Android Central at Mobile World Congress 2011

We're live in Barcelona, Spain for Mobile World Congress. Stay tuned to this very page for all the news we're covering here at the event, from Android to ... something that starts with Z but is also related to Android. That's how we do.

We're here the 13th through the 16th and running like crazy in a timezone that's conveniently many hours ahead of the US, so there's a better than even chance you'll wake up to fresh new announcements for the rest of the week. Peachy, innit?

Xperia Play Hands-on [MWC] Update: Video

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By Dieter Bohn | Feb 13 2011 | 4:04 pm | 6 Comments

Here we are with an Xperia Play in our grubby hands at Mobile World Congress. The phone is a thick as you are seeing in these photos, but a little something to grab onto doesn't hurt when you're gaming, right? Glossy plastic on the back and plastic chrome on the edges makes this Sony Ericsson device a smudge-factory, but other than the odd-creak the phone feels fairly solid. Actually, on the units we played with here we find that the best-feeling buttons on every device are the main-gaming buttons, which is as it should be.

We played a few of the launch titles - all Android games that have been rejiggered to include support for the Play. To a game they were all fast and performed well. We haven't gotten a good look at the custom Play interface and buying experience yet, but given that they're not launching the full Playstation store until later this year, it's not a huge surprise that those pieces aren't fully baked yet. Mostly we're just impressed to see all these Android games running so well here - and while it makes us think that a March purchase might be in our future, to be honest we may wait to see whether or not Sony can get their Playstation store out in short order.

More photos after the break and we've got a quick video as well now too - feel the crowded, noisy love for Android gaming!

Xperia Pro Hands-on [MWC]

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By Dieter Bohn | Feb 13 2011 | 3:58 pm | 1 Comment

The Xperia Pro is your basic horizontal slider - but it's nice to see Sony Ericsson fill out the form factors that people are looking for. The keyboard feels, well, professional in ways that the Timescape skin isn't just yet. That is to say that we saw a few software crashes will putting the phone through it's very quick paces. Since this is the one Xperia phone that Sony Ericsson isn't trying to launch in March, we'll forgive the bugs.

It's also sporting the Arc's "reality display," which means that it's 854x480 pixels packed into 3.7 inches with the Bravia Engine behind it. DLNA, HDMI, an 8GB microSD card, and a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 also fill out this 140g, 120x57x13.5mm package. Of course, it's sporting Android Gingerbread 2.3, which SE claims you'll be able to enjoy for 7 hours of usage. It's launching with two HSPA versions (North America and Europe) in Black, Silver, or Red.

More photos after the break.

Xperia Neo announced by Sony Ericsson

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By Sean Brunett | Feb 13 2011 | 2:56 pm | 8 Comments

Sony has announced the Xperia Neo, a 3.7-inch device that is similar to the just announced Pro, but is without the QWERTY-slideout keyboard.

The Xperia Neo will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), boast a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and will come in a variety of colors.

No official release dates yet, but will be available from 'selected' markets at the end of Q1. It's good to see Sony introducing devices that will ship out of the box with the latest version of the OS; they said before that they had learned their lesson and their products are showing it. Stay tuned for more info. Full press release after the break.

Gaming on the Xperia Play

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By Jerry Hildenbrand | Feb 13 2011 | 2:49 pm | 5 Comments

Since the Xperia Play is the unofficial Playstation phone, games are going to be a big part of it's attraction. Sony Ericsson let us all know that the Play will launch with 50 titles when it hits the shelves this March, and later this year they will debut the Playstation store for Android.

The Xperia Play runs Gingerbread and has the new 1GHz Snapdragon/Adreno 205 on board, and according to Sony Ericsson, your games will be running at 60fps. Multiplayer gaming is supported, and with all we've seen so far, this one was worth waiting for.

Some of the content partners at launch will be:

Digital Chocolate
Digital Legends
Electronic Arts
Fishlabs
Gamehouse
Gameloft
Glu Mobile
Handy Games
Namco Bandai
Polarbit
Pop Cap
Trendy Entertainment
Unity Technologies

Combined with their own in-house content from Sony Entertainment, it's looking like they're serious about having fun. Hit the break to see what Jonas Berg, SE's official gaming ambassador has to say.

Sony Ericsson announces Xperia Pro

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By Sean Brunett | Feb 13 2011 | 2:40 pm | 3 Comments

Today, Sony announced the Xperia Pro, one of the latest additions to their Xperia line of smartphones.

The Xperia Pro boasts a 3.7-inch touchscreen with a full QWERTY-slideout keyboard, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). While there is no release date set, Sony announced near the end of Q2 it will be made available.

Stay for more details on the Xperia Pro and the other devices announced by Sony as we'll be there getting as much info as we can. See full press after the break.

Samsung Galaxy S II announced, is world's thinnest smartphone

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By Sean Brunett | Feb 13 2011 | 2:29 pm | 48 Comments

A big day for Samsung at Mobile World Congress as they have just announced the Galaxy S II, the follow-up to their wildly popular Galaxy S.

The Galaxy S 2 will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), dual-core processor, 8MP camera with 1080p recording and playback and the beautiful Super-AMOLED Plus display. At 8.49 mm, Samsung is proud to bring consumers the thinnest smartphone available while still delivering on specs and performance.

An interesting announcement also was Kies Air, which allows users to manage the content on their smartphones from their PC using WiFi.

The Galaxy S 2 has not been given an official release date, but will be available 'this month'; no news on which markets that is referring to. We'll be at MWC the remainder of the day learning as much as we can about the new Galaxy S 2 device and Touchwiz 4.0, so stay tuned. Full press release after the break. Full and complete specs can be found at the Samsung Galaxy S 2 website.

Sony Ericsson officially announces the Xperia Play [update: Verizon!]

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By Jerry Hildenbrand | Feb 13 2011 | 2:26 pm | 17 Comments

We've been seeing leaks for quite a while, but Sony Ericsson has finally made the Xperia Play official today in Barcelona. It's the first ever Playstation certified device, and the folks from Sony Ericsson are mighty proud of this one, as they should be. It looks like great device, and SE has went all in with their Android product line.

The Play has the new Snapdragon, and SE says you'll experience 60 fps playback for your games, and of course there's the integrated controller in lieu if a keyboard. If you're into portable gaming, and want a phone that can do it all, you might have just found it. ~~We'll gather up all the details and fill in the blanks shortly~~, in the meantime the official product video is after the break.

Update: SE just announced that the Play will be shipping in March, and Verizon will be getting it. Can you hear it now? We have the official press release after the break.

Samsung officially announces Galaxy Tab 10.1

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By Sean Brunett | Feb 13 2011 | 2:16 pm | 17 Comments

Samsung has officially announced a follow-up to its first tablet, named the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Galaxy Tab 10.1, named so due to it's size of 10.1-inches, is significantly larger than the previous Tab at 7-inches.

The tablet will be powered by Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processor and will ship with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). It will have both rear and front-facing cameras at 8 MP and 2 MP, respectively.

No specific date announcement yet, although it was said to be coming this spring and will hit Vodafone first. Here is a quote from Patrick Chomet, who is Group Director of Terminals at Vodafone:

"Vodafone customers in over 20 markets around the world will be the first to get the GALAXY Tab 10.1 when it goes on sale this spring. Samsung have produced a stylish, market-leading implementation of the new Android 3.0 platform which will be the first Honeycomb device to arrive in many of those markets. Vodafone's competitive data tariffs and reliable, high-speed networks make using the GALAXY Tab 10.1 a great experience."

Please find the full press release after the break. Look for more details plus pictures and videos to come later.

Live from Sony Ericsson MWC 2011 Keynote

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By Dieter Bohn | Feb 13 2011 | 1:20 pm | 0 Comments

We're live at Sony Ericsson right now and while we're expecting plenty of talk about that Playstation phone, there's plenty more that could happen. Join us after the break while we liveblog it up - that is, if you're not already watching Samsung. Heck, watch both our liveblogs at the same time. What's the harm?

We're live all week from Barcelona, Spain, and Mobile World Congress 2011!

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By Phil Nickinson | Feb 13 2011 | 10:05 am | 12 Comments

Android Central at Mobile World Congress

Here's a healthy reminder that we're in Barcelona, Spain, this week for Mobile World Congress, one of the largest conventions for the cellular industry. We've got events with Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC and others lined up, so look for a bevy of live stuff this week. Barcelona is is six hours ahead of the U.S. east coast, and nine hours ahead of the west coast. Rough schedule is as follows:

Sunday, Feb. 13, noon EST: Samsung Unpacked; Sony Ericsson
Monday., Feb. 14, 4 a.m. EST: LG press event (other non-Android events include Microsoft keynote with Steve Ballmer; Twitter keynote)
Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2:30 a.m. EST: HTC press event; 10:30 a.m. EST: Eric Schmidt keynote

And that's just the major stuff on the schedule. It barely scratches the surface. So check in often. And for a behind-the-scenes look at MWC, be sure to follow @philnickinson, @backlon and @malatesta77 on Twitter.