The most stunning smartphones at Mobile World Congress were not even announced at the show; both Sony and HTC unveiled their new flagship phones before the week began in Barcelona, Spain. Once the show got underway, their handsets were joined by the latest from Nokia, ZTE, Huawei and Asus, among others. With Samsung and Apple both saving their next smartphone launches for their own press events, second-tier smartphone makers had the spotlight to themselves last week.
Most of the Asian manufacturers were ready with a “first,” a “fastest” or another superlative LTE phone. HTC calls its HTC One a “new standard” because of an app that pushes content to users on a constantly changing homescreen with “ultrapixel” resolution. The phone also doubles as a TV remote, as does the other ultra high-end offering that was on display last week: Sony’s Xperia Z. The Xperia Z is claimed to be the world’s first fully waterproof phone. While water resistance may not be something users will appreciate every day, the phone’s 443-ppi display probably is. Sony demoed the phone last week for RCR Wireless News.
Huawei says its new flagship, the Ascend P2, is the world’s fastest smartphone. It bases that claim on the phone’s Category 4 Balong LTE modem. Huawei, which makes chips and networking gear as well as devices, created the Balong modem itself. The Chinese giant, which has become the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, plans to follow up the Ascend P2 with a super slim smartphone later this year.
Asus and ZTE launched products that aim to bridge the gap between smartphones and tablets. Asus launched the PadFone Infinity, which like its PadFone predecessor will slide neatly into a docking device that displays its content on a larger screen. The docking device also has three-times the battery life of the phone. ZTE packs a 3,200 mAh battery into its new Grand Memo, and some versions of the phone will ship with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 800 processor. But the Grand Memo’s most striking feature is its monster 5.7-inch display, placing the device squarely in the “phablet” category.
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At the other end of size spectrum was the Nokia 105, a 1.5-inch screen entry-level feature phone that will sell for about $20 in emerging markets. The Finnish company that once dominated the mobile phone business had four new offerings at MWC: the Nokia 301, the Nokia Lumia 520, and at the high end, the Nokia Lumia 720. The Lumia 720 is a Windows 8 phone, and seems designed to prove that Windows is not just for work. The smartphone features a “ClearBlack” filter that will make it easier to see the screen outdoors, and when the sun goes down users can snap pictures of their nighttime fun with the Lumia 720’s f/1.9 aperture camera, designed for low light conditions.
Samsung is saving its new flagship, the Galaxy S4, for a March 14 launch. However, the world’s largest smartphone maker did make an impact at Mobile World Congress by walking away with the GSM Association’s “smartphone of the year” award and its “device manufacturer of the year” award.
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