In just over a month, Mobile World Congress
2013 begins, and with it will come an abundance of new smartphone and
tablet announcements. Here’s what we’re expecting the major
manufacturers to bring with them.
Have you heard of
Mobile World Congress? If you’re into gadgets, chances are you Mobile
World Congress begins on February 25, and as CES 2013 didn’t provide quite the smartphone overload
we hoped for, it’s probably going to be one of the busiest shows for
several years. Due to a slightly quieter than usual CES, many of the
devices rumored may now turn up at MWC, so let’s compare what we thought
was going to happen in Vegas, with what we think will happen in
Barcelona.
Samsung
As far as mobile phones are concerned, Samsung didn’t bother announcing any at CES, leaving Verizon to talk about the Ativ Odyssey and merely sending out a press release for the Galaxy S2 Plus.
Rumors spread of the Galaxy S4 making its debut in Vegas, but that was
almost certainly never going to happen and what’s more, it almost
certainly won’t be at Mobile World Congress either.
The Samsung flexible phone did get its moment in the spotlight, but
only as a prototype on stage during the company’s keynote presentation.
Known as Youm, the device was shown running Windows Phone 8 and not
Android as many expected, but it was very much a work-in-progress and
won’t go on sale anytime soon.
So, what’s left for MWC? We’re still waiting on a 7-inch Galaxy Note
tablet and a 1080p smartphone/tablet hybrid, which were both possible
for CES, and they could be joined by the mid-range GT-iS6810 Galaxy Frame and a new version of the dual-SIM Galaxy Young Duos handset. The world’s first Tizen phone could also be at the show, although the rumor suggests if it is announced, it’ll be for Japan only.
LG
LG made no secret of the fact it was waiting for MWC to unveil its 2013 smartphone range, so what can we expect? LG’s VP of marketing said it would be bringing out “tier one” – which means flagship – phones with “various screen sizes” at MWC and throughout 2013.
Whether LG will announce more than one high-end smartphone isn’t
clear, but the Optimus G2 is a candidate, as is a tablet/smartphone
hybrid with a 5.5-inch, 1080p resolution screen. LG’s fashionable L
Series range is due for an update, having been announced at the show
last year, and the Korean firm may also re-enter the tablet market.
Nokia
Nokia didn’t announce any new products at CES, so if it has anything
in the works, it’s sure to be bringing them to Mobile World Congress.
Perhaps the most talked about device Nokia could launch is a Windows RT tablet,
the specs of which are said to include a 10-inch screen and a
Snapdragon processor. Microsoft needs all the help it can get to push
Windows RT, and it would probably welcome a stylish tablet with Nokia’s
name attached.
An recent interview with Nokia’s head of imaging technologies may prove to be well-timed, as it revealed it has some “very cool” new PureView camera technology in the works.
It’s worth remembering the 808 PureView celebrates its first birthday
at the show. As for its Lumia range, it seems a little early for the
refreshed 920, codename Catwalk,
to be announced, as it’s a model Nokia may save for its own event later
this year. CEO Stephen Elop is listed on the official Mobile World
Congress site as a confirmed keynote speaker.
Huawei
After Huawei announced the Ascend D2, Ascend Mate, and the Ascend W1
at CES, it would be reasonable to expect the company to give Mobile
World Congress a miss; however this isn’t the case at all. A Huawei
executive has said it’ll be launching two phones at the Barcelona show,
the first being a successor to the Ascend P1 with a thin, metallic
chassis.
The second could be the Ascend W2, another Windows Phone 8 device but this time with a higher specification. The W2 has been leaked before
and its potential spec list includes a 4.5-inch HD screen, a dual-core
processor and an 8-megapixel camera, all wrapped up in a 7.7mm thick
body. Additionally, we’re hoping to hear some news on the international
release for the Ascend D2 and Mate, as they’re current only slated for
China.
Sony
Sony is one of the few companies which had a strong smartphone
line-up at CES, however it only really announced one phone, with the
Xperia ZL being a variation on the Xperia Z. It’s possible Sony will use
Mobile World Congress as a launchpad for the remainder of its 2013
range.
Phones such as the C530X, codename HuaShan and the C550X, codename Dogo,
are prime candidates for launch. Both run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and
the C550X could be another Sony device powered by a quad-core processor.
ZTE
Like Huawei, ZTE had a good CES 2013 line-up but will also be
bringing more phones to Mobile World Congress. While it hasn’t be as
explicit as Huawei regarding its plans, another couple of big-screen
devices have been rumored, named the ZTE Grand Memo – with a 5.7-inch screen and a quad-core processor – and the Nubia Z7,
boasting a massive 6.3-inch screen. The Z7 has some other big numbers
attached to it, with talk of a 16-megapixel camera, 4GB of RAM, and a
2560 x 1440 pixel resolution. We’ll believe it when we see it.
HTC
As HTC was completely silent for CES, we’re expecting great things from it at MWC. The M7
has been the subject of much speculation over the past weeks, and the
new flagship phone – potentially boasting another 5-inch, 1080p
resolution screen – is likely to take pride and place at the show. The
new phone could be accompanied by the announcement of HTC Sense 5, too.
Last year’s Mobile World Congress saw the introduction of the One X
and several of its cheaper siblings, so the M7 could bring with it a
selection of other phones as part of a brand-new collection for 2013, as
hinted at in an extensive codename leak recently. HTC could also use the show to reveal its new brand identity.
Research in Motion
Mobile World Congress will begin less than a month after RIM
officially launches BlackBerry 10, and should the leaked release date
prove accurate, it’ll end just as the phones go on sale. The press
coverage provided at MWC, plus the chance for attendees to try out the
retail devices just ahead of launch, could be seen as critical publicity
for RIM at a very important time.
This makes it all the more surprising to read rumors
the company won’t be attending the show in any capacity. RIM was there
last year, when it had nothing to announce except PlayBook OS 2.0, so
for it to shun the show when it actually has something to shout about
(and in which many people are interested) is very odd.
At the time of writing, Research in Motion isn’t listed as one of
MWC’s confirmed exhibitors on the official event website. There’s also
nothing on the company’s own event planner either, but then neither is
anything past November 2012, so one can’t take this as confirmation just
yet.
All The Rest
Acer, Asus, Fujitsu, and Alcatel should all have new hardware – some
of it already seen at CES – on display, while Intel, Qualcomm, and
Nvidia will also be there to talk mobile processors. Apple won’t be at
the show officially, but members of its staff will undoubtedly be
wandering the show floor.
Mobile World Congress begins on February 25 and runs until February 28 in Barcelona, Spain.
