Phones are going to get weird next week

With rare exceptions, phones are pretty boring these days. The good news is, a boatload of those rare exceptions are about to show up at once, courtesy of Mobile World Congress.

The tech industry's biggest mobile show may not quite have the clout it once did, when the likes of Samsung, Sony, LG, and HTC showcased new flagships there each year, but it still attracts more phone launches than CES does two months earlier. It's especially popular with the Chinese manufacturers who are still fighting for space in the global market, along with niche manufacturers who turn up with extra-durable "rugged" devices, or battery beasts that are more powe …

Read the full story at The Verge.