The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from all over the world. Here is a gist of the day one from the MWC 2014 that commenced from 24th. The day one of MWC 2014 witnessed the announcements of new smartphones, budget mobiles, tablets and accessories, here is a wrap up of day one.
Nokia introduced the X
Nokia unveiled its first Android handset, named the X. Experts believe that though it was introduced as an Android but actually while it runs apps from Google’s OS , it is still heavily skewed towards Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft. (as is seen with the Lumia Windows Phone range)
The X is loaded with Microsoft’s Skype, OneDrive and Outlook plus along with Nokia’s HERE maps and MixRadio. The handsets are budget to mid-range rather than high end
Nokia 220 and Nokia Asha 230
Nokia announced two new budget phones, dubbed Nokia 220 and Nokia Asha 230, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.The Finnish giant announced that the Nokia 220 feature phone will be available in select markets at 29 euros (excluding taxes or operator subsidies), which translates to roughly Rs. 2,500, while the Nokia Asha 230 has been priced at 45 euros (Rs. 3,900 approximately).
Notably, both the Nokia 220 and Nokia Asha 230 have been launched in two variants: single SIM and dual-SIM. Nokia has also listed the Nokia 220 Dual SIM and Nokia Asha 230 Dual SIM on its India official site.
HTC’s new Desire-d
HTC has revamped its Desire range with new 816 and 610 models.
While the 816 is said to have a 5.5in screen and 610 has 4.7in screen, they’re nearer to being so-called Phablets rather than phones but they are a promising product. The 816 also boasts of a 13MP camera. Both are naturally 4G ready and are expected due out in April and May.
Sony launches the Z2 tablet
Sony’s new Z2 smartphone has found a sibling in the Z2 tablet. Both were announced on the 24th Feb and the mobile is said to be the first to feature Digital Noise Cancelling Technology which assures extremely clear calls.
It has a 5.2in display and apparently is also waterproof and dust-resistant, like the tablet, which is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It sports a 10.1in screen and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with a 2.3GHz quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM.
Samsung launches new Galaxy S5
As I had already mentioned in my previous article the technology giant Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S5 smartphone at the Mobile World Congress.
Ford’s automated driving car
Ford announced its automated research car at MWC. The vehicle is going to be launched to create motors that drive us around!
Ford mentioned that this car scans the area, calculating 2.5m measurements every second, to ensure it knows how far the car is away from other objects.
YOGA from Lenovo
An updated YOGA tablet from Lenovo was shown off with a full HD screen and 8MP rear camera. Though it still runs the older 4.3 version of Android It has had a change of some features.
The YOGA Tablet 10 HD+ is its official name and it comes with new apps for sharing, syncing and staying secure on the move. It is expected to be out for sale in the month of April.
Huawei’s Ascend-s
Huawei the Chinese firm showed off their new seven inch tablet called the MediaPad X1 which is just 7.18mm thin, it also showcased its Ascend G6 4G handset.
Intel’s new processors
Intel did not launch a phone, or a tablet. But it launched a new processor on the 1st day of MWC 2014. The 64-bit Intel Atom Processor is its new processor and it is designed exclusively for mobile devices and aims to deliver the best-in-class battery life. This shows just how far we’ve come and how things are certain to get even faster, even quicker.
Along with all the announcements of the above mentioned products Facebook’s 29-year-old billionaire founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke on the opening day of the Mobile World Congress. Zuckerberg spoke about why he decided to buy Whatsapp for $19 billion.He described it as a “great company” which was a “great fit” for Facebook.
He left the stage amidst rapturous applause. Without doubt, the main theme emerging from his speech was his vision to connect the world to the internet. He also spoke on the Snowden spying allegations.
For more updates on the MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2014 keep visiting decoding.
-Zeenat
