Just press the buttons on the interactive display for them to change color. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Google dressed up Bugdroids all over the space at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
There is a station where you can use Chromebooks to make your own Android Wear watch face. You can even email it to yourself to sync it to your watch. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Of course, there's this staple at the past few MWCs -- Google disperses Android pins to its partners around the show floor. You get a map, but you have to find and collect them all to win prizes. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Oddly, there was a person sculpting Android-like figures out of sand at Google's area at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
And... Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
On the other side of the village is a ice sculpture of ... something. We didn't find the sculptor at work. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
There's always free drinks you can grab from these guys and girls -- tasteful treats such as Yogurt Nougat, Ginger Bread Meets Nougat, and more. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
This year's massive Bugdroid statue Mobile World Congress in Barcelona wasn't green, but white. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
A log cabin at the center re-creates a cozy living room with Google Home at the center controlling the lights, TV, speaker, and Nest in a demo. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
On both sides of the village were two Google employees with Pixel smartphones. If someone stands by the yellow phone booth, you can use Google's video-messaging app Duo to call the person on the other end. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
You can also Androidify yourself at these tablet stations, and... Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
... send them to a printer to use them as your MWC badge. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
You can bring those stickers to get them printed on tote bags as well. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Google also had a switchboard that lets users plug headphones into different ports to hear different songs from Google Play Music. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Where does this final entrance lead into? Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Mobile World Congress — for some it’s the trade show to watch for all the latest smartphone news, and for others, it’s the place to collect an unnecessary amount of Android pins.
We took a tour of Google’s Android Global Village here at MWC in Barcelona, where the company is showcasing its latest technology. For example, there are yellow phone booths on both ends of the space, each staffed by a Google employee with a Pixel smartphone. If you ask about the booth, they’ll launch Google Duo, a video messaging app, to call each other and showcase the strong video call quality.
There’s also a Daydream and Tango station, where people can put on the Daydream View VR headset and escape reality, or use Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro to decorate a room in augmented reality. A log cabin stands in the center, sheltering a cozy living room that’s packed with a TV, speaker, Nest thermostat, and more. All of the devices are controllable via Google Chromecast and Google Home.
The tradition of collecting pins is as strong as ever this year — just head over to the main information booth to get a map of all the pin locations at Mobile World Congress. There are three tiers you can win — gold, silver, and bronze — and you get a prize if you collect all the pins in at least one of those tiers.
One of the best stations is the switchboard, where you can grab a pair of headphones and plug a cable into one of many jacks to get different songs streaming from Google Play Music.
This year’s Android Global Village seems consistent with last year’s message of “be together, not the same,” thanks in part to the inclusion of various Android smartphones. In fact, it almost feels as though the Pixel is hardly present.
We’ve only managed to grab about nine pins on the first day of the show — leave us a comment if you managed to collect them all.
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