HOT GADGETS SERVED BY MWC-2013

Huawei Ascend P2

Huawei has a fetish when it comes to the MWC and announcing firsts. Like last year they gave us the world’s slimmest smartphone and the world’s fastest smartphone in the Ascend P1S and the Ascend D Quad respectively. This time was no different. The Chinese manufacturers announced what they claimed is the “world’s fastest smartphone” – the P2. Priced at Rs 28,000, the P2 will bring a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 display with 1GB RAM, 13MP back camera, 1.3MP front camera and 16GB of internal storage. The P2 won’t be a full HD smartphone, but the human eye can’t tell the difference between 720p and full HD on a screen smaller than 5 inches, so hush… Huawei have taken a page out of Nokia’s book, integrating a Magic Touch feature that allows you to use the handset while wearing gloves. What makes the P2 the world’s fastest phone though is the CAT 4 LTE that opens the door to 4G speeds – 150Mbps. Move over 3G.Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

MWC barely got underway and Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note 8.0. You could call it the elder brother of the S3. A rather small tablet, the 8.0 is the median between the Note II and Note 10.1. Marginally lighter than the Nexus 7, the 8.0 looks set to take on the iPad mini. An 8-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution and a 5MP back camera does not make it outstanding, but then again Samsung is successful because of their features and capabilities. The Note 8.0 comes with a TV Discovery app to control your TV and entertainment system, which means you won’t have to search for that dammed remote. If only they come with a portable fridge and a restroom, you’d never have to move again.

 Nokia Lumia 720

Nokia’s all but readying itself to take over the Asian market, and the introduction of the Lumia 720 and 520 proves that. Of the four handsets launched by Nokia at the MWC, the 720 is by far the poshest of the lot. The 720, or the “920 Lite” as many call it, focuses on the social bug within you. Carrying flashy looks much like its predecessors, the 720 comes with a 6.7MP Carl Zeiss optics camera that can capture low-light images with relative ease (those night club images are looking really good now). The 720 is also accompanied with a new filter called Glam Me that allows users to whiten teeth, widen eyes and soften skin. With a profile of 9mm, it now is the thinnest Windows 8 device in the Nokia line-up. The 4.3-inch device carries enough resolution to make other devices look substandard. The 720 adds a new microSD card slot up to 64GB. That combines with the 8GB internal memory and the complimentary 7GB via SkyDive to provide for more than ample memory space aboard this Nokia.

Firefox OS

Mozilla, at a press conference at MWC, presented the Firefox OS. Mozilla now hopes to disrupt the duopoly shared by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Similar to its open browser, the Firefox OS will be an open operating system wherein, developers can develop and publish mobile apps as if it were an HTML5 web app. Designed for developing markets, the Firefox OS will be available to consumers in Brazil, Columbia and other countries who haven’t adopted smartphones yet. Huawei, ZTE, LG and Alcatel have already released low-power smartphones that run Mozilla’s OS, and while it may take a while for the OS to break into the large market, the initial UI does look promising. Sony have announced plans to launch a Firefox powered device in 2014, this could just well be the stepping stone Firefox needs.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

Sony is one of the many companies (read HTC and LG ) that is looking to compete with Samsung and Apple in the smartphone sphere. Sony’s newly announced Xperia Tablet Z is easily one of the highlights of the MWC. The design for the tab is similar to that of its Smartphone sibling – the Xperia Z. Sporting a 10.1-inch LED 1900x1200 display, it’s rather easy to see that the Tablet Z has better contrast and viewing angles than its smaller counterpart. The 6.9mm thick tablet will be available in both, black and white. A crazily astonishing feature of the Xperia Tablet Z is its weight. At 495 grams, the tablet is just a tad heavier than a feather, yet it feels solid in your hands thanks to its build quality. Being waterproof, Sony more than welcomes you to use your Xperia Tablet Z in your hot tub to watch your favourite, er, movies. The Tablet Z will be made available by the end of this quarter.
 ZTE Grand Memo

With the Samsung Galaxy Note II stealing major headlines, ZTE is determined not to be too far behind. The Chinese phone manufacturer has unleashed the Grand Memo upon us, blurring the lines between phones and tablets. The phablet shows off a 720p, 5.7-inch corner to corner display, which essentially means you’ll need new trousers with deep pockets, literally. Courtesy of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with quad-core Krait CPUs, the Grand Memo is more than capable to deliver high-end performance. The 8.5mm thick device runs on Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will be available in the second quarter of 2013. Get that gameplan ready, for the Chinese aren’t far behind.
 

LG Optimus G Pro

Announced in January the LG Optimus G Pro is basically the LG Optimus G on steroids. The G Pro comes with a 5.5-inch full HD IPS display which delivers 440ppi, meaning everything looks spectacular. The plastic exterior makes the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean powered phablet a slippery customer. Though the features offered by this 1.7GHz Quad-core behemoth will make you hold onto it like it is Kate Hudson’s lingerie.  The G Pro lets you shrink a video and push it aside while you work on other apps simultaneously. The Pro also lets you control the transparency of a window letting you see what’s behind it. Boasting a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2.1MP front camera, not to mention a Google Chrome browser and 4G network capabilities, the Optimus 4 Pro provides serious competition to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and the Sony Xperia Z.