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Pegasus statue fashioned from 3,500 phones

Huawei tries to make a splash at MWC with a Pegasus sculpture made of thousands of smartphones.

Tim Hornyak
Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
Tim Hornyak
Up, up, and away: Pegasus rears its cellular head at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Kent German/CNET

In Greek mythology, Pegasus was a winged horse that was very handy when it came to slaying monsters. Huawei is hoping its Pegasus smartphone sculpture at Mobile World Congress 2012 will help slay some competitors.

As the Chinese manufacturer pulled the wraps off what it calls the world's fastest smartphone, the Ascend D Quad, it also unveiled this striking statue outside the MWC venue in Spain.

Pegasus statue made from Huawei phones (photos)

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Crafted by London's Machine Shop, this likeness of Pegasus consists of 3,500 Huawei handsets and many supporting rods.

Creating the sculpture involved much cutting and soldering of iron rods (more than 650 yards), unpacking of phones, and sticky pads. It took 720 man-hours to make Pegasus, which is nearly 19 feet tall with a 16-foot wingspan.

CGI by visual effects firm Framestore in the vid below shows Pegasus in flight. Indeed, the sculpture's forelegs are uplifted and its wings are outstretched, as if the fantastic creature will take to the skies above Barcelona.

I wonder what monsters Greek hero Bellerophon would see fit to slay in today's world.