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As I write this, CNET writers from three countries are traveling to Barcelona, Spain, to bring you the best of the annual Mobile World Congress trade show.

If you're a smartphone fan, you probably know that Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a big deal. And if you don't know about it but still love gadgets and technology, there are very good reasons why you should care. I'll explain.

To put it simply, MWC is the most important wireless trade show of the year. It's bigger than CES (where, no … Read more

We rarely shop for items in a physical store anymore; shopping online is much more convenient from the privacy of our own home. But with so many online stores, it's hard to keep up with the best deals. That's where iDeals comes into play as it aggregates deals from around the Web so you can quickly spot a buy.

iDeals has a pretty straightforward user interface. Deals automatically populate your mobile screen. Each item's picture, along with the price and where to find it are listed. There is a small banner ad across the bottom of the … Read more

Video converters tend to fall into one of two camps. The first is simple freeware for converting files from one or more video formats to another. The advantage of such tools (other than being free) is simplicity; the disadvantage is limited capabilities, not to mention the fact that you may need to keep a collection of them just to handle all your file types. The second type of video converter costs money. That's often the only disadvantage, since the premium converters usually handle many more file types and offer preset profiles that automatically convert files to just the right … Read more

Emulating a wind instrument on your smartphone can be loads of fun. Emulating a wind instrument that was used in the popular video game Zelda is even better. With Ocarina you're able to convincingly and beautifully play many different songs on your device. In addition to being fun, this app is very addictive, too.

Ocarina installs quickly and is ready to use with no additional setup. The main screen is in a brilliant blue color, and there are five keys displayed. When pressed, these five keys emit different sounds and in conjunction with one another the key changes. It … Read more

Dell will start selling a high-resolution version of the XPS 13 ultrabook next week, the PC maker told CNET today, addressing an issue that dogs more than a few Windows 8 laptops.

The display will be upgraded to a resolution of 1,920x1,080 from the current 1,366x768 format. That roughly doubles the pixel density to just over 2 million from just a bit more than a million.

Other improvements include widening the viewing angle to 178 degrees from 80 degrees on the current 1,366x768 display, upping the brightness to 350 nits from 300 nits, and increasing the color gamut to 72 percent from 45 percent, a Dell representative said. … Read more

Live wallpapers seem to be popular, and with the high performance of modern mobile processors, they are becoming more detailed. Koi Free Live Wallpaper is a very detailed simulation of Koi fish that swim around your desktop. Because of its high processor consumption, this one may not be for every user.

Koi Free Live Wallpaper doesn't require any special permissions and the installation is easy due to the lack of options. This app has a pro version available for a fee that includes options to customize the feel of the wallpaper. The wallpaper itself is pretty realistic. It is … Read more

We'd bet you know exactly how many doors and windows there are in your home, and whether each is properly secured. How about your Windows PC? It has doors and (small-w) windows too: they're called ports, and they're how the world gains access to your computer, your data, and your privacy. So, do you know how many ports your computer has, and where they are, and their status? Famatech's Advanced Port Scanner is a free tool that can help you answer those critical questions. It can scan all your ports or just those in ranges you … Read more

I've been listening to Jerry Harvey's custom-molded in-ear headphones for years. The very first one, the UE10, was a game changer; in 2006 it was the best sounding in-ear headphone I'd heard. Now with his new Freqphase JH13 and JH16 in-ears, Harvey's done it again. The performance gains in clarity, detail, resolution, and stereo imaging are huge -- the adrenaline-pumping sound of the music you love over a set of Harvey's headphones can't be matched by any other in-ear 'phones.

Years before he made headphones, Harvey mixed stage monitor sound for Kiss, Van Halen, … Read more

Snapseed is a powerful photo-editing app for iOS that you can take with you wherever you go. Simply snap a picture using your iPhone's camera, or use one from your camera roll, and turn it into a high-quality print using the numerous editing and effects tools.

Getting started with Snapseed is easy: simply tap the Camera icon and either take a new picture, choose one from your photo library, or paste one that you have copied. The app has a ton of tools for editing the image, including Automatic and Selective Adjust, Tune Image, Straighten, Crop, Details, Black & … Read more