Upwardly mobile technology
Melissa York talks you through what to expect from the big-hitters at this year’s
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
THE TECH world will gather on Monday in eager anticipation as some of the biggest players in portable technology unveil their latest creations at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014.
The four-day conference in Barcelona, currently in its 26th year, is a prime opportunity for tech companies to whip up hype for products they’ve kept shrouded in secrecy for months, if not years. Apple notoriously doesn’t show up to trade shows so it’s a real chance for its rivals to show what they can do. Here, we’ve assembled all the rumours circulating ahead of this year’s show.
Samsung Galaxy S5
The iPhone’s main competitor
After disappointing sales of the S4 (it kept pace with, rather than surpassed, the S3’s sales), Samsung feels it has everything to prove with its successor. The biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world has promised to reveal all during its “Unpacked 5” event at MWC which was teased on Twitter and widely assumed to be heralding the next Galaxy S model. Rumours suggest the S5 will be bigger than the S4 at 5.25in, with a QuadHD 2560×1400 resolution display and a top-of-the-range 16 megapixel camera. Tech fans are also expecting to see the S5 available in two varieties of casing, metal and plastic, with added biometric functions such as iris recognition and a fingerprint scanner a la the iPhone 5S. It’s also expected to cost in the region of £550.
HTC “M8” One 2
No fingerprint sensor but a 3D video camera?
The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturers will have to knock it out of the park with its next smartphone if it wants to beat the critically-lauded HTC One. In the early stages, it was codenamed M7 and its new offering is codenamed M8 so fans are hoping this is the real deal. HTC has not revealed a name for the follow-up yet but HTC One 2 is the current favourite. Whatever it’s called, the phone is reported to run Android 4.4 KitKat, with a Snapdragon 400 processor. Leaks suggest the display will be at least 5in, with no buttons below the screen. It’s also thought to have two camera lenses for improved focus and, incredibly, 3D video.
Nokia “Normandy” X
Breaking into the emerging markets
Microsoft owns Nokia’s mobile division and its successful Lumia range has been the product of this happy marriage. But rumour has it that Nokia will unveil its own, Android-supported mobile at their MWC press conference. Codenamed Normandy, the phone will be cheap and aimed at emerging smartphone markets like India. It’s expected to have a low-end spec to match, with a Snapdragon S4 processor, 51MB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 3 megapixel camera. Nokia has revealed a green graphic ahead of the conference with an embedded “X”, which has sparked rumours about its name. Some suggest the cross could also herald a crossover between a Windows Phone and an Android to create a new species of smartphone that showcases Microsoft software such as OneDrive.
LG G Pro 2
High-quality photography on the go
Tech reporters are eager to get their hands on the LG G Pro 2 at MWC after the company’s announcement last week at its base in South Korea that its new model will replace the Optimus G Pro. The phone’s rumoured to have a whopping 6in display – bringing the phone into phablet territory – with high quality 1080p resolution. Other reports suggest it will run on a quadcore processor with 3GB of RAM and a fingerprint scanner. But its camera is really out to impress with 13 megapixels and a burst mode that conflates 20 shots in one image. The G Pro 2 is also rumoured to shoot ultra HD 4K video footage in slow motion.
BlackBerry “Jakarta” Z3
BlackBerry focuses on low-end market
BlackBerry announced in December that its next phone would be a collaboration with Chinese firm Foxconn. It also hinted that the phone, codenamed Jakarta, would be aimed at the emerging markets with an early 2014 release date. Could BlackBerry unveil it at MWC? Fans think the show is the perfect time to unveil the rumoured BlackBerry Z3, a new touchscreen phone that would serve as a cheaper alternative to the Z230. It’s rumoured to have a dual-core processor, 5in display with a fairly low resolution 960×540 pixel screen, 1.5GB of RAM and a 5 megapixel camera on the back.