MWC has concluded in Barcelona, but not before unveiling a variety of cool new gadgets and smartphones. We round up the devices that attracted the most interest during the event.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
This one from Samsung had been on the cards ever since Apple launched iPad Mini and Nexus 7 sold out on Google Play. Samsung closed the gap between the 5 inch Galaxy Note 2 and the 10.1 inch Note tablet. Galaxy Note was popular right from day one because of the seamless stylus (or S Pen, as Samsung calls it) experience and fluent work flow. 8 inches is a good workspace, and Note 8 has better hardware under the hood as compared to the 10.1 inch Galaxy Note slate. The RAM and the screen resolution on Note 8 seem outclass iPad Mini, but the Samsung slate looks all plastic and a bit too shiny and slippery. Read more about Note 8 comparison with iPad Mini.
LG Optimus G Pro
We certainly saw this one coming, but the actual looks more impressive than we anticipated. The patent LG display technology ‘in-plane switching’ LCD makes the 5.5 inch screen stunning to look at. Add to that a wild 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 2 GB RAM and 32 GB storage, and you’ve got a mighty beast of a tablet on your hands. Optimus G Pro compares favorably with the top end devices available in the market. But that said, it doesn’t really offer anything unique and original.
Huawei Ascend P2
Huawei is trying to become the next Samsung by pitching smartphones in all categories. Ascend P2 is the Chinese heavyweight’s bid to foray into the top slot of the market. Of course, it doesn’t quite stand up to iPhone, Galaxy or Nexus yet, but is surely a respectable gadget running on a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor. A 4.7 inch 1280×720 display, 1GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, 13 megapixel camera and LTE 4 support make Ascend P2 an ambitious piece of kit from Huawei. A notable feature is the battery life maximizing software that Huawei claims it has put in there to stretch usage time. Users trying the P2 at Barcelona find the stealthy Chinese device nice to hold and the controls watery smooth.
Asus FonePad
Asus was the collaborator behind Google Nexus 7, and it has used the experience to make its own 7 inch tablet. The Taiwanese manufacturer is known for the innovative features that it puts into its devices. The earlier PadFone was a combination of a smartphone and a tablet, and you could slide the 4 inch smartphone into a slot at the back of the tablet for charging and integration. This time, Asus has done away with the smaller device and has put the calling feature in the tablet itself. So you can make calls and do everything that a tablet does with Asus FonePad. A 1280×800 resolution display driven by a 1.2 GHz Atom processor. A 1 GB RAM and 3 megapixel camera do not exactly put FonePad in the top slot, but it’s a very practical device for its amazing price of $ 249.
HTC One
Announced a week before the MWC, HTC One was the most impressive gadget seen at the Barcelona mobile fest this year. Packed with Ultrapixel camera and some outstanding specs, HTC One is a smartphone that challenges the very best in class. HTC has blown a new soul into its Sense interface, making the UI look starkly different from stock Android devices. HTC One is currently positioned with iPhone 5, Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3. But the domination may not last long with Samsung Galaxy S4 entering the arena on March 14.