Matias Duarte talks about virtual reality as future of mobile devices

We’ve seen Google make some pushes into augmented reality with their recent push with Google Glass, and Google’s Direct of Android User Experience, Matias Duarte, fully agrees with that direction. At MWC, Duarte talked about gestures and tangibility being the next step for mobile devices, saying “computers have to work the way people expect, and not the other way around.” He also talked about the importance of users interacting with objects simil…

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

We already knew ASUS was prepping a product called the FonePad, a 7-inch tablet with built-in phone functionality (yes, just like the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0). Well, ASUS just formally unveiled it here at Mobile World Congress, which means we’ve got a few more details to share than we did previously. First off, the speculation about its specs was all true: this does indeed have an Intel processor — a 1.2GHz Atom Z2420, to be exact — along w…

OPTiM outs wireless smartphone-to-smartphone screen sharing and remote control app for Android

One of the more notable features of BlackBerry 10 is built-in screensharing, but here in Barcelona at MWC 2013, OPTiM has just one-upped Waterloo with a new app for Android. It not only lets users share screens, but it also allows them to remotely control devices over WiFi. Called Optia for Android, it works with handsets running Android 2.3 and up, and has a built-in chat function for facilitating communication while screensharing. Naturally, th…

Google announces Chromebook Pixel: 1.8GHz Core i5, 2,560 x 1,700 touchscreen, with LTE option; pre-order now, ships in April

Only this morning we were being teased with the idea of a touchscreen Chromebook. Well, good news for people who hate waiting — it’s here, it’s called the Pixel, and you can pre-order today. The all-Google laptop is aimed at those who live in the cloud, but want a little more from their machine. Built from the ground up for the web, the 12.85-inch 3:2 ratio display claims to offer 18 percent more vertical space than 16:9 does. The screen the Pix…