Get the most up to date Pointer on Mobile Phones:
Think the world can’t possibly accommodate any more smartphones? You think wrong.
Despite the fact that our planet presently includes even more distinct designs of smart phone than there are aesthetically recognizable snowflake types, we’ll be struck by a deluge of brand-new mobiles. Make a date in your diary for February 24, 2014, when the plastic-formers and die-casters of the world will release their next-generation designs at Mobile World Congress 2014.
MWC is the yearly mobile tech occasion where practically every significant phone hardware business displays its brand-new flagship models for the following spring/summer contract renewal market.
MWC 2014 no-shows
There have actually been a couple of exceptions, however. Samsung opted to show its Galaxy S4 at a separate event in 2013, while Sony attempted to obtain a running start on the competitors by unveiling its Xperia Z at January’s CES tech show last year instead.
The MWC 2013 event was everything about bigger displays and quad-core hardware. This year will have to do with even bigger displays and, as we’re currently seen from the LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy Round, there may be some interesting brand-new tech on display through bendable displays but more takes on the emerging smartwatch trend.
All of the significant manufacturers featured below are down to go to (with the exception of BlackBerry) and, thanks to the recent Big Bag explosion of Android, previously modest handset makers like ZTE and Huawei look readied to make the most sound with rafts of less expensive phones that still provide a respectable experience.
Nokia at MWC 2014
Windows Phone ares had a very triumphant couple of months, with Microsoft’s partnership with Nokia lastly flourishing and WP’s market share gradually increasing. IDC’s current numbers put it at 3.6 % (Q3 2013), compared with 2 % in Q3 2012 – a healthy 156 % increase.
People appear to be remembering that they used to like Nokia, and although the company ares released the likes of the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 2520 tablet in recent weeks, there may be more to come. Just recently, the Lumia 1820 and Lumia 2020 have been reported, with the latter most likely to be a new flagship 8-inch tablet.
We should also see the first hardware readied to introduce with the Windows Phone 8.1 Blue software pre-loaded at MWC 2014, an OS update that’s expected to enormously revamp WP’s alert system, enhance the multitasking alternatives and integrate a voice-based personal assistant function. Since everyone’s got to have a Siri function, even if no person ever utilizes it.
Samsung at MWC 2014
Rumor has it that Samsung is once again saving its Galaxy S5 announcement for a different occasion, much like it did in 2013 with the strange Galaxy S4 launch in New York. But that does not indicate its booth will be any less heaving with new stuff
The Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2 mega-tablet is expected to be on program, plus there are likely to be KitKat variations of older handsets and updates of the Galaxy Note 8.0 to thrill nerds with too. There’s likewise the possibility of something exceptionally random like the Galaxy Equipment 2 or possibly even a hint of a phone running the Tizen OS that Samsung’s been dealing with.
HTC at MWC 2014
HTC is a Mobile World Congress lender, constantly making use of the occasion to introduce its most recent models. In 2012 it unveiled the HTC One, the year prior to it was the HTC One S and the HTC One X.
This year we expect it to be a model presently understood under the development name of HTC M8, which rumors suggest will be a device with a 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and Android 4.4 as its launch OS beneath an updated HTC Sense 6.0 user interface.
This sounds rather like … many phones nowadays. Still, if HTC can whack in the same sort of top-drawer speakers and video camera as the HTC One, we will be getting it and eBaying last year’s design, as ever.
Huawei at MWC 2014
The Chinese phone maker is rumored to be preparing an update to the suitable Huawei Ascend P6 and is, rather unsurprisingly, sticking the stylish letter “S” on the end of the design name to represent that it’s newer and better. The Ascend P6S is stated to show up running a complete octa-core processor provided by MediaTek, which ought to get the core lovers pleased.
ZTE at MWC 2014
ZTE polarized phone fans at MWC 2013, disclosing the showy 5.7-inch Grand Memo and the odd little ZTE Open, running the Firefox OS.
It’s just recently revealed the little and economical Nubia Z5S and Z5S mini models, but reports suggest it’s a trick greater tier on the way – a 6.44-inch ZTE Nubia Z7 might be its honest “phablet” flagship and the one it wishes to shout about at MWC 2014
ZTE is also said to be preparing a smartwatch for release in 2014, however then so is everyone, so that’s barely news.
LG at MWC 2014
LG is back on the smartphone A-list thanks to its successes with the excellent Nexus 4 and the even more than adequate Nexus 5, both of which have motivated individuals to consider its own-brand efforts like the LG G2 more than they maybe might’ve done prior to Google restored its reputation.
Last year LG disclosed the Optimus G Pro and the upgraded inexpensive L series variety at MWC 2013, so we expect a comparable mixture of a high-end banger and a couple of cheaper hangers-on to appear in 2014.
There are two crucial LG rumors that might be solved at MWC (or earlier). LG is said to be Google’s hardware partner for an updated Nexus 10 tablet, plus it’s likewise recently registered the hallmark “Glasstic”– which might be some sort of Google Glass rival.
Sony at MWC 2014
With the Xperia Z1 only just introduced, we’d not forgive Sony for relaxing and simply making along a few those for individuals to use and some t-shirts to distribute. Surely it can not be preparing to release another flagship smartphone already
One thing we’re expecting to see is something along the lines of a Sony Xperia Z1S, a smaller version of 2013’s Z1 design. Taking your existing hero gadget and making it a bit smaller sized and more affordable is the cool thing to do.
Google at MWC 2014
Google is on the list of MWC 2014 exhibitors, although it’s most likely to spend the majority of its time and square video footage pressing the basic Android ethos and giving away sticker labels than in fact revealing any brand-new Nexus hardware.
That stated, we are anticipating a brand-new Nexus 10 to appear any day now, so if that one does not pop before Christmas, perhaps it can be conserved as an MWC headline-stealer to detract from the stacks of enhanced tablets that Samsung is expecteded to appear with.