The best smartphones, tablets and wearables of Mobile World Congress

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The best smartphones, tablets and wearables of Mobile World Congress

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the biggest annual events in the tech calendar and the place where nearly all mobile device vendors (except Apple) come to make product announcements and show off their latest wares.

This year's MWC saw the launch of a huge number of smartphones, wearables, tablets and other gadgets, both expected and unexpected.

Here we round up the biggest announcements from the conference to help you keep ahead of this year's tech trends.

MWC 2015: Smartphones

Smartphone launches are always the main order of the day at MWC with dozens of new devices launched, and this year was no exception.

Out of the 14 companies that announced new devices at MWC 2015, the most significant came from Samsung, HTC, Microsoft, Blackberry and Silent Circle.

Samsung

Samsung launched the long-anticipated Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge at MWC this year.

The two new flagship phones both feature a 5.1in quad-HD Super AMOLED display, octa-core Exynos processors, 3GB RAM and up to 128GB storage.

What really generated interest in these smartphones, however, was the Galaxy S6 Edge's double-curved screen, which extends the screen onto the edges of the phone, hence the name. This feature is put to use providing shortcuts to favourite contacts, displaying colour coded illumination when a favourite contact is calling, acting as a bedside clock, so you don't get dazzled turning the full screen on, and more.

Definitely two of the big hitters from this year's MWC.

HTC

The other flagship phone release this year was the HTC One M9. The metal unibody phone has a number of small, incremental improvements on its predecessor, the HTC One M8, but, they make a significant difference in the real world.

The M9 is less slippery, has a scratch-resistant coating on the rear and, a much-improved 20-megapixel camera, and a Super LCD3 display with sapphire glass.

All in all, another good flagship phone.

Microsoft

There will be no flagship smartphones from Microsoft until after the launch of Windows 10, but the company still found time to squeeze out two mid-range Lumias at MWC.The Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL, which are only the second phones to carry the Microsoft Lumia branding, come with a 5in and 5.7in screen respectively, as well as an 8-megapixel camera on the 640 and 13-megapixel camera on the XL.

Both have 1GB RAM, dual-SIM support and 4G, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.

BlackBerry

Yes, BlackBerry really made it onto the list, not because the company's latest phone, the Leap, was the flashiest, most powerful or even the biggest smartphone launched, but it does mark a possible change in direction for the company.

Despite CEO John Chen saying not one year ago that the company's focus was going to be "very keyboard-centric" for 2014 and 2015, there's not so much as a qwerty in sight with the Leap.

BlackBerry said the Leap is targeted at "young mobile professionals" and, while it stopped short of using the "millennials" buzzword, Ron Louks, president of devices and emerging solutions at BlackBerry said it was influenced by "trends like BYOD".

Unsurprisingly, the company talked up its security credentials, which is apparently why the Leap is so good for this demographic and these types of trends.

While we'll be interested to see if the Leap can turn around BlackBerry's fortunes, we won't be holding our breath.

Silent Circle (Blackphone)

Silent Circle, creator of the Blackphone, has released a second ultra-secure smartphone, the Blackphone 2.

The handset has a faster 64-bit octa-core processor, a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel 5.5in screen, 3GB of memory, a huge 3,060mAH battery, and expandable microSD storage. It retains the same high-level of encryption and privacy both of data in transit and data at rest as its predecessor, making it an invaluable item for the paranoid and ultra security conscious among us.

Also ran

While Samsung, Microsoft, HTC, Blackbery and Silent Circle are our Best in Show choices, it's also worth checking out the announcements made by Lenovo, Sony, Huawei, LG, ZTE, Meizi, Archos, Alcatel, and Acer.

Next: The best tablets from MWC 2015

MWC 2015: Tablets

There were only a handful of tablets launched this year, notably from Sony, Lenovo and Nokia (yes, Nokia).

Nokia

Ok, so we're cheating a bit here. The Nokia N1 - the first device to be released by the Finnish firm since it sold its mobile division to Microsoft - was announced at Slush Conference in Helsinki back in November. However, this was its first appearance at a major international trade show. GSM Arena has more information on the device, as well as a hands on video.

While the N1 has been available in China for some time, there's still no UK release date, although Nokia promises it will, eventually, arrive on our shores too.

Sony

The Xperia Z4 Tablet was the real star of Sony's MWC show.

 

 

The 10in tablet is slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, measuring 6.1mm thick and 392g from the Wi-Fi version. It has an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 2K, 2,560 x 1,600 IPS display, and will be water and dust resistant to IP68. It will run Android 5 and be available this spring.

Lenovo

Lenovo showed off not one, not two, but three tablets at MWC this year - the TAB 2 A10-70, TAB 2 A8, and the ideapad MIIX 300.

The two TAB 2 tablets both run on Android, although the 10in A10-70 runs 5 Lollipop, whereas the 8in A8 runs 4.4 JellyBean. Both come with a rear camera, have a MediaTek quad-core processor, have Wi-Fi and 4G capabilities and measure 8.9mm thick.

The A10-70 is set to launch in June, while the A8 should go on sale in April.

Next: the best smartwatches from MWC 2015

MWC 2015: Smartwatches

Pebble

Pebble had two bites of the MWC cherry this year. On the Wednesday before MWC, the company launched it's first colour-screen smartphone, the Pebble Time. Then, on the second day of MWC it launched Pebble Time Steel, which is more-or-less the same thing, just prettier.

 

 

It's great to see one of the pioneers of modern smartwatches come into its own with a device that has a full colour screen, up to 10 days of battery life (according to Pebble) and, frankly, looks good.

Huawei

Huawei stole the show with its smartwatch, which it has called simply "Watch".

The device runs on Android Wear, has health tracking and notification (as is pretty much standard now), and Google Now. It's also damn good looking.

Android Police has more details on the device. We expect it to be available here in June. 

LG

LG launched two smartwatches at MWC 2015, the Urbane and the Urbane LTE.

Both are as much about form as function, continuing the trend for smartwatches becoming fashion items, rather than just bits of tech. That's not to say they're weak under the bonnet, though - both feature a Snapdragon 400 SoC, 410mAh battery, and circular 1.3in P-OLED display. More information on both is available in our hands on review.

MWC 2015: Activity Trackers

Smartwatches weren't the only wearables on offer at MWC, there were also a number of activity trackers launched by some well-known and less well-known names.

HTC

As well as a new flagship phone, HTC launched fitness band Grip.

The device works with sportswear firm Under Armour's Record System tracking technology to help keep tabs on runs and workouts.

What's more, it's compatible with other trackers via Bluetooth 3 and 4, which makes up for any capabilities it's missing. It's also compatible with iOS and Android, meaning it's competing with the likes of Fitbit and Jawbone, rather than the Samsung Gear Fit, for example.

Huawei

Huawei introduced two activity trackers at MWC 2015, the TalkBand 2 and TalkBand N1. The former is a typical wrist-worn tracker that has cross-platform compatibility with Android 4 and above and iOS 7 and above.

The latter is a bit more off beat - it's a set of Bluetooth headphones that double as an activity tracker (although no one's not quite sure how) and a necklace. Yes, a necklace.

Both the TalkBand 2 and TalkBand N1 will be available in the UK, but no firm date has been set.

Haier

Haier is a German white goods manufacturer that has started to dabble in consumer electronics. Despite its name, the Haier Smartwatch is an activity tracker for children and the elderly. Both devices help parents or carers keep an eye on the wearer, including setting up a "geofence" and, perhaps a little creepily, activating the microphone remotely.

Sadly, there's no details on release date or pricing just now, so you will have to wait to be able to spy on your kids/grandparents.

This article originally appeared at pcpro.co.uk

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