MWC 2013: Highlights of the Exhibition

Posted on the 26 February 2013 by Anna Peterson

Biggest players in the mobile industry were attracted to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress, which is the top event of the mobile industry. We give you a preview of what we can expect this year.

Huawei wants to conquer Europe

Behind the scene, Huawei is one of the largest suppliers of 3G network in the world, but as a smartphone brand they are hardly known to us. The Chinese company in 2013 has the ambition to become the world’s third largest smartphone manufacturer and we hope a lot of new things to see.

Yesterday, at MWC, Huawei has announced Ascend P2 which is the manufacturer’s latest smartphone. It uses Huawei’s own quad-core chip with 1.5 GHz clock speed, which is supported by 1GB of RAM. The device runs Android 4.1 and has a Gorilla Glass -protected 4.7-inch display with the now classic HD resolution. Ascend P2 will have a global launch in the second quarter of the year.

Nokia launches budget phones

Nokia had a big press on Monday with a focus on Windows Phones and cheap Asha series. Nokia shows off two budget-friendly Lumia models at MWC in Barcelona – Lumia 720 and Lumia 520. Lumia 720 has a screen of 4.3” combined with a dual-core Snapdragon S4 at 1GHz and a 6.7Mpx camera. Lumia 520 has a 4” screen, a dual core (older) Snapdragon at 1GHz and a camera of 5Mpx.

Asus announces the PadFone Infinity

The latest model of the Asus PadFone series is called Infinity: a mobile with LTE, quad-core 600 Snapdragon chip and a five-inch LCD screen with full HD resolution and 440ppi. Just like the previous models in the series, Infinity PadFone transforms into a tablet through a special accessory. Tablet shell has a 10.1-inch display with a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution and 400 nits of brightness.

PadFone Infinity uses one of Qualcomm’s latest and most powerful chips: the quad-core Snapdragon 600 with graphics part Adreno 320 and 1.7 GHz clock speed. Two gigabytes of RAM is standard for new android telephones and the built-in storage memory is 32GB or 64GB depending on model and the device supports LTE.

Samsung launched Galaxy Note 8

Samsung unveiled its new mini tablet Galaxy Note 8.0 at the Mobile World Congress. An 8-inch device that launched as a convenient tablet that you can easily take with you in your pocket. A tablet with 8” display and call function. The resolution of the screen is 1280×800 pixels, and the device weighs 338 grams. The processor is a quad-core Exynos Quad at 1.6 GHz, RAM is 2GB, and the screen has the same resolution (1280 × 800 pixels) as the original Note and Note 10.1, a resolution that is hardly impressive in the current situation.

HTC remains silent?

HTC stole last year’s show at MWC with the new One X and One S. But this year, their new flagship smartphone, the HTC One, is already presented at a private press event on 19 February in London.

Expansion at Sony

Sony has also its flagship for 2013, the Xperia Z, which is already presented at the Consumer Electronics Show last month. Sony’s newest tablet, Xperia Tablet Z, has previously only been available in Japan but now Sony announced that the thin tablet will be released world-wide in Q2.

Tablet Z is of course Sony’s tablet to complement Sony Xperia Z. Both devices have much in common. Tablet Z is a slim 10.1″ tablet with a high resolution (1920 × 1200). Just like the Xperia Z, it uses the screen of Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine 2, which ensures good picture quality. It will be available in both WiFi and 4G version and just like the Xperia Z it will have IP55 and IP57 classification, which means it has protection from dust and water.

LG promises breakthrough

LG promises a breakthrough at MWC and throws words like “premium”, “stylish”, “powerful” and “innovative”. Although LG has already revealed many of the devices that the company will bring to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, LG has probably saved the biggest announcement for the end. The mobile phones we’ve seen so far are Full HD “phablet” Optimus Pro G, L2-series and Optimus F5 and F7.

One Touch Idol X – colourful Full HD mobile from Alcatel

Full HD gang has received contributions in the form of Alcatel One Touch Idol X, which has been announced during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The device’s most prominent feature is a 5-inch display with Full HD resolution (1080 x 1920 pixels and 440PPI).

The manufacturer mentions a quad-core 1.2 GHz processor, without specifying what platform it belongs to. The rest of the hardware includes an 8MP camera, 16GB internal storage, memory card slot and a 2000mAh battery. The device is very thin, only 7.1 millimetres.