The Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest events in the tech world calendar. With much of the technological innovation in the consumer world coming through mobile technologies, the exhibition is a real glimpse of the future.
Wearable technology seems to be the prevalent theme of this year’s exhibition. Samsung have put wearable tech at the heart of their development ethic, and brands like Sony look to be following suit.
Samsung’s ‘Gear Fit’ range looks set to be the market leader in fitness trinkets. Its bracelets feature a futuristic wrap-around screen which monitors your heart rate, acts as a pedometer, and can even compile playlists for your music.
The new Samsung Galaxy S5 will pride itself on features such as its heart rate monitor, and it seems that fitness is a primary field for wearable technology to flourish. Give it a year and you won’t be able to go to the gym without seeing monitoring bracelets galore.
One particularly interesting piece of design came in the form of the Asus Padfone Mini. The Asus Padfone Mini is a phone which slides into the back of a tablet, effectively expanding the screen.
Combinations of technology and variations of a theme are often what drives the consumer technology industry. We’ve seen tablets that attach to a keyboard and the like, but a phone which attaches neatly to a tablet seems like good sense for anyone who demands a small phone but rues the lack of a big screen.
The tablet market seems to have frozen slightly since the Christmas rush for the new iPad Air and the Google Nexus 7. The Nexus 7 set the standards for 7” quality and value, and it appeared unchallenged for a long time.
The Huawei Media Pad X1 should provide a worthy adversary with its spectacular pixilation rates and huge processor. With Huawei looking to steal the lead, the other big brands will be gearing up to launch their new 7” tablets so the Huawei needs to be excellent.
The Sony Xperia Z2 could be the new benchmark smartphone with its excellent camera options, including 4K recording capabilities. You may not be able to watch the results in 4K on your phone, but tether it to a 4K TV for a real treat.
