Weekly output: Android updates, disposable tech, Starlink Mobile, AST SpaceMobile
I got back from MWC Barcelona Thursday, and this coming Friday I’m off to Austin for SXSW. I’m returning to that talkfest after a year off because for the first time since 2019, I’ll be contributing to the banter on the program–I’m moderating a panel about, of all things, video-game culture.
3/3/2026: Android Gets Location-Tracking Features That iOS Users Have Had for Ages, PCMag
This was the only post I had a client publish this week that I easily could have written from home. Instead, I filed it from the press room at MWC Barcelona–and then a late clarification from a Google publicist required me to send a revised paragraph to my editor in a Slack message I sent from the Barcelona metro.
3/4/2026: Slow Tech Uprising, Back Market
I moderated this panel about disposable tech at an event hosted by Back Market that also featured a screening of Dandora: A Fast Tech Story, a short film produced by that refurbished-gadgets marketplace. With four other people on stage–Joy Howard, Back Market’s chief marketing officer; Alexander Kuscher, a senior director for ChromeOS at Google; Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at Creative Strategies; and Gaia Vince, a science writer–the 40 minutes allotted for our conversation before taking audience questions went by fast.
3/4/2026: At MWC, SpaceX execs tout Starlink V2 – and a key carrier partner for it, Light Reading
My telecom trade-pub client asked me to cover SpaceX’s portion of this keynote Monday. The rest of my schedule that day, combined with jet lag leaving me in a sleep-deprived haze, meant I had to finish writing it Tuesday, but that extra time also allowed me to get a quick demo of Starlink’s wireless emergency alert system from a few SpaceX executives at the company’s MWC exhibit.
3/4/2026: AST SpaceMobile Has Big Cellular Satellite Plans for 2026. Can It Deliver?, PCMag
My last appointment on the show floor Tuesday was with AST president and chief strategy officer Scott Wisniewski, who talked about that satellite startup’s plans to bring a direct-to-cell service to market this year for carriers including AT&T and Verizon. For that to happen, both AST and its launch providers will need to step up their pace dramatically.
#android #ASTSpaceMobile #BackMarket #Barcelona #Dandora #directToCell #disposableTech #fastTech #FindHub #MWC #MWCBarcelona #PixelDrop #refurbishedPhones #SpaceX #Starlink #StarlinkMobileIf you want to see the new #Jolla phone in action (and #Sailfish), this clip from #MWC starts by showing it and highlighting some of its features. Worth a look.

🎙️ ■ El MWC se despide por este año, pero aún hay dispositivos que merece la pena ver ■
https://los40.com/2026/03/07/el-mwc-se-despide-por-este-ano-pero-aun-hay-dispositivos-que-merece-la-pena-ver/?int=MASTODON_WORLD
Repassada al MWC, la 6G, les IA, res, no falta res en aquesta peça!

Galaxy S26 no MWC 2026: Samsung mostra como a IA vai controlar o teu ecossistema
🔗 https://tugatech.com.pt/t79595-galaxy-s26-no-mwc-2026-samsung-mostra-como-a-ia-vai-controlar-o-teu-ecossistema
HONOR conquista o MWC 2026 com o inovador Robot Phone e o dobrável Magic V6
🔗 https://tugatech.com.pt/t79573-honor-conquista-o-mwc-2026-com-o-inovador-robot-phone-e-o-dobravel-magic-v6