancel Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. Major companies had already started dropping out of the show ahead of its February 24 kickoff. This ultimately made it "impossible" to hold the event, the GSMA said in a statement about the cancellation.

However, MWC is one of the largest tech industry trade shows of the year, and many companies use it as an opportunity to launch new products and conduct important meetings. With its absence this year, there are bound to be ripples felt across the industry. Given this is new territory, that leaves several questions about how MWC's cancellation will impact companies and consumers alike throughout 2020.

MWC 2020 and lost opportunities

Perhaps the biggest blow companies will feel is from the lack of networking opportunities afforded by MWC each year. "The cancellation of MWC Barcelona puts the mobile industry into uncharted waters," Frank Gillett, a vice president and principal analyst for Forrester told me. "There's no way to make up for all the social, in-person conversations that are oxygen for the competitive mobile industry."

A significant percentage of technology providers' marketing program budgets is focused on events, highlighting their importance as a marketing tool, Meghan Rimol, a Gartner research spokesperson told Windows Central. "Events such as tradeshows give tech companies the ability to engage with buyers firsthand and potentially accelerate opportunities," she said.

Indeed, such events are seen as an opportunity to work on pitches for products, engage with influencers, and learn about questions that buyers are asking, according to Gartner research.

For larger companies, these lost opportunities probably aren't particularly impactful. It's the smaller companies, according to Carolina Milanesi, a consumer technology analyst for Creative Strategies, that face the largest uphill climb from MWC's cancellation.

"The most important part of MWC are all the meetings that vendors have with different parts of the ecosystem, from partners to suppliers and customers," Milanesi said. "Smaller companies will be impacted the most both financially as well as from the lack of opportunity to host alternative events."

MWC 2020 alternatives, future events and product delays

For a lot of companies, actually launching products "will be the easier part," Milanesi said. We'll likely see a number of companies either hold small local events or online launches in the coming months, she said.

Gillett agreed, and he expects to see "a burst of social media and online events to fill the gap" left by MWC. Further, he expects there to be an increased interest in MWC Los Angeles 2020, which is set to take place at the end of October.

However, we could still see delays in the time it takes products to hit the market. "Delivering on time on current products will be the first issue companies will have to address and depending how much catching up they have to do we might see delays in the time to market of products expected for spring and early summer," Milanesi said.

As for whether the decision to cancel MWC 2020 in Barcelona will have an impact on future events, Milanesi told me she expects things will return to the status quo. "As far as what to expect for future events, I think we usually have a short memory and things will go back to normal," she said.

There are alternatives to in-person events that Milanesi sees as holding promise, such as VR sessions and video conferences, but they ultimately miss out on the "full human element of intimacy you can achieve in an in-person meeting," she said.

MWC 2020, human element, and the impact on Barcelona

While much of the talk around MWC 2020's cancellation in Barcelona has centered around what it means for the companies involved, it's easy for the human element of the coronavirus outbreak to get lost. The GSMA cited global and travel concerns as the main reasons for axing the show, but companies were already pulling out to protect their people. As coronavirus concerns continue into 2020, it will be vital for organizers to take ample precautions for the safety of attendees.

"Event organizers have to put in place a risk management strategy, so that risks can be managed based on the setting, the type of the event, the type of participants, the location and duration," Christian Lindmeier, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) said. "Many of the risks can be appropriately managed and even reduced through simple measures."

WHO has outlined a set of planning recommendations for those organizing mass gatherings or events in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. "The guidance can help inform organizations' and countries' risk assessment and support on any potential impact on health," Lindmeier said.

There's also the impact MWC 2020's cancellation will have on Barcelona's economy. MWC is a massive event that typically sees around 100,000 people make their way to Barcelona each year, and their absence will be a significant blow to the hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in the city. However, if tech companies find that they can survive unscathed without attending MWC this year, there's a chance some could forgo the show in the future.

"The big question will be whether some of the companies who would have attended this year and will see business as usual will decide not to go back next year," Milanesi said. That's a potential ripple that could be felt in Barcelona's economy for years to come.

What you need to know

• Mobile World Congress 2020 has been canceled.
• John Hoffman, GSMA CEO, announced the news in a statement.
• He says it's "impossible" for the event to go on due to Coronavirus.

It's official. Mobile World Congress, the largest trade show for mobile technology, isn't happening this year. Per a report from Bloomberg, GSMA CEO John Hoffman said that it's now "impossible" for the event to continue due to rising concerns and effects of Coronavirus.

Shortly after that initial report came out, the GSMA issued an official press release. It reads:

If you're a little confused by this news, we don't blame you. Just earlier today, the GSMA confirmed that MWC was still taking place despite fears of Coronavirus. However, it was also reported that the organization was actively trying to cancel the trade show, but couldn't as a result of the Spanish government not declaring the virus as a health emergency.

Prior to this announcement, we'd seen company after company announce that they were deciding to forgo attending this year's show in an effort to keep the health of its employees safe. This includes the likes of Sony, Nokia, TCL, ZTE, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and others.

Following GSMA's cancellation notice, Microsoft confirmed it will not be present at MWC 2020. "We fully support the GSMA's decision to prioritize the health and welfare of all participants and look forward to sharing Microsoft's latest innovations at a future date," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

The decision for GSMA to properly cancel Mobile World Congress isn't all that surprising considering how many attendees were already dropping out, and was likely the right call in the grand scheme of things. Even so, it's still a huge blow to the mobile industry.

Any planned announcements will now likely come in the form of press releases, so while the information will get out one way or another, there's no getting around the impact of this move.

What you need to know

• Intel pulled out of Mobile World Congress due to the coronavirus.
• Intel is expected to make announcements at the event, but will not have anyone attend it in person.
• Amazon, LG Electronics, Ericsson, and NVIDIA have also pulled out of the conference.

Intel will not attend Mobile World Congress this year due to safety concerns caused by the coronavirus. Several large tech companies have also pulled out of the event, including Amazon, LG Electronics, Ericsson, and NVIDIA. While Intel won't have anyone attend the event in person, VentureBeat states that the company is still expected to make announcements at the conference.

VentureBeat also shared the following statement from Intel:

Mobile World Congress runs from February 24 through February 27 in Barcelona. Mobile World Congress is a massive conference with tens of thousands of people attending from around the world, so security concerns regarding the coronavirus are heightened.

More than 42,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported so far, and the death toll for it recently surpassed 1,000.

What you need to know

• Microsoft sent out invites for a press event at Mobile World Congress.
• The event might be about the HoloLens as it's hosted by Julia White and Alex Kipman.
• The event will be held on Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 5pm CET.

Microsoft sent out invitations for a press event at Mobile World Congress next month. The event will occur on Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 5pm CET. The Verge's Tom Warren tweeted out an image of the invitation, including the fact that CVP of Microsoft Azure Julia White and Technical Fellow Alex Kipman will host it.

The invitation is generally short on details about what the press event will cover, but it appears to be about the HoloLens, as pointed out by Warren. Alex Kipman has presented the HoloLens at several major conferences, so his participation in the upcoming Mobile World Congress suggests that Microsoft's HoloLens will be covered.

Kipman's vision for the future includes a world in which the HoloLens replaces screens like monitors and phones.

The HoloLens has improved dramatically over the last few years. When we went hands-on with the HoloLens at Build 2019, we noted how it "takes everything that made the original great and turns it up to 11." IT features a new carbon-fiber body, extra padding, eye tracking, and an improved field of view.

It will be interesting to see what Microsoft has in store for the HoloLens and what else they'll discuss at Mobile World Congress.

Hot off the heels of announcing its new HoloLens 2, Microsoft has opened up preorders for the augmented reality headset. You can currently preorder HoloLens 2 for $3,500 directly from Microsoft.

However, as HoloLens is still very much a headset geared at enterprise uses, you won't be able to simply order it off of Microsoft's website. Rather, the company is requiring individuals and businesses to request preorders through a form, with a followup from a salesperson.

HoloLens 2 packs a number of major improvements over its predecessor. The headset runs on a Snapdragon 850 processor, meanin Microsoft has made the jump from the x86 chipset in the previous headset to the ARM platform. In addition, it now sports improved hand tracking and built-in eye tracking for interacting with holograms. It's also been redesigned, sporting a carbon fiber build and additional padding for added comfort.

If you're interested in the HoloLens 2, you can register your interest in a preorder at Microsoft now.

​

Microsoft is making its first big appearance at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in quite a while this year, and you'll be able to stream the company's keynote as it happens. Set to kick off on February 24 at 9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CET), the keynote will feature "new innovations for the future of computing" with comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and HoloLens chief Alex Kipman.

You can follow along with the keynote live, tune in with the video embed above or at Microsoft's event site.

What to expect

As for what we're expecting Microsoft to announce, all signs point to a second iteration of the company's HoloLens augmented reality headset. We're definitely not expecting any surprise phone announcements, but Kipman's involvement strongly hints at a HoloLens 2 reveal. That's far from certain, of course, but all we have to go off of is a slick, cryptic teaser video posted to YouTube last week by Kipman himself.

The original HoloLens has mostly enjoyed success as an enterprise tool, bolstering manufacturing processes, along with design and medical applications. The headset has even led to a lucrative $480 million contract with the U.S. military, which could lead the Army to eventually purchase upwards of 100,000 HoloLens units.

Given that the original HoloLens launched in 2016, a followup is hotly anticipated. It's already been confirmed that the HoloLens 2 will sport a custom Holographic Processing Unit (HPU) with an AI coprocessor, allowing it to natively implement deep neural networks to analyze objects and data without sending anything to the cloud. However, we expect several other improvements, including, potentially, a switch to an ARM processor and support for LTE.

Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see what Microsoft has in store for its MWC 2019 keynote.

Microsoft typically doesn't make an appearance at Mobile World Congress (MWC), but it's switching things up this year. The Redmond giant today sent out invites for a press event at MWC 2019, set to take place in Barcelona on February 24.

The invite doesn't hint at what Microsoft might have up its sleeve for announcements, but we can speculate based on the planned lineup of speakers. Notably, Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman is set to appear alongside CEO Satya Nadella and Corporate Vice President Julia White.

Given Kipman's role in creating HoloLens, it's possible that Microsoft is planning to finally break cover on the second iteration of its mixed reality headset. We've already seen plenty of rumors and hints at the hardware the next-generation HoloLens will adopt, including a potential switch to an ARM platform and the adoption of Qualcomm's new XR1 and AI platform.

A recently published patent also sparked speculation that Microsoft may be looking to double the HoloLens' field of view, addressing one of the headset's main pain points.

In any case, we still have a little over a month to wait until we'll see what Microsoft has in store. Even if a "HoloLens v2" isn't in the cards, Microsoft's presence at the annual conference is notable.

The GSMA group, which runs the annual Mobile World Congress trade show, is teaming up with CTIA to launch Mobile World Congress Americas. It will be held September 12-14, 2017 in San Francisco and will replace the CTIA Super Mobility show beginning that year. The 2016 show will still be held on September 7-9 in Las Vegas.

The joint press release states:

The main Mobile World Congress trade show will continue to be held in Barcelona, Spain, with the 2017 edition to be held from Feb. 27 to March 2.

Nokia is keeping its promise of ‘coming soon’ at the time of announcing both the Nokia X and Nokia X+ at Mobile World Congress 2014 last month. India, an emerging smartphone market, is one of the primary markets for the Nokia X series.

A press invite to "Xperience a new beginning" has been fired out today, marking March 10, 2014 as the launch of Nokia X in India.

Nokia X was announced with a price of 89 euros, while the Nokia X+ is priced at 99 euros. Let’s see if the pricing in India is reasonable and competitive, and where it stands compared to the Nokia Lumia 520, Nokia’s budget Windows Phone.

The Windows Phone Central crew will be at the press conference to bring in details about the availability, pricing, and other specifics to you. Stay tuned!

When it comes to Mobile World Congress, there are always a few big stories that dictate the discussion. Whether they are flagship phones or company mergers or just new tech in general, someone steals the show.

For 2014's MWC, that would be Samsung. In research performed by social media listening platform Synthesio, they claim that Samsung was "mentioned 1,246,000 times, or in 44.2% of all online conversations". That number was only followed by Nokia, who were mentioned in 586,200 online conversations, or 20.8% of the time. That's second, but a distant one.

No doubt that Samsung had the most going for it, after all, they announced their new flagship Android phone, the Galaxy S5. Even more, they announced a fitness bracelet (Gear Fit), Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, with the Gear Fit receiving a lot of accolades for its bold, unique design.

Meanwhile, Nokia announced a new Asha, the Nokia 220 and of course the Nokia X series of Android devices. It was really the latter that received the most attention though due to its seemingly sensational story lines. If Nokia had announced a Windows Phone 8.1 flagship phone, we're sure the online conversation race would be a lot closer.

Regardless, Nokia was still able to best Sony and their Xperia Z2 announcement. The force is still strong with Nokia, even in 2014.

See the full presser below.

Samsung most popular at MWC with 1.2 million online conversations - twice nearest rival Nokia

Research by Synthesio reveals Galaxy S5 was the best received hardware launch at Mobile World Congress

February 28, 2014: The launch of the Galaxy S5 helped Samsung dominate online conversations during Mobile World Congress, according to research by social media listening platform Synthesio.

Synthesio analysed conversations on social media platforms, blogs and the comments sections of newspapers, about brands throughout Mobile World Congress and discovered that Samsung was mentioned 1,246,000 times, or in 44.2% of all online conversations about major brands. Online users were particularly impressed by the S5's camera and display.

Samsung's nearest rival Nokia was the subject of 586,200 online conversations (20.8%) following the launch of the Nokia X. The Xperia Z2 helped Sony to third place with 18% of online conversations.

Much of the online chat related to the Nokia X cited the use of the Android operating system and the handset’s low price, however, 60% of all online conversations related to the phone were neutral, which could indicate that consumers were ambivalent about the device. Blackberry's launch of the Q20 failed to set social media alight, with the handset mentioned in only 250,000 (8.9%) online conversations during the conference.

Catriona Oldershaw, Managing Director of Synthesio UK, said: "Mobile World Congress may have been dominated in the media by news of WhatsApp's merger with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's keynote speech. However, social media users were keener to discuss the hardware that was launched. The runaway winner this year was Samsung's Galaxy S5. This builds on the successful launch of the S4 last year and seems to indicate that the online community is a growing fan of the brand. Nokia put in a strong showing, however, many users seemed to be underwhelmed by the X. Blackberry should also be concerned that the Q20 did not create much buzz online."

GSMA today unveiled winners of the 19th Annual Global Mobile awards, held at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The ceremony itself was hosted by British actor and comedian James Corden. It's news to us all as Nokia came away with multiple awards.

With the company announcing a new family of Android products, alongside a new plan of action to increase the adoption rate of Windows Phone, it's positive to see Nokia be named in the ceremony.

The Nokia 105 took away 'Best Entry-level or Featurephone', while the Lumia 520 was awarded the 'Best Low-cost Smartphone' (sub $150). It's no secret that the Lumia 520 has been a hit with smartphone owners. The Windows Phone has taken off in numerous markets and has helped Nokia effectively dominate the platform ecosystem.

Nokia 105 and Lumia 520 take awards

But Nokia didn't win awards for just mobile devices. The company (Nokia Solutions and Networks) was joined by O2 UK (Telefonica) for 'Best Mobile Infrastructure' for iSON. There is still the 'Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2014' to be handed out, which will take place on Thursday 27th. The shortlist for this award will be announced on Wednesday.

Image credit: Doug Dawson

If there was any question today about what Microsoft thinks about the Nokia X and its Android phone, their public line is that they’re fine with it. During Nokia Developer Day, John Shewchuk, a Microsoft technical fellow responsible for “strategy for cloud platform services”, took to the stage to demonstrate Microsoft services running on the Nokia X, noting that they’re a ‘devices and services company’ first and don’t consider Nokia’s choice to be against their interests.

Before the session even officially kicked off, Shewchuk chose to address the elephant in the room by talking about Nokia X and Microsoft. Their stance, at least overtly, was that they knew about Nokia’s Android work going into the deal (to acquire Nokia’s hardware division) and that there were “no surprises” here this week. Instead, Microsoft’s focus on services, specifically OneDrive, Outlook.com and Skype, were considered to be just as important business for Microsoft as Windows Phone.

The session then focused on the benefits of developing services on Nokia X and Lumia phones, with Microsoft’s services being front and center. Nokia then later returned to the stage to discuss their imaging SDKs and development work.

We spoke with Shewchuk briefly after the session regarding his statement. He was forthright in stating that Windows Phone, as a developer platform, is still superior for many companies out there whom are making apps. The idea here is yes, Android is popular, but Windows Phone has momentum now and things like the web developer tools offer a great alternative.

Microsoft clearly has two business here to consider. More, actually. It’s not about just Windows Phone, but about Skype, OneDrive, Bing and even Azure. While to Windows Phone users, prioritizing that OS seems very obvious, Microsoft is taking a different approach. At least in this regard, publicly, they are on board with Nokia X and do it see it as an opportunity to grow Microsoft’s services in emerging markets.

Will Nokia X remain after the sale? We’re leaning towards yes, that this is a long term strategy by Microsoft. We’ll just have to wait and see. But for now, Nokia and Microsoft are acting like everything is business as usual.

Barcelona, Spain – BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). While not many Windows Phone users are too familiar with the popular and secure messaging service, things will change later this year as a Windows Phone 8 client is launched (probably for 8.1).

This morning, BlackBerry held their press conference where the company is certainly far from the grave that some have proclaimed. Indeed, the company announced two new devices (Q20 and Z3) and mentioned they’re working on some new high-end devices for later this year. In addition, they announced BES 12 and more on enterprise services coming to, more of which you can read at CrackBerry.

During the Q&A session, John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, was asked about the Facebook – WhatsApp deal. Considering the $16B transaction, it looks like BlackBerry missed a bit opportunity to be ‘the’ universal mobile messenger. As a reaction, Chen – who’s very candid – said that they’re thinking “beyond handsets and the phone” for BBM, strongly indicating that putting their messenger on desktop was on the table.

This makes sense, from a development perspective. Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1 will share around 70% of programming libraries, making co-development on both platforms much more streamlined. The argument is, ‘if Windows Phone, then why not Windows’ (or vice-versa)?

Will BlackBerry make a desktop BBM client? They should. And they better. WhatsApp, which is tied to your phone number, has a more difficult time leaving the mobile world. BBM though is based on a PIN and ID system, making it transferable to other devices. Desktop should, in theory, be trivial (one issue though is BBM can only be ‘active’ on one device at a time).

It will certainly be interesting to see where things head later in 2014. Stay tuned.

Today, at the start of Mobile World Congress, Nokia made it official. They are building Android-powered phones . I’m not going to rehash all of the data or walk you through the basics of the phone since that’s already been covered in-depth quite well today.

While some at Microsoft may be embarrassed by what Nokia is doing, I can see how it’s a smart move that will help.

First, let’s consider that these phones are targeted towards growth markets, which is just a different way of saying they are cheaper phones for less-wealthy countries. There are really only two options for price sensitive buyers: Android or Windows Phone. Because of the ecosystem and variety on the low end, Android is winning, while Nokia has started to play in this playground with its lower-priced Lumia phones — the Lumia 520 is the predominant reason Nokia holds such a commanding lead in Windows Phone marketshare.

But this move by Nokia will give potential customers of the Nokia X and X+, and the bigger Nokia XL most of the benefits of the app selection on Android while still presenting a very an experience that looks a lot like Windows Phone.

Nokia has done a nice job of unifying the way the phone looks to a user, no matter what whether it runs their forked version of the Android Open Source Project or Windows Phone. And since both Android and Windows versions of its phones will be backed up by Microsoft cloud services, thats another level of consistency. The goal here is to hook customers with a cheap device — the Nokia X series — and lure them up the device chain the the more expensive, and presumably more profitable, Lumia series Windows Phones.

Microsoft needs to win with the low-priced market, and it’s been on the right track so far with the cheaper Lumia products. I think these Android phones give Nokia and Microsoft more ammunition to capture that next billion smartphone users.

(Chris Umiastowski is a contributing financial writer to the Mobile Nations network. You can see the rest of his posts here at AndroidCentral, iMore and CrackBerry.)

Panasonic returns to the smartphone market with a new device running Windows Embedded 8 Handheld. The announcement comes from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We don’t cover Windows Embedded too much, because these are devices that are more oriented towards enterprise users. Plus it was only just last month that we first learned Panasonic was working with Microsoft to build a new handheld device for enterprise, the FZ-E1 is it. Specs and more info below.

The FZ-E1 isn’t going to win any awards in the consumer space, but again, that’s because this is geared towards enterprise scenarios. That said, you do get a 5-inch display with a 1280 x 720 resolution. It’s powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 at 2.3 GHz. Inside it has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The rear camera is 8MP, while the front-facing camera is 1.3 MP. The battery capacity is 6,200 mAh. Talk about battery life. You also get Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/n/n/ac, micro USB port, GSP and NFC.

This is a very, very tough phone. It features a MIL-STD-810G military rating, survive a drop from 3 meters and stay submerged in 1.5 meters of water for 30 minute. The Panasonic FZ-E1 can operate in temperatures ranging from -20 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius.

If you’re a superhero in your spare time you might want the FZ-E1.

However, this isn’t a phone aimed at the consumer space. The FZ-E1 is running Windows Embedded 8 Handheld for the OS. Sure, it’s build on Windows Phone 8 and can run apps from the Windows Phone Store, but it goes beyond that.

Windows Embedded 8 Handheld allows businesses and developers to create specific applications for enterprises. Devices running Windows Embedded 8 Handheld, like the Panasonic FZ-E1, can easily be outfitted with extra peripherals like barcode scanners and credit card readers. Developers can then create line-of-business applications aimed directly at Windows Embedded 8 Handheld devices.

So imagine checking out at a store, a sales associate could use the FZ-E1 outfitted with a credit card reader and barcode scanner to complete the transaction.

The FZ-E1 will be available in Japan first, followed by a rollout in the United States and Europe. Retail pricing starts at $1,300.

We’ll hit up the Panasonic booth tomorrow for some hands-on photos and coverage.

Source: Panasonic, Via/Image: Reuters

Besides the Nokia X, you don’t find much news on here related to Android. But we couldn’t pass up on this jab that Nokia made towards Samsung’s new flagship device – the Galaxy S5. The Galaxy S5 is Samsung’s newest model running Android 4.4.2 on a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor. It has a 5.1-inch display and a 1920 x 1080 resolution. It also has a fairly uninspiring design and is being lamented for not being too much better than the Galaxy S4, its predecessor. Which made it the perfect target for Nokia to take poke at. Check the image they tweeted out below.

Burn.

But now we’re curious. How many of you would like a Galaxy S5, but running Windows Phone 8.1? The Galaxy S5 is waterproofed. 

Source: @nokia

Microsoft is soon to seal the deal and acquire Nokia's hardware division, which will include Lumia, Asha and X family of mobile devices. During today's keynote, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop focused fairly heavily on Microsoft and its services. Skype, OneDrive, Outlook, Skype, OneDrive – you get the idea. But just how many times did Elop and co. talk about Microsoft during the presentation?

Fabian Pimminger got in touch with us to share a video montage he put together from the keynote footage, clipping together all the instances where Elop spoke about Microsoft and/or its services. We counted 39 mentions in the above video.

Do you believe Nokia is heavily focused on attracting consumers away from Google through its X family of hardware? We'll let you be the judge (trick question). Let's see how the plan unfolds.

Source: YouTube

Earlier today at Nokia's Mobile World Congress press event, Stephen Elop announced on stage that BBM will be coming to Lumia devices soon. 

BlackBerry followed up shortly after with their own announcement, clarifying that BBM will be coming to the larger manufacturer / brand base of Windows Phones as well as Nokia X devices, and that the rollout of BBM for Windows Phone would occur this summer.

Shortly after the announcements hit, I had the opportunity to sit down with BlackBerry's David Proulx, who is the Sr. Director of BBM Business Development, where I peppered him with questions, including a couple related to today's BBM on Windows Phone news.

On the subject of availability, Proulx was excited to point out that beyond BBM being available in the Windows Phone Store, that the relationship will also lead to BBM shipping preloaded on some devices. Proulx didn't get into the details of which specific Windows Phone or Nokia X devices would ship with BBM installed out of the box. Strolling through the MWC hall later in the day, Dan and I came across a Nokia XL at Nokia's booth that already had the Android version of BBM installed and working (per the photo above, we logged in and put it to use).

On the subject of design, I pressed Proulx on what the Windows Phone version of BBM will look like. BBM rolled out recently to Android and iOS, and with those versions of BBM BlackBerry chose to design the app in such a way that it resembled the design of a BlackBerry 10 app, largely ignoring the design guidelines of Android and iOS. Knowing that Windows Phone users tend to LOVE the design of well-designed native Windows Phone apps (like our top-rated WPCentral app), I was worried that BBM for Windows Phone could follow suit.

Proulx alleviated my concerns and said that BBM going forward will strive to maintain a healthy balance between BBM maintaining its own identity while still honoring the best practices of platform's guidelines. In other words, BBM users moving between platforms should recognize and know how to use BBM in an instance, while at the same time the app should still look and feel like the best native apps on the platform. For Windows Phone, expect BBM to feature its own live tile and panoramas. 

Coming straight from Kaspersky Labs here at Mobile World Congress, we hear that Kaspersky Internet Security is in the final certification process and it should be going live within in the next day or so. The news was first caught by WP7Forum.ru and we checked with Kaspersky here on site.

It’s not clear what features Kaspersky Internet Security will have for Windows Phone, as the Lab here didn’t even have a Windows Phone on hand. They did note they’d try to get us screenshots of the app and info via email, so we’ll update this post accordingly as that info comes in.

Kaspersky is a well-known and liked antivirus solution for PCs. They’ve made the jump to mobile in the last few years, where ecosystems like Android OS tended to see more than your average malicious apps. Windows Phone doesn’t quite have that level of security vulnerability, though as we’ve reported on before, there are always flaws needing to be patched.

On Android, the Internet Security app has the following features:

• Kaspersky Lab’s latest protection technologies against viruses, spyware, Trojans and more
• An Antivirus Scanner - runs an on-demand malware scan of your device
• Advanced Anti-Theft Protection – Lock&Locate, Wipe, Full wipe, Mugshot.
• A new ‘Alarm’ feature has been introduced – you can remotely sound the alarm, helping you to find your device if it is somewhere nearby. The alarm works even in ‘silent’ mode.
• Anti-Theft Web Management Portal. Using a personal online account you can manage all the anti-theft options from a single point.
• Call &Text Filter for smartphones – protects you from unwanted calls and text messages

Once again, we’re not sure if all of those features will be present on Windows Phone due to locked-down nature of the OS. In theory, Kaspersky could have received extra permission via a so-called RPAL SDK for deeper OS access, but we doubt that idea.

We’ll keep you posted when the app goes live and if it’s worth your time. This could be another AVG type app, and more fluff than substance. 

Another Monday liveblog from Mobile World Congress is taking place and this time around,  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to give a keynote address.  Zuckerberg is always an interesting one to catch as he's generally a fairly compelling speaker, so this should be good and if nothing else, at least interesting.

We don't really expect too much, if any, Facebook news but instead look for broader topics that have to do with the Internet, social connectivity and the world in general.

We're liveblogging this one starting at 6 p.m. CET — that's noon in New York and 9 a.m. on the West Coast. Join us!

Watch the Zucknote along with us.

The popular instant messaging client WhatsApp, recently acquired by social network giant Facebook, is to add voice services to its feature list this spring. Not only will WhatsApp users be able to send and receive IMs as they have enjoyed doing so for years already, but friends and family will be able to hold voice chats through the clients too.  

WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum made the announcement at Mobile World Congress. Voice services will be deployed on both Android and iOS first, with Nokia and BlackBerry phones to follow suit. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to Windows Phone owners. That said, there is quite the variety of VoIP apps already available on the platform – including Microsoft's own Skype.

We'll keep you posted on any updates.

Source: TechCrunch

Nokia has kicked off a #spaceselfie contest to go alongside its developer Imagin8 competition. Releasing a new app to the Windows Phone Store, the Finnish company is tasking consumers to download the spaceselfie app, take an awesome shot of oneself with props and other galactic ideas to win a free Lumia Windows Phone.

The app enables consumers to snap photos, choose favourite space backgrounds and apply multiple filters to add a cinematic feel. Spaceselfie itself has been developed to showcase some of the capabilities of the Nokia Imaging SDK, which has just been bumped to version 1.1 with Windows 8.1 support and new filters.

Luckily, if you're unsure how you're going to get a perfect shot of yourself, Nokia has provided 5 helpful tips to get you started:

• Strong distinctive background colours work best - like blue, green and red.
• You'll need to make sure there's contrast between you and the background and that the background colour is not duplicated in anything you're wearing.
• If you're inside try using more than one light to illuminate your background - one from either side.
• Make sure there are no shadows, highlights, patterns, wrinkles or creases in the background.
• To help create good separation we recommend standing a couple of paces in front of your chosen background. This will also help ensure you don't cast any shadows on the background.

Make sure you follow these rules, whether you are taking a new picture or importing one from your camera roll.

Once you've got the desired end result, share your mug shot with the world on Twitter. Be sure to use the #spaceselfie hashtag or you'll not be entered into the draw. The most original photo will be selected as the winner. We look forward to seeing some rather futuristic and strange photos!

You can download Spaceselfie from the Windows Phone Store for free.

Barcelona – Early this morning, Nokia held their highly anticipated press conference here at Mobile World Congress 2014. Anticipated is the word used because while two new and admirable low-end entry phones were introduced – the Asha 230 and Nokia 220 – all eyes were focused on ‘X’.

Yes, Nokia has gone Android. But if you think that’s all there is to the story, you may be missing the point. We sat down with Jo Harlow, Executive Vice President, Smart Devices at Nokia, for some answers to our eager questions.

If you watched the live stream of Nokia’s presentation on the Nokia X, X+ and XL devices, you may have noticed that their message was crafted perfectly. Yes, the words ‘Android’ and ‘Google’ were used, but Stephen Elop was purposeful in focusing on Microsoft’s services and Nokia’s Lumia line. It was as if they knew that one wrong word could be misconstrued as “Nokia has doubts about Windows Phone” or that this new device series was an admission of failure.

It’s not though. In fact, the Nokia X and what it represents, is an extremely bold and shrewd move. To wit, Nokia is the first and only major phone manufacturer to spurn Google’s Open Handset Alliance (OHA), instead going rogue with the open-sourced Android. It’s kind of a big deal as once you leave the OHA, you don’t get back in. You also lose all of Google’s services. That’s okay though as Nokia and Microsoft have enough of their own services to make up for it. At least, that’s the plan.

“This isn’t just about price”

Windows Phone users though have one question: With the Lumia 520, why does Nokia have to release an Android phone? Is the cost difference that great when the Lumia 520 can often be found under $80?

According to Harlow, the answer is much more… devious. We mean that in a good way, as Nokia have a clear strategy to lure low-cost Android customers onto the Lumia X series. Sure, keeping the price below that of the Lumia line is a goal, but it’s not the driving reason behind the X series. It’s simply to go after a specific market. Owners of dumbphones, Symbian, low-cost Android, etc. are all the target demographic.

Think of the ‘X’ as a transition device to jump from Android to Windows Phone, minus the jarring experience. It’s also, as Harlow notes, a “reaction to the marketplace”, which has changed rapidly in 2013.

By wooing customers with low-cost Android devices to the Lumia X, Nokia hopes that the phone will serve as a gateway to the Lumia line of Windows Phones. That’s their exact intent. You start off with a good Nokia X experience, you finish up with a Lumia one. There’s a specific reason why Nokia made the X look like Lumia, even down to the Tiles that can change sizes and be moved around.

If there was ever a Trojan horse at Nokia, it would be the Nokia X. It runs open source Android 4.1, spurns all of Google’s APIs, and introduces potentially millions to Microsoft’s services. All in the guise of a low-cost Android device. You want a more powerful phone? Here’s a Lumia and look, it has a similar user experience.

It should be clear that Nokia making the Nokia X is not about embracing Android. It’s not about losing faith in Windows Phone. Heck, it’s not even about price (Windows Phone, with new support for the Snapdragon 200 and 400 series will guarantee that).

No, this is about putting a Nokia Lumia in the disguise of Android. It sneaks across the enemy lines and delivers most of the goods in a brave effort to lure deserters.

What’s in a name?

The name ‘X’ was certainly chosen for specific reasons. One of those it being a bit more ‘hip’ for the younger crowd. You have to admit, ‘Nokia X’ does have a ring to it. But the irony is not lost on us seeing a green X phone that is not focused on Xbox, nor from Microsoft.

Will Microsoft kill off X? And what about the future of its name? At this point, you can’t help but wonder if Microsoft did not all but sign off on the strategy. If they didn’t, Nokia sure seemed to appease them. Heck, Skype was even present on stage boasting about the opportunity. And because ‘X’ can’t be trademarked – it’s too generic – transferring the property Microsoft along with Lumia and Asha has no legal work.

That means that yes, the Nokia X will become a Microsoft property and no, we don’t expect them to kill off this project (though they of course could, once they take the reins).

Why buy a Nokia X over a standard Android phone?

Nokia is clearly banking on their name and reputation with the Nokia X. In fairness, the brand Nokia does mean a lot in countries like India and other emerging markets. Combined with the durability of their devices, bright colors and unique UI elements (like Fast Track), Nokia thinks that their differentiated experience will be leaps and bounds better than your run of the mill Android phone.

Indeed, playing with the Nokia X and you would think it was just another Lumia variant. Throw in brand loyalty, some free Skype minutes and access to multiple Android stores (Nokia claims that 75% of all Android apps will run on it without modification) and you have the makings of an interesting device. If the Lumia 520 can sell well running Windows Phone, why not something similar that runs Android apps?

Bringing it all together

While many in Western markets won’t make too much of the Nokia X, as a long-term strategy it’s extremely interesting. It’s audacious. It’s clever. And Nokia worded things just right so as to keep the detractors off kilter during the Q&A period this morning. The Lumia line is and will be Nokia’s primary smartphone platform. No, there won’t be a ‘flagship’ Nokia X device with high end specs.

This is a purposeful move to go after Android users, not to appease them, but to convert them. Will it pay off in the long run? It’s too early to tell, but the ‘next billion users’ are often cited as the only real growth market in mobile these days, and Nokia seems to be betting on that idea.

The Nokia X, a Windows Phone in disguise.

Today, Nokia announced a few new phones, including their ‘X’ family: Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL. The XL is appropriately titled as it comes in with a five inch IPS display, 5 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front camera. It also adds a flash, making a significant bump over the X and X+ versions.

The phone will run for 109 euro when released in Q2.

What to make of it? It’s not just a Lumia running a forked version of Android. Sure, it borrows from the Lumia’s design language, but it feels blockier. The IPS display is not bad, but it’s clearly missing the sunlight readability feature found in Lumias for bright lights.

The OS is not super-fast but neither is it sluggish. It’s certainly interesting to see an Android device that is basically skinned to look like Windows Phone 8, including the Tile movement and resizing. But clearly Nokia is going for the service play here: get people on Nokia and Microsoft services, avoid Google at all costs. You have to admit, that’s a bold strategy, one that may irk Google.

This is the first time a major smartphone company has purposefully shunned OHA and Google. That can’t make them too happy, especially since they’re replacing a lot of services with their own.

I have to admit, the few minutes I spent with the XL it was an interesting device. Priced right and put in the right markets, it could do very well as a smartphone with training wheels. Or as Elop noted, a launching ramp for Lumias.

We’ll have more coverage later, but for now, check out the photos.

Nokia has just announced a new family of devices in their portfolio. The first three devices in this category are the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL. These smartphones all run a forked version of Android and therefore run Android apps, although you won’t find Google’s services on here. Instead you’ll find Microsoft and Nokia powering your experience. Here are the specs for these three new phones. 

Nokia X and Nokia X+

• 115.5 x 63 x 10.4 mm
• 128.7 g
• 4-inch WVGA IPS LCD display (800 x 480), 233 ppi
• Capacitive two-point touch
• Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor
• Micro SIM, Dual SIM support
• USB 2.0 / Micro USB-B
• 3.5 mm audio connector
• Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
• Wi-Fi WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• WCDMA: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz
• GSM: 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1900 MHz
• 1500 mAh battery
• Dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• 512 MB RAM / Nokia X
• 768 MB RAM / Nokia X+
• 4GB of memory
• MicroSD card support (up to 32GB cards supported)
• 3MP rear camera, no front-facing camera

Nokia XL

• 141.1 x 77.7 x 10.9 mm
• 190 g
• 5-inch WVGA IPS LCD (800 x 480), 187 ppi
• Capacitive multipoint-touch
• Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor
• Micro SIM, Dual SIM support
• USB 2.0 / Micro USB-B
• 3.5 mm audio connector
• Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
• Wi-Fi WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• WCDMA: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz
• GSM: 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1900 MHz
• 2000 mAh battery
• Dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• 768 MB RAM
• 4GB of memory
• MicroSD card support (up to 32GB cards supported)
• 5MP rear camera with flash, 2MP front-facing camera

Again, these aren’t high end smartphones. They’re meant for emerging markets and to introduce smartphone owners to Microsoft’s and Nokia’s services. The idea is that the next smartphone they’ll be after a Nokia X/X+/XL will be a Lumia handset.

You can get the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL will be available in black, blue, green, red, white and yellow. 

We’ll have hands-on with the devices shortly.

Nokia isn’t done with surprises. Nokia has just announced the Nokia XL. Another smartphone running a forked version of Android. It’s notable for featuring a 5-inch IPS display. Think Nokia X/X+, but on a much larger display. Like the X and X+, the Nokia XL is mean to push users to Microsoft’s services and appeal to emerging markets.

The Nokia XL is geared at users in emerging markets who want a larger phone and display. Nokia has put in a 5MP rear camera with flash and a 2MP front-facing camera. The Nokia XL runs Skype, video, games and other media with aplomb, but at a fair price.

Nokia XL will cost 109 euros and should come in Q2 for most markets.

More to come!

Nokia has just announced some pretty awesome news for the Windows Phone Store. BBM and Photoshop Express will be coming soon. Stephen Elop made the announcement a few minutes into the Nokia press conference at Mobile World Congress 2014.

No further details were shared. But we’ll have more as soon as we can information on both BBM and Photoshop Express. As you know, BBM is a highly anticipated app for the Windows Phone ecosystem, as is Photoshop Express. BBM is a messaging platform from BlackBerry, it recently made the jump to iOS and Android. 

Stephen Elop mentioned BBM coming in the next few weeks for Windows Phone. 

More to come. 

In less than eight hours, Nokia is expected to take the stage here at Mobile World Congress. On tap? A rumored Android phone, dubbed Nokia X, and one or two other Asha series devices in tow. 

Will there be any announcements for Windows Phone? We think there may be some apps here and there and perhaps an accessory. Regardless, it should be a fun day to see what happens. We'll also be sitting down with Nokia for some one-on-one Q&A, so stayed tuned later for that, post-announcement.

For now, bookmark this page and come back in a few hours to see it all unfold. 

HP has announced at Mobile World Congress the HP Pavilion x360. It reminds us of Lenovo’s line of YOGA machines. The Pavilion x360 features a 360-degree hinge that lets you convert the notebook to stand or tent mode, or to tablet. Use the x360 as a notebook to work, rotate into a stand to watch videos, convert into a tent to play, or transform it into a tablet to go anywhere. The starting price is $399.99, which is close to the prices of entry-level notebooks.

HP Pavilion x360 specifications

• Windows 8.1
• Intel Pentium N3520 or N2820 Processor (up to 2.17GHz, 2M L2 Cache)
• Up to 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM (1 DIMM)
• Up to 750GB (5400RPM) hard drive or 500GB hybrid hard drive (500GB 5400RPM + 8GB NAND)
• 11.6-inch diagonal HD LED-backlit Display (1366x768) Touchscreen
• Intel HD Graphics
• 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth
• Beats Audio - Dual speakers
• (Front-facing) HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated digital microphone
• Connectors: SuperSpeed USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI, Ethernet, Headphone-out/mic-in combo jack)

The Pavilion x360 is also part of HP’s announcement of the expansion of HP DataPass broadband service. Twelve countries have been added, including the United States. This means x360 owners can connect to the Internet with two years of free 3G+ or 4G mobile broadband service powered by Fogg Mobile. Customers receive up to 250 MB per month at no cost and can purchase additional monthly data packages at low rates and without a contract.

The HP Pavilion x360 is expected to be available in two colors: Brilliant Red and Smoke Silver. The Brilliant Red color will go on sale in the United States on February 26th.

DataPass is expected to be available on the HP Pavilion x360 in select regions starting this summer.

We’re looking to spend some time with the HP Pavilion x360 while we’re here at MWC, so stay tuned for our hands-on and first impressions soon. Does the HP Pavilion x360 look interesting to you? Let us know in the comments!

Source: HP

A real quick analysis of today’s announcements by Microsoft, specifically in regards to Windows Phone, shows that Microsoft is loosening the belt on their mobile OS. Back when Windows Phone 7 Series was announced at this very event four years ago, Microsoft had set very strict hardware requirements in an effort to keep the user experience consistent and ensure a quality experience.

That’s a very different approach from Android, which has a more ‘anything goes’ method for hardware, resulting in proliferation of Android throughout the mobile market. Apple, of course does the opposite: they only make their own hardware, so there are no manufacturer opportunities.

Let’s look quickly at what Microsoft did today.

• Removed hardware key requirements, for front facing buttons and camera
• Added support for more Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, including the 200, 400 and 400 LTE versions for even lower-cost phones
• Reference design program through Qualcomm gives manufacturers a scaffold to start their own Windows Phone

What really happened though was Microsoft gave companies like HTC and Samsung a big chunk of freedom. HTC will especially benefit from this move as they simply don’t have the capital to re-design new Windows Phone hardware while battling for Android.

In essence, if you make an Android phone, you can now just toss the Windows Phone OS on there and sell that device. Sure, you still need 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage, at the very least, but even Android has that as its bottom for low-end hardware.  Microsoft, through Qualcomm and upcoming changes for Windows Phone 8.1, have essentially removed most, if not all, the barriers for companies like Samsung, HTC and even Lenovo.

Want an HTC One? HTC will now be in better position to throw Windows Phone on it, without having to reinvent novel hardware.

That’s really good news. Combined with the announcement of new hardware partners, like LG (who’s returning), Foxconn (an ODM, or original device manufacturer) and Lenovo, Windows Phone now stands a much better chance of being ‘mass produced’.

We can also start officially yearning for a ThinkPhone.

The bad news is that unique things to Windows Phones won’t be required any longer. Those front buttons will be virtual soft keys for some new Windows Phone 8.1 hardware, the camera shutter button won’t be required either. So we’re losing a bit of what made Windows Phone unique.

OEMs can still do all of those things, but they’re just not required to. And because Windows Phone 8.1 can install apps and games to the SD card, manufacturers can leverage that to save costs on internal memory.

It’s of course too early to tell how well this will pay off. Microsoft has taken a lot of the hardware differentiation out of the equation, moving towards the Android model. But manufacturers still can’t touch the OS. No skinning. No deep level changes. That means the user experience should still be consistent, even as the hardware becomes more… universal.

Microsoft is certainly taking a play out of their Windows PC business here, specifically with how Windows 8.x devices are made and sold. Capitulation? Nope. To my eyes, it looks like Microsoft is confident that the Windows Phone brand and identity are now solidified, with companies like Nokia setting the path.

It’s time to put the boat out to sea and set her free.

With Mobile World Congress kicking off in Barcelona this week, users of CoPilot Navigation for Windows Phone are in for a treat as the company is to unveil a bunch of new features to make the app even more user friendly and feature rich. Not only that, but the experience is coming to Windows 8 tablets.

I know we have HERE Drive available for Windows Phone – and that does one heck of a job, but it's always good to have choices. 

CoPilot will be announcing the following new features to there already hugely popular voice guided navigation application:

• CommuteMe: CommuteMe makes everyday driving quicker, easier and more predictable by intelligently learning a driver’s preferred route to and from work. It then automatically scans the route for traffic to avoid delays and provide an accurate estimated time of arrival. If a driver alters their preferred route, CommuteMe recognizes the change and proactively adapts.
• ActiveRoutes: Ever wonder which route is the fastest at a particular time of day? ActiveRoutes intelligently answers this question. It uses actual road speed data and the time of the day to accurately predict the fastest route - any time of day and day of the week.
• MirrorLink Connected Car Demo: CoPilot has long been ready for the connected car revolution and designed for safe, non-distracting in-car guidance. ALK will be demonstrating CoPilot running with MirrorLink at Mobile World Congress, in partnership with leading automotive solutions provider, HUML GmBh.
• CoPilot for Windows 8 Tablets: CoPilot’s roots were in Windows OS, with the world's first desktop trip-planning software providing door-to-door directions in 1995. Now CoPilot's dependable offline, in-car navigation and mapping experience is coming to Windows 8.1 tablets such as Microsoft's Surface Pro and Dell Venue Pro.

Adopted by over half a million working drivers operating across a wide range of industry sectors including utilities, emergency services, postal, delivery and courier services, CoPilot Professional has become the "go to" GPS navigation and route optimization solution of choice for leading Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and international hardware manufacturers.

Sounds good to me. Once we can get our hands on the update we will of course put it to the test and give you our impressions. Stay tuned to our feeds for more MWC news. If you're on a Windows Phone, check out CoPilot on the store for free.

Last year, Microsoft announced a forthcoming update for Windows Phone dubbed ‘enterprise pack’. The move was to further lure companies to adopt Windows Phone en masse, something many have been reluctant to do due to the lack of core features like VPN.

Today in Barcelona, Microsoft referred to this ‘feature pack’ in clarification to the press. All of those enterprise features, including extended MDM, certification management, VPN, S/MIME support and others, will be arriving with the “next Windows Phone update,” referring to Windows Phone 8.1.

Other features of that enterprise, previously announced, include:

• S/MIME to sign and encrypt email
• Access to corporate resources behind the firewall with app aware, auto-triggered VPN
• Enterprise Wi-Fi support with EAP-TLS
• Enhanced MDM policies to lock down functionality on the phone for more enterprise control, in addition to richer application management such as allowing or denying installation of certain apps
• Certificate management to enroll, update, and revoke certificates for user authentication

That update will come “this spring.” All Windows Phone 8 devices will be able to get the update, which will include those enterprise features. A separate download or enabling by a company is not required.

In speaking with Microsoft, it’s clear that the company is looking at this forthcoming update to really push into business. For example, instead of running Good Messaging on top of an OS and separate from the built-in features, Windows Phone will bring a new level of enterprise control out of the box.

Barcelona – Today, Microsoft announced a new reference design hardware sample for potential OEMs and ODMs. The move, in conjunction with reduced hardware requirements like front facing keys, will allow new manufacturers to easily jump on board with Windows Phone.

A new site (oem.windowsphone.com) that just launched will allow any potential manufacturer to view and review key component and design details based off of the Qualcomm reference design. The move is certainly bold, as Microsoft is now actively courting all hardware device makers to get on board with Windows Phone. To sweeten the deal, Microsoft has made the OS more universal across hardware, allowing OEMs to ‘recycle’ their Android phones by simply putting on Windows Phone instead.

While the move may sound desperate, it’s evidently paying off, as Microsoft did announce new Windows Phone hardware partners, including:

• LG Electronics
• Lenovo
• Huawei
• ZTE
• Samsung
• HTC
• Karbonn
• XOLO
• Longcheer
• Gionee
• Foxconn

Nick Parker, corporate vice president of the OEM Division at Microsoft had this to say about the news:

Most of those companies are not familiar to Western markets, but combined with new Qualcomm chipset support for Snapdragon 200, 400 and 400 LTE, this will enable Windows Phone to dive into the low-end market in emerging countries like India and especially China.

Likewise, Dual SIM support in the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 update, due this spring, was also announced.

Windows Phone 8.1 was only referred to in passing as coming this spring, with more details being announced at a later date. One thing, though, is clear: Microsoft is taking their approach to Windows PCs and stretching it to Windows Phone. That will reduce barriers for OEMs and make it easy for companies to get on board without previous restrictions. 

Source: Microsoft Press

Mobile Nations has landed in Barcelona! We're not just here for cervezas and tapas, of course, but for the annual Mobile World Congress. We've got a lot to look forward to this week and the team on the ground will be bringing you the very best of it all.

We've a team of six on the ground in Spain, and besides keeping up with everything on the blogs you'll want to be following us on the socials as well. Head on below for all the links you need!

• Phil Nickinson - Google+, Twitter, Instagram
• Kevin Michaluk - Google+, Twitter, Instagram
• Daniel Rubino - Google+, Twitter, Instagram
• Alex Dobie - Google+, Twitter, Instagram
• Richard Devine - Google+, Twitter, Instagram
• Andrew Martonik - Google+, Twitter, Instagram

And don't forget to bookmark our MWC 14 hub to keep up with every little thing coming out of Barcelona!

Although the main news at Mobile World Congress from Nokia will center on Nokia X, we’re sure the Lumia makers will have some new Windows Phone apps and goodies on hand.

Indeed, Nokia via their Vine channel, have posted a short movie showing a woman taking "selfies" with her Lumia 1020. While some have jumped on this as a new device announcement – it’s not – we’re confident that this is for an Imagin8 app, used for adding digital effects in real time. Think of Kinect, but for your phone.

Doing a cursory search, we found this video demonstrating the technology, which was also featured at CES. In fact, heading to around the 0:35 second mark, you can see the same model demonstrating the technology.

In short, Imagin8 works by using cameras and sensors to add effects to a video or image. Users can then interact with the virtual digitial goodies, creating interesting and unique works of art. We’re not 100% certain how the Imagin8 app will work for Nokia Lumias, but watch the two videos here should pique your interest!

We’ll of course be there at MWC starting Sunday through Wednesday, so stay tuned for more details.

Source: Nokia Dev Team (Vine)

With only a few days before Mobile World Congress, some recent photos purporting to show Nokia’s X phone, aka ‘project Normandy’, have made their debut online. Nokia X is the supposed name for the low-cost, entry level device, which is similar to the Lumia 520.

Despite the Nokia X running a forked-version of Android, readers may have noticed that it looks awfully inspired by a certain Windows Phone OS. Indeed, you could even describe its ‘start’ screen as Tile-esque. Of course, this isn’t the first time we have seen what ‘X’ will look like, but it’s interesting to see just how inspired Nokia was from their own Lumia line.

Readers may be wondering, besides the UI similarities, what is the long term play for X? Why even make it look like Windows Phone? Or how will Nokia even describe it? It’s hard to know at this point, but it does raise interesting questions about Android, Microsoft, Windows Phone and whether if any of those will cross paths at some point in the future.

Stay tuned, as Monday morning (Barcelona time), Nokia will be sharing this with the world. We’ll be there to cover it live.

Source: CoolXap; via Android Central

It should be no secret that next week in Barcelona, Nokia is going to announce the Nokia X, their low-cost Android phone, running a forked version of the open source OS. The phone will reportedly come with its own Nokia Store, and suite of Microsoft and HERE apps to round it out. While not a flagship Android device by any means, it will still get a lot of press attention due to sensational headline possibilities.

Last week, Nokia temporarily switched their social media outlets from Nokia Blue to Nokia Green. We told you that too was a tease for ‘Normandy’, though many still want to believe in some new Windows Phone magic. Today, Nokia has gone further with a new green banner on Conversations.

The banner itself shows four arrows point to the center, as in ‘X’ marks the spot. It doesn’t take too long to see the green X in the center, all but confirming the planned announcement next week.

The Nokia X, previously known internally as ‘Normandy’, is a low cost, device running Android but with a Nokia facelift. Think Lumia 520, but less specs, combined with some Asha flavor. Twitter leaker Evleaks revealed the specs as well:

Nokia X specs (reported, not official)

• Dual-core 1 GHz CPU
• 4-inch display
• 512MB of RAM
• 4GB of storage with micro SD expansion
• 1500 mAh battery
• 5 MP rear camera
• Six-colors

As seen above from a render posted by Evleaks, we can see what may be the final branding of the Nokia X when announced.

For those pining for new Windows Phones from Nokia, we’ve stated a few times already that we’re not expecting any news at Mobile World Congress. Indeed, it would be very odd to announce new hardware for Windows Phone 8.1 before the OS itself was officially announced. We’re also getting word, unconfirmed at this point, that there may be very few ‘launch devices’ for 8.1.

Source: Conversations; Render and specs via Evleaks 1, 2; via Android Central

It’s exactly one week before Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona. Windows Phone Central will of course be there to cover the event, though we’re not expecting any major Windows Phone news to happen.

Still, Nokia will be there with presumably their new Android device, and there will also be a Nokia developer day too. In addition, Microsoft is holding a ‘Media and Analyst Event’ for select attendees on Sunday, where we’ll be covering that as well.

If you’re going, you may want to pick up the updated official GSMA Mobile World Congress app. The app, which was first released last year for the 2013 event, has been bumped to 1.2.0.0. At least, that’s what it says in the Store. When you open the app though, it says we’re on version 1.0.1.0.

The app is a little trickier this year as it’s an app within an app. Inception! To use, you open the main app and download a new database. That will ‘unlock’ the full app. Specifically you should tap ‘Mobile World Live’ and/or ‘Mobile World Congress 2014’ and then hit download. The latter will take a bit longer as it’s more full-featured. Afterwards, you’ll have the full app ready for the 2014 conference.

That’s a neat concept as the app kind of bypasses the Store for direct updates of events and last minute changes (the app can also check for updates, optionally, in the background).

The GSMA app is pretty essential for attendees as it features a wide Tile, schedule of events, speakers, exhibitors, news + social links, mapping, information and My Event. The latter is a way to view all your earmarked speakers, events or exhibitors and it’s all done through a faux Tile system within the app.

Users can search for names or companies and simply tap an asterix symbol in the upper right hand corner to basically bookmark the entry for quick access. Users can also get direct messages from the organizers, which is good for any breaking news or summaries of the day’s events and the interactive mapping looks to go live once the event starts.

Likewise, the previously separate NFC Badge app is also now built in, making the whole thing much more streamlined.

As a side note, we checked the Android version of the app for comparison. Reports are streaming in that it turns off Wi-Fi on certain devices, with lots of negative reviews. Guess things aren’t always greener on the other side.

Pick up the official GSMA app for Mobile World Congress 2014 here in the Store.

Thanks, Xaphoon148, for the tip!

While Microsoft is not expected to have a strong presence at this year's Mobile World Congress, Nokia will be holding a press event on Monday, February 24. Invitations have been fired out to the media, detailing the event which will take place at 8:30am (local time).

What will the company be announcing or unveiling? We're not entirely sure and no hints have been provided in the media invitations. There is still the unannounced, rumoured Android handset, codenamed 'Normandy', as well as the Nokia Lumia Icon so feel free to get guessing.

We'll be on the floor, attending the conference so be sure to remain tuned to our feeds on the day as we learn more.

Nokia kicked off its global Create contest late last year and we've covered new missions kicking off as the program ran its course. Developers were invited to develop apps for a number of categories, ranging from image and photography all the way to work life. Nokia has now announced the grand winner of the Create contest, as well as winning apps for each category.

Pass the break to see who won and pick them up for your phone today!

The Grand Winner - Pikura

The Nokia Create Grand Prize goes to Pikura, but what is this app all about? It's an app and service that brings gamification to mobile photography. Enjoy capturing photos on your smartphone? Pablo Moncunill and Joe Fernández have turned mobile photography into a social game with rewards and more.

Users can create challenges (example: "take a picture of the biggest burger you can find") and anyone can participate but uploading a photo, with other users voting on submissions to determine the winning entry. It's a super neat concept and one we can see doing well with Lumia Windows Phone owners.

The team has won the following:

• An expenses paid trip for both of them to go to Barcelona to attend Mobile World Congress, where the app will be showcased and the developers will be able to network and promote Pikura.
• Nokia will produce a video promoting Pikura and will publish it on the Nokia YouTube channel for millions of Lumia users to see.
• Nokia will promote the developers on Nokia Developer channels.
• Pikura will get 4 weeks of promotion on Windows Phone Store and App Social.
• They’ll also receive a 10,000 EUR credit on Microsoft Advertising pubCenter or similar to run a campaign to promote Pikura.

Want to give it a try? You can grab Pikura from the Windows Phone Store for free.

Mission Category Winners

As touched on above, we not only have a grand winner for the contest itself, but also one winning app per-category. Here are the final winners:

• Image & Photo - Facebook Cover Cam
• NFC - Imagine Cam
• Maps & Places - Track Runner
• Music - Extreme Music
• Cross-8 - To-Do Prime
• Fun &Games - Trouserheart
• Work Life - Enpass Password Manager & Information Keeper
• Freestyle - Stylist

Each of the above winning entries will be heading to Mobile World Congress 2014 to receive further support from Nokia and co. Congratulations to all winning apps and developers.

Source: Nokia (1) (2)

Nokia has once again announced winners from its Create contest. Should you not be familiar with the developer contest, said folk are tasked to create apps for Windows Phone, following certain missions and including desired features - these Mini Missions can be focused on certain features of the operating system or Nokia Lumia handset.

This approach by the company ensures that different types of apps are included in the submissions, with the goal to bring more choice to consumers with high quality apps and filling any holes in the catalogue of content on the Windows Phone Store. Head on past the break to check out which apps won designated missions.

Just like we covered previously, the announcement lists winners of two Mini Missions - today we're looking at number 3 and 4. 

Mini Mission 3 in the Create contests had developers use the HERE APIs or app launchers to add location functionality to apps. The winning app was Palmipedo FREE, developed by Maurizio Gaj from Italy. It's a neat little tourist guide app, which not only offers mapping, but also includes routing and guidance services. As an added bonus, everything works offline too, perfect for when you're abroad.

You can grab Palmipedo FREE from the Windows Phone Store.

Next is Mini Mission 4, which was all about taking full advantage of Nokia Music (now Nokia MixRadio) and available APIs for the popular media service from Nokia, which enabled the delivery of music content including charts, gigs and mixes. The winning app was Car Starter, by Rob Irving from the US. Note that while this app doesn't start your vehicle, it will enable you to quickly access phone functionality easily.

You can download Car Starter from the Windows Phone Store.

The official blog post then reminds developers that Mini Missions 5 and 6 closed on Friday November 29th, so you're already too late for those. That said, you still have until December 15th before the All Matters and Do Good Missions close. 

Source: Nokia Developer; cheers, Rob, for the tip!

It's times like these I wish I knew how to create apps. Unfortunately, I couldn’t code my way out of an Altair 8800 if my life depended on it. But if you find yourself being savvy with Visual Studio, C# and the rest of the development skillset needed to create winning Windows Phone apps you might be interested in this contest.

Nokia Create is a just launched contest to develop for Windows Phone. There are various prizes throughout, but you’re going to want to read on for the details for the grand prize winner. Nokia will make you very happy.

Nokia Create is a global competition, available from Timbuktu to Shangri-La. All you need to do is have the development chops to create apps for Windows Phone and Nokia Lumia. The last contest, Nokia Future Capture, was centered on imaging and their recently launched Lumia 1020. This contest however, has 8 different categories. So it doesn’t matter if you have gaming skills, imaging skills, or location skills.

The 8 categories are as follows:

• Image & Photo
• NFC
• Maps & Places
• Music
• Cross-8
• Fun &Games
• Work Life
• Freestyle

Basically, if you can develop for Windows Phone, there’s bound to be a category above that could interest you. And it’s a contest worth entering. Grand prize winner will get an all-expenses paid trip for two people to Mobile World Congress 2014 (we'll be there too!). The winning app will be showcased at MWC. Additionally, a video will be produced highlighting the app that will be spread through the various Nokia Developer channels. From there the app will be heavily promoted across a handful of Nokia social network accounts. That same winning app will get four weeks of promotion on the Windows Phone Store and App Social. And finally, the winner gets 10,000 http://www.windowscentral.com/tag/app-socialeuros to use on PubCenter to run their own campaign.

And of course, there are various levels of prizes and mini-contests within the overall Nokia Create challenge. It’s worth hitting up the source link below to read the fine details and see the various prizes you can win throughout the contest, which runs until December 5th.

Thinking of entering?

Source: Nokia Create