This week has been all about the Mobile World Congress, starting Monday in Barcelona, Spain. That means we've gotten so many leaks our basement's practically flooded and we probably won't be surprised about much of what happens at MWC. Still, there's a lot to be excited about.
Other than leaks of phones, phablets and tablets on display at MWC, the buzz has been all about HTC's new One phone, revealed at a press conference held concurrently in New York City and London on Feb. 19, the date everyone is sick of hearing about. It generated so much hype that a knockoff, from Chinese company GooPhone, came out a day before the HTC was even official.
Canonical announced Ubuntu for tablets on the same day, getting buried in the HTC One hype. And if you want to install Ubuntu on your Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus, you can do that too.
Polytron's prototype for a transparent phone made waves on Wednesday, when the Taiwan-based company showed off its wares.
NVIDIA's powerful Tegra 4 chip is finally gaining some traction as mobile phone and tablet manufacturers have adopted it. The Phoenix, for instance, sports the 4i (a high-end processor for smartphones) and will probably be an NVIDIA-branded phone. HP is also reportedly working on a smartphone and tablet, both featuring the Tegra 4. The first actual smartphone with a Tegra 4 will be courtesy of ZTE, and will make its debut in the first half of 2013.
Wearable computers also took up a significant chunk of the week. Apple definitively has an iWatch in the works, having filed a patent on Thursday. Google Glass has been seen on Sergey Brin, and now the Australian prime minister. Google has even started a contest to decide who gets to pay $1,500 for a chance to get their hands on one early and consulted Warby Parker to talk about designs.
Also, it's been a great few weeks for hackers. Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Burger King and possibly Amazon were all breached. This is in addition to the major New York Times hacking operation from last month, though those were probably Chinese and several of last weeks were most likely not.
