Gallery: Mobile World Congress Trends: HP's First Android Slate and a Firefox OS
01GALAXY-Note-8.0
*Image: Samsung* BARCELONA -- There is nothing in tech quite like Mobile World Congress. Yeah, it's massively huge like the [Consumer Electronics Show](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/01/the-best-of-ces-2013/) in Las Vegas. But unlike CES, which is a bastion of all things electronic, the Congress is focused specifically on the mobile side. Phones and tablets. That's it. There isn't anywhere else on the planet where more phones and tablets make their debut than MWC. But just because it's big and just because everyone is there doesn't mean it's all worth paying attention to. So, in an attempt to filter the signal from the noise, we're here to tell you what's Wired. One emerging trend are tablets you can make calls from. It might seem strange, but two major players, Samsung and Asus, are betting on this taking off. Samsung's been blurring the line between phones and tablets for a couple years with its Galaxy Note devices. But while the Note phones have always sported massive displays and a stylus, nothing wearing the Note name has been so big (and still allowed you to place a call) as the Galaxy Note 8.0. It's an Android Jelly Bean tablet with an 8-inch, 1280 x 800 display, that (if the owner pays for mobile service) can be assigned a phone number and used to place a traditional phone call. It's powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and Google's Android Jelly Bean operating system skinned in Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. The Note 8.0 goes on sale worldwide sometime in the second quarter, but Samsung hasn't said what it'll cost or which carriers will sell it. Still, it is clear that the company is on a mission to make an Android device in just about any screen size you could want. Samsung currently sells the [Galaxy S III Mini](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/samsungs-galaxy-s-iii-mini-a-small-phone-full-of-compromise/) (with a 4-inch screen), the [Galaxy S III](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2012/06/samsung-galaxy-s-iii/) (with a 4.8-inch screen), the [Galaxy Note II](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2012/11/samsung-galaxy-note-ii/) (with a 5.5-inch screen) and Galaxy tablets ranging in size from 7 to 10 inches. *-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles*
02ASUS-padfone
*Image: Asus* Samsung is late the the phone call-making-tablet party with the Galaxy Note 8.0. Asus has been at it for three years. The latest Asus Padfone is a powerful Android handset with a fantastic battery life and specs to match. The third-gen Padfone features Qualcomm's new Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz. The display is 5 inches and the handset runs on LTE networks. The rear camera snaps photos at an impressive 13 megapixels. Once the phone is snapped into the back of a 10-inch touchscreen display, the phone is the brains of a tablet. In a nod to Asus' 10-inch Infinity tablet line, the latest Padfone is called the Padfone infinity. Asus also unveiled the Fonepad -- a 7-inch tablet that looks a lot like the amazing Nexus 7 tablet, but with a new aluminum body instead of plastic. As the name suggests, the Fonepad can be assigned a phone number and given the ability to place traditional phone calls. Neither device has been confirmed for U.S. release as of yet. But, like the Note 8.0, the Fonepad and Padfone each respectively offer the ability to place phone calls while holding a tablet that's almost as big as your head, next to your head. *-- Federico Cociancich*
03firefoxOS
*Photos: Maurizio Pesce/Wired Italy* Mozilla announced that Smartphones running its Firefox OS -- an open sourced mobile operating system that runs nothing but HTML5 apps -- goes on sale sometime next year. And, for the first time, Mozilla showed off some of the handsets that will bring the Firefox OS to consumers, such as the ZTE Open pictured above. The ZTE Open is a decidedly down-market device, more first phone than iPhone -- an entry level gadget that's built to sell for $100 or less off contract. As such, the Open isn't pushing high-end anything anywhere. But that's not the point. The [idea](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/hands-on-with-boot2gecko-the-mobile-os-built-entirely-on-web-standards/) that Mozilla has been preaching behind its Firefox OS is that of low-cost, low-powered devices will be the catalyst that brings smartphones to the billions of folks who don't already have one, and might not be able to afford the best from Apple, Samsung and others. With that goal in mind, Mozilla has spent the last few months reaching out to hardware and carrier partners and [developers](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/01/mozilla-geekspohone-firefox-os-developer-phone/) to make this vision reality. Aside from ZTE, [Sony](http://blog.digital.telefonica.com/?press-release=sony-mobile-telefonica-reinforce-partnership) announced this week that it plans to make a Firefox OS phone. Alcatel, LG and Huawei are on board to build hardware (each utilizing Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors) as well. Carriers from Latin America and Europe have signed up to sell Firefox OS phones, but so far Sprint is the only U.S. carrier backing the Firefox OS. -- *Maurizio Pesce and Nathan Oliverez-Giles*
04lenovo
*Images: Lenovo* Lenovo pulled back the curtain on three new Android tablets -- the 10-inch S6000, and the 7-inch A3000 and A1000. The two smaller tablets, which could fit in a pocket, are aimed squarely at the hot-selling Nexus 7 in mind. No mistake that it shares similar specs and characteristics with the Nexus 7. The A3000 has a quad-core 1.2GHz MediaTek processor and a 1024 x 600 pixel display (which falls short of the Nexus 7's HD display). The A1000 is largely the same as the A3000, but has a lower-powered 1.2GHz dual-core cpu, and a lower resolution display. The design and build of the A3000 and A1000 are both simple and easy to carry around. This is typical Lenovo -- a company that never adds much in the way of frills. The S6000 is the highest-end tablet of the bunch. It sports a 10-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. Lenovo also promises about 8 hours of battery life from it's top-of-the-line slate. No word yet on U.S. release dates. -- *Maurizio Pesce*
05hpslate7
*Image: HP* The [HP TouchPad](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/08/hp-webos-tablet-touchpad/) was a massive failure, and Hewlett-Packard [fumbled all the potential its innovative WebOS](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/hp-webos-open-source/) operating system had to offer. But this troubled history isn't keeping HP from jumping into the Android tablet market with the [Slate 7](http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ad/slate-7/tablet.html). After having a look at the specs the Slate 7 is offering up, our initial reaction is disappointment. The Slate 7 looks like a tablet that's about a year behind the rest of the market. Sure, it's a 7-inch tablet, which is all the rage. But you have to do more than roll out a popular form factor to grab consumer attention. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD largely define the segment, and do so with a $200 price point and high-performance specs. The Slate 7 is priced at an appealing $170, but the lower price brings compromise. The Slate 7's 1024 x 600 pixel screen falls short of the competition's HD offerings. It's the same story with RAM and on-board storage: at 1GB of RAM and 8GB of local storage, it's got half what the competition does. And instead of opting for a quad-core processor like the Nexus 7, the Slate 7 has a dual core processor. HP is pegging battery life at about 5 hours, which isn't bad, but isn't spectacular either. Beats Audio software, which has failed to impress us on the TouchPad, HP's laptops and HTC's smartphones, is included on the Slate 7. And HP offers in-app printing to any HP printer, a yawn inducing addition. A potential high point can be found in the Slate 7's soft-touch back, and clean hardware design. We look forward to spending some time with the Slate 7 despite it's apparent cut corners. Maybe HP's little tablet will surprise us. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to find out. HP said the Slate 7 will start shipping in April. *-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles*
