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What to expect from this week’s Mobile World Congress 2014

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The Mobile World Congress is one of the largest mobile shows on earth. This is the place where most flagships are shown off, and new mobile devices pop up. This year’s MWC will kick off on February 24 and will be held in Barcelona, Spain.

So, what can we expect from Android’s major players? We’ll try to list down what we gathered from different reports so far.

Samsung

With all the rumors, it is almost certain that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S5 at its “Unpacked 5” event. Some say we are going to see a revamped TouchWiz UI, with flatter round icons and a visual design style.  I hope this happens because I feel that Samsung’s current icons are starting to look old.

If history is any indication, Samsung will most likely power the S5 with a high-end Snapdragon or Exynos processor. It will probably improve on the camera and the screen. Speaking of the screen, rumors are saying that it will have a “2K” resolution (thats a 2560×1440 pixels, with 560ppi). I don’t know if we can see the difference between a 1080p HD and a 2560 HD display in real life on a mobile device. But I’m sure Samsung will let us know. It does have an endless marketing budget.

There are also rumors pointing to a new Galaxy Gear 2. Reports are saying it will look different, and that it will be powered by Tizen, a Samsung backed OS.

Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear Neo

UPDATE: Samsung just unveiled 2 new smartwatches as I was writing this: The Galaxy Gear 2 and the Galaxy Gear Neo. Reports are saying that it will have 2 to 3 days of battery life, and will run Samsung-backed Linux-based OS, Tizen, rather than Android. While its not really a surprise, I wonder how this will affect Google and Samsung’s relationship with each other.

Sony

Sony has already launched its Xperia Z1 Compact in CES earlier this year. If the leaks are to be believed, Sony might unveil the D6503 “Siruis.” According to reports, the smartphone will have a 5.2 inch 1080p display, 3GB of RAM, 4K video recording, a 20.7MP back cam and a 2.1MP front cam. IMost likely the device will run Android 4.4 KitKat.

Photo from Xperiablog.net
Photo from Xperiablog.net

Sony might also unveil a new tablet. Leaks have pointed to a Xperia Z2 Tablet. It will most likely be water resistant, have a super thin 6.6mm body, and a Snapdragon 800 processor. According to @evleaks, the Xperia Tablet Z2 will have a 10.1 inch Triluminous display (1920×1200), a 2.3 GHz quad core Snapdragon 800 processor, 16GB of storage (+microSD), 3GB of RAM, 8MP back cam and 2MP up front and a 6000 mAh battery.

LG

LG has already announced some of its mobile before MWC (G Pro 2, G2 Mini, L Series III). The LG G Pro 2 will come with a 5.9 inch full HD IPS Plus LCD display (1080 x 1920, 373 ppi), a 2.26 quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 16 or 32 GB of storage (+microSD), 3GB of RAM, LTE-A, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, SlimPort, and microUSB port. It will also have the 13MP cam of the LG G Pro 2 with enhanced optical image stabilization (OIS+), and a 2.1 MP front cam. Video recording includes 4K UHD and 720p @ 120 fps. The phablet is powered by Android 4.4 KitKat and a 3,200mAh battery.

lg_g2_mini

Also, G2 Mini will make an appearance. Smarphone will either use a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 or a 1.7GHz  Nvidia Tegra 4i. Other specs include a 4-7-inch qHD display (540×960), 8GB of storage (+microSD), 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear cam, 1.3MP front cam, Wifi, Bluetooth 4, GPS, 4G support, and NFC (for the LTEvariant). The smartphone will be powered by Android 4.4 KitKat, and a 2,440mAh battery. While considered as only mid-range, the G2 Mini will have Andoid 4.4 KitKat out of the box.

Nokia

Nokia will probably launch the Nokia X (formerly Normandy). As previously bloggedthe smartphone (also known as Nokia X) will have a 4-inch display with 854 x 480 resolution, a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, microSD support, 5-megapixel camera, dual SIM support and Android 4.4 Kitkat. The Nokia X will have a Windows Phone looking tile based UI, no access to Google services and will use Bing (instead of Google) to search.

nokia-normandy-wp-ui

 HTC

HTC won’t be showing its M8 smartphone at MWC. It will have it’s own events in New York and London in late March.  It will also hold an event in China on Monday. Expect it’s new smartphones, the Desire 8 and the M8 (plus some wearables) by then.

gold_m8_leak

That’s it for now. I’m sure there are a lot more other things that will make its debut and wow us, but it remains to be seen what these will be. Asus, Huawei, ZTE and many others are there.

How about you guys? What are you most looking forward to in this year’s MWC?

 

 

 

Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

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