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 #StarlinkMobile
MWC – Rob Pegoraro

Posts about MWC written by robpegoraro

Rob Pegoraro

Made by Google (@madebygoogle)

Magic Cue 기능 소개: 채팅 내에서 별도 검색 없이 바로 식당 추천을 제공하는 기능으로, PixelDrop 연동 해시태그와 함께 데모 링크가 포함된 트윗입니다. 대화형 인터페이스 내 추천 기능의 실무 적용 예시입니다.

https://x.com/madebygoogle/status/2029260587012665576

#magiccue #pixeldrop #recommendation #conversationalai

Made by Google (@madebygoogle) on X

Planning where to eat? 🍽 Magic Cue gives restaurant recos right inside your chat - no searching required.¹ #PixelDrop #MagicCue See it in action² → https://t.co/frygOr9Sej

X (formerly Twitter)
Pixel Drop: Google bringt KI-Icons statt echter Freiheit

Google veröffentlicht den März-Pixel-Drop 2026. Neue KI-generierte Icons und ein SpongeBob-Theme ziehen auf die Pixel-Phones ein - doch Kritik bleibt.

techUpdate.io

Happy Pixel Drop Day, Pixel users!

It’s hitting mine now! :) #GooglePixel #PixelDrop #Android

Le #PixelDrop de mars à enfin réactivé la limite de charge de la batterie à 80% sur mon #Pixel7a.
Une bonne chose

Mein Favorit des aktuellen #pixeldrop :
Das #nowplaying Feature 😊

#googlepixel #android

A Spring Refresh for Your Pixel | March '26 Pixel Drop
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xzFXRKq6oEY&si=wsKmtih1j7sExzS3

A Spring Refresh for Your Pixel | March '26 Pixel Drop

YouTube

Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in! The Switch 2 finally gets a decent webcam solution... if you happen to own a Google Pixel. The November Pixel Drop unlocked the ability to use your phone as a UVC webcam for GameChat.

Are you excited to show off your glorious gaming den, or is video chat just a distraction from the real gameplay?

https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/pixel-owners-you-can-now-use-your-phone-as-a-switch-2-webcam-203407555.html?src=rss
#TechNews #PixelDrop #Switch2 #GamingCommunity #AndroidUpdate

Pixel owners: You can now use your phone as a Switch 2 webcam

The November Pixel Drop provided the fix.

Engadget