We're live at Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona!

It's that time again: Our team has descended upon the heart of Barcelona to bring you another week of the latest the mobile world has to offer. As always, we'll be shooting videos and liveblogging events until our fingers fall off, and we certainly hope you'll come join us for the ride. So, what's in store for us all this time around?We're glad you asked.To no one's surprise, HTC and Samsung have been working on a handful of leaky flagship phones,...

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Scientists learn to build better metals by freezing alloys in space

Metals are full of microscopic structures that define properties like strength, but it's hard to figure out how those structures work on Earth, where gravity skews their effects. An experiment aboard the International Space Station may have solved that dilemma, however. By freezing alloys in the station's extra-low gravity, scientists tracked the growth of microstructures in a pure environment and revealed a wealth of data about how metal forms....

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Bjork's next music video is made for virtual reality

Let's say for a moment that the experimental Oculus VR movies that came out of Sundance didn't do anything for you, but that Icelandic songwriters totally float your boat. You're in luck because Björk's upcoming video for "Stonemilker" will be available for Oculus Rift, according to an interview with Fast Company . She says that the platform is "almost more intimate than real life" and finds it exciting in general, citing its "crazy panoramic"...

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Pebble sets a new record, net neutrality passes and other stories you might've missed!

Pebble beats its own record, Motorola confirms what we already knew about the Moto E and Facebook takes a break from the sillier aspects of its site to get serious about mental health. Basically, we've got everything you need to know from this past week in one neat little package. Won't you catch up with us?The top 11 tablets you can buy today If you like to take your tech on the go (or even just to the couch), a tablet is usually a good gadget...

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IKEA will start selling wireless charging lamps and tables

After lots of perseverance from smartphone makers, wireless charging is finally starting to make an impact. Many big name phones now support the technology and companies like Starbucks are helping to bring it a wider audience. Now, it's set to receive another big boost, after IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, announced the introduction of a new range of furniture that features integrated charging.As part of its commitment to making...

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Design firm wants this round wooden phone to be your family heirloom

See that wooden round thing above? That's a smartphone -- a real, working smartphone with a high-res screen and a camera, and not just a concept that will never come to life. Just imagining how to take calls on it without a headset or how to access websites on it is giving us a headache, but it's sure a good way to stand out in a world dominated by rectangular devices. This circular oddity is called the Runcible, and San Francisco design firm Monohm...

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Huawei teases its first Android Wear watch through awkward videos

Huawei apparently just can't wait to show some of the wearable tech it has in store this year. While the company isn't supposed to reveal its Mobile World Congress plans until a press event on March 1st, it has already posted both videos and airport ads revealing its first Android Wear device, the plainly-titled Huawei Watch. You won't learn a huge amount from the clips, which are loaded with stiff-sounding English ("it has to look like a watch,...

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10 high-tech gadgets that will improve your tennis game

The sport of tennis is no stranger to incorporating new technologies -- from the electronic line judges of the early '70s to today's Hawk-Eye system with its multi-camera array. These days, players at all levels have a variety of high-tech tools to help them up their games. We've already taken a look at how modern technology can help if you're training for golf and soccer. Now it's time to check out some options you might want to consider the next...

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Proposed privacy bill protects industry more than it does people

If the return of Frank Underwood stoked a thirst for real drama from the nation's capitol, perhaps the White House's late-Friday news dump of the proposed Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights will whet your whistle. Alongside common-sense things like Congress finding that Americans "cherish privacy as an element of their individual freedom" in the draft, are headings pertaining to transparency, individual control, security and accountability. In regards...

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Recommended Reading: The secrets behind 'Madden's' player ratings

Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. How Madden Ratings are Made by Neil PaineFiveThirtyEightIf you've ever played a Madden title, at some point, you've questioned how player ratings are compiled. Heck, players are even critical of their own scores. Well, the stats...

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Walmart vs. Netflix DVD battle snags $12 each for 1.2 million people

Ready for a blast from the past? Ten years ago, Walmart's plan to undercut Netflix on DVD-by-mail rental pricing failed, and the retail giant turned that part of its business over to the movie service in exchange for a cut of the revenue, referral bonuses and Netflix promoting Walmart's DVD sales to rental customers. A class action lawsuit against the two followed in 2009, with customers alleging they illegally restrained trade and kept prices...

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Disney wants to help developers make games more interactive

Many RPGs have more than one ending, but even then you still have limited ways to control the story or to interact with the characters. Disney Research, however, wants to make real interactive games -- ones where your actions can affect how it progresses and ends -- so it has created a platform that can help developers do so more easily than if they use traditional tools. This platform makes it simpler for creators to spin as many story arcs as...

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Chinese internet giants purge 60,000 accounts for inappropriate usernames

China will enforce an even tighter control over online names starting on March 1st, and it's already begun nuking any account that doesn't conform to its standards. A handful of powerful internet companies in the country have deleted over 60,000 accounts they believe are in violation of China's new real-name/username policy. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement that these accounts have either harmful usernames (such...

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Disney's retelling the 'Star Wars' film saga with Legos

There isn't a way to turn back time and prevent the Star Wars prequels from ever releasing (just ask Cher), but maybe Disney XD's upcoming crack at them could make the flicks palatable. You see, the channel is prepping the launchpad for The Force Awakens' December release with a Lego retelling of the entire story so far. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales will recount the narrative in five, 22-minute episodes, as told...

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Would you prefer a thinner phone or better battery life?

Despite a number of exciting (and novel) announcements related to battery technology, the sad fact is that our smartphones still need to be frequently charged. One thing that hasn't helped in prolonging the lives of our devices is a trend toward ever thinner phones. In some cases, it seems like things are getting too thin. What if we could get some extra battery life in exchange for a few extra millimeters of padding? Would you do it? Head over...

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Daily Roundup: History of net neutrality, deconstructing Nintendo and more!

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. In today's news, you can learn about the history of net neutrality. Meanwhile, we look at Nintendo's unique strategy and fondly recall Leonard Nimoy. You can read all these stories and more past the break.Here's how far we've come with net neutrality The FCC's ruling on net neutrality yesterday was the agency's most significant action in decades -- but it didn't come easy. It's something that's been discussed ever...

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Seattle PD has a YouTube channel for its body camera footage

Seattle's officer-worn camera footage is making its way online, but if you were hoping for anything Cops-like you're likely to be disappointed. In accordance with privacy measures, faces aren't the only parts of a shot that are blurred out -- most of the time it's the entire frame, and audio's been scrubbed as well. Seattle's police department's using methods recommended by volunteer hacker Tim Clemans, and according to SPD Blotter , the redacting...

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Uber data breach compromises IDs of 50,000 drivers

An Uber database containing the names and driver's license numbers of 50,000 current and former drivers was accessed by an outside party in 2014, the company announced today. Uber discovered the breach on September 17, 2014, and an investigation revealed one instance of unauthorized access on May 13, 2014. This means the information has been in the wild for nearly a year, though Uber drivers haven't reported anything fishy and the database is now...

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YouTube's new video trimming tool makes mobile edits a breeze

Even in the ideal setting, it's nearly impossible to get the perfect piece of footage that won't require edits. Those changes can be tough to tackle on mobile, but thanks to a YouTube update, perfecting a short video just got easier. Inside the video library's mobile app, a new video trimming feature let's you slide to the exact frame you want the video to begin (and end) before getting rid of the excess. There's also an inline preview, so you...

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Lonnie Johnson, the rocket scientist and Super Soaker inventor

To celebrate Black History Month, Engadget is running a series of profiles honoring African-American pioneers in the world of science and technology. Today we take a look at the life and work of Lonnie Johnson. Lonnie Johnson is not quite a household name, but many of his famous creations, like the Super Soaker, are. To truly appreciate Johnson's achievements, we should start at the beginning. Ever since he was a child in Mobile, Alabama, he wanted...

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BioShock shakes hands with Stepford in 'We Happy Few'

Smile for the camera -- and for the TV, and during the walk to the store, and while you're sitting in the living room, in the dark, all alone. Smile, because if you don't, they will come for you. That's the story behind the first trailer for We Happy Few, the new game from Compulsion Studios, maker of PlayStation 4 launch game Contrast . We Happy Few features a "drug-fueled, retrofuturistic city in an alternative 1960s England," filled with citizens...

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Here's how far we've come with net neutrality

The FCC's ruling on net neutrality yesterday was the agency's most significant action in decades -- but it didn't come easy. It's something that's been discussed ever since Columbia Law professor Tim Wu coined the term net neutrality 2003, which, at its most basic level, refers to treating all web traffic equally. But the idea goes back to the age of the telegram, when the US government committed to treating all of those messages the same. As broadband...

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Google's future campuses are as flexible as its technology

Hey, Apple and NVIDIA: you aren't going to be the only Silicon Valley giants with outlandish office space. Google has revealed a proposed redesign of its Mountain View campuses (specifically, four sites) that not only doesn't resemble a traditional workplace, but mirrors the company's open, flexible approach to tech. Rather than house everyone in concrete, Google plans "lightweight, block-like" facilities that can shuffle around as workers shift...

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Google's future campuses are as flexible as its technology

Hey, Apple and NVIDIA: you aren't going to be the only Silicon Valley giants with outlandish office space. Google has revealed a proposed redesign of its Mountain View campuses (specifically, four sites) that not only doesn't resemble a traditional workplace, but mirrors the company's open, flexible approach to tech. Rather than house everyone in concrete, Google plans "lightweight, block-like" facilities that can shuffle around as workers shift...

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Lenovo strips some of the unwanted software from its PCs

Lenovo said it was rethinking its approach to pre-loaded software on PCs in the wake of the Superfish security fiasco, and it's now clear that the computer maker wasn't kidding around. It's promising that its home PC software bundles going forward will be limited to Windows, in-house apps and security software. The only exceptions will occur in certain countries, where some third-party apps are "customarily expected." That IdeaPad or Yoga won't...

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