At the end of this month will be Mobile World Congress, the largest mobile technology dedicated trade show in the world. It will take place between February 27th and 1st of March in Barcelona. Year by year, this event has provided us with product launches and news from the growing world of mobile technology. Among the innumerable lot of rumors and official announcements, we have picked the most anticipated debuts for this big event. For better organization, we’ve put them into different categories. Read on!
The HTC Ville, set to be named the HTC One S, is the thinnest phone set to come from HTC. Rumors suggest that the new gadget from the Taiwanese company will be no more than 8 mm thin, whereas their thinnest phones currently measure 10 mm thick. HTC has already covered the market with big screen smartphones, so it makes sense to bring this new ultra-slim phone to market, too. HTC’s One S will be equipped with a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and with a Super AMOLED screen similar to that encountered in the Motorola RAZR, of the qHD (960×540) variety.
HTC’s One X (previously known as the HTC Edge) is set to come to market as one of HTC’s flagships. Reputed to be the first (if not one of them) smartphones to come to market with a quad core processor, the One X is set to be an absolute monster. In terms of hardware, we are looking at an nVidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, clocked at 1.5Ghz, a 4.7 ” display with a resolution of 1280 x 720, an 8MP camera (f/2.2 lens), 1GB RAM, and 32 GB of internal storage (plus microSD card slot which supports up to 32GB). The HTC One X will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, out of the box.
Another smartphone that we expect/hope to see at MWC 2012 is the HTC Zeta, albeit with a different name and likely different specs. While the specs may seem hard to believe, if they are to be believed it will be among the most advanced phones available with a 2.5GHz quad-core processor that runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense 4.0. Engadget leaked some images of the Zeta, but a later update says that is only a concept and not a gadget that will soon be released. What’s to believe? 2.5Ghz might be too good to be true. Perhaps it will come after MWC 2012.
SONY
The 2012 edition of Mobile World Congress is the event which will mark the transition of the Sony Ericsson product portfolio under the brand name Sony. We have already seen what the Sony Xperia S looks like, but at MWC they are likely to unveil the new Xperia Arc HD or Nozomi. AndroidOS.in has published pictures of the smartphone which they say it will have a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a 12MP camera and a 4.3-inch 720p screen and will run on Android 4.0 out of the box.
TechRadar has brought some information to light that suggests Sony will be releasing an affordable smartphone dubbed the Sony Tapioca. With an 800 GHz single core processor, 512 MB RAM and Android 2.3 Gingerbread, it still will have enough to appeal to certain folks in certain parts of the world, permitting the price is right. Still, considering other leading manufacturers entry-level devices, we would hope that Sony improve the specs of this device or else it just won’t have what it takes to compete.
LG
LG was the first manufacturer to launch a Tegra 2 device, so it’s safe to say that we should expect something similar at Mobile World Congress 2012. Although they have been very discreet about what they prepared for MWC, it is rumored that the LG X3 will be there for all to see.
The LG XE features an impressive a 4.7 inch HD screen (1280 x 720), 16GB of internal memory, an 8 MP camera and a secondary 1.3 MP camera, with a maximum thickness of 9mm.
There can be no doubt that LG will present at MWC the new LG Optimus 3D 2. The device will be thinner than its predecessor, at just 9.8 mm compared to 11.9 mm, it will be 20 grams lighter and will be based on a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor from Texas Instruments. It will have a 5 megapixel camera capable of shooting 3D, 8GB storage space, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC (Near Field Communication) and HSPA+ support. Currently, the LG Optimus 3D 2 smartphone will run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
ACER
Acer CloudMobile has already won an iF prize for its original design and is a sign of things to come. Acer is striking out on its own here, and, as you will see below, this device in no way resembles the Galaxy S II or the HTC Sensation design types. This smartphone will hit the market in Q3 of this year, will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, comes with a 4.3-inch HD touch screen, Dolby Sound and will be 10 mm thick. As you probably guessed from its name, this device will offer cloud solutions that are designed to increase mobile productivity.
RIM
While all the focus is this time on Android devices, especially those with the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS, RIM aims to return in force by launching the new version of the BlackBerry 10 operating system. Mobile World Congress will be the first presentation of this new software, and RIM seems very optimistic about this mainly because it will be able to run Android based applications.
NOKIA
It seems that the once great giant is in do-or-die mode. For MWC, Nokia will be launching no less than six smartphones. Three of them are Windows Phone based, and three will run the already well-known Symbian. The most circulated name regarding Nokia at World 2012 MWC, is the Lumia 900, which could benefit from an official global launch.
ZTE
ZTE is already a big name in the technology world. The company’s releases may now begin to generate real trends in the industry given that the Chinese manufacturer works with both Google (Android) and Microsoft (Windows Phone). Expectations are high this year for ZTE, and the company’s new phones and tablet PCs could compete with any big famous brand. They’ve already surpassed RIM to take the fifth spot globally, so we can expect some good things from them going forward.
HUAWEI
We were really impressed by what we saw from Huawei at CES 2012. Their Ascend P1 and P1S phones were the thinnest superphones we’d ever laid our hands on, and they ran butter smooth with some serious power under the hood. Needless to say, we’ve been assured that they are pulling out all the stops this year, and will likely debut a quad-core device at MWC 2012. What remains to be seen is whether or not they can jam pack a 720p HD Super AMOLED display into one of their sub 7mm thin profiled phones. Either way, fresh new hot tech from Huawei is right around the corner.
Besides the much-anticipated Galaxy S III, the one device we do not know exactly whether or not it will be shown at Mobile World Congress 2012, is Samsung’s reputed 11.6″ tablet. Samsung said they will still come with ”something interesting”. It could be a new model Galaxy Tab. The new model could come with an impressive 11.6″ display. The diagonal will be accompanied by a double high resolution of 2560 × 1600 pixels, which translates into an increase of four times as many pixels. The tablet was presented at an event as a concept and will run on the new Exynos 5250 chipset with dual core processor at 2 GHz. What remains to be seen is what the huge 11.6″ screen will look like.
ASUS
The Taiwanese company has already announced that the Asus Padfone‘s commercial version will be shown at MWC 2012. A quad-core smartphone sits elegantly in a tablet PC which extends its battery power. ASUS’s brand new hybrid sounds very promising, especially since it may to potentially be able to function with the keyboard dock of the Transformer Prime. Of course, this is all still speculation, but who knows? The Padfone prototype shown at CES last month had a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, but there are various sources stating that they will abandon this chipset for a Tegra 3 chipset from nVidia.
Other Brands:
NVIDIA
NVIDIA announced a few days ago that they will be present at Mobile World Congress 2012. The company also announced some of the products that will employ the new Tegra 3 SoC. As expected, all products will benefit from quad-core processors from nVidia and will have the Android operating system. What we don’t know, and would be very interesting, is if they make mention of Tegra 4.
Either way, we’ll be there covering it for you! Are there any products that you are excited about for Mobile World Congress 2012? Let us know in the comments! Also, if your interested, check out our Best Android Phones of 2012 for a sense of what’s to come.
Smartphones:
HTCThe HTC Ville, set to be named the HTC One S, is the thinnest phone set to come from HTC. Rumors suggest that the new gadget from the Taiwanese company will be no more than 8 mm thin, whereas their thinnest phones currently measure 10 mm thick. HTC has already covered the market with big screen smartphones, so it makes sense to bring this new ultra-slim phone to market, too. HTC’s One S will be equipped with a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and with a Super AMOLED screen similar to that encountered in the Motorola RAZR, of the qHD (960×540) variety.
HTC’s One X (previously known as the HTC Edge) is set to come to market as one of HTC’s flagships. Reputed to be the first (if not one of them) smartphones to come to market with a quad core processor, the One X is set to be an absolute monster. In terms of hardware, we are looking at an nVidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, clocked at 1.5Ghz, a 4.7 ” display with a resolution of 1280 x 720, an 8MP camera (f/2.2 lens), 1GB RAM, and 32 GB of internal storage (plus microSD card slot which supports up to 32GB). The HTC One X will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, out of the box.
Another smartphone that we expect/hope to see at MWC 2012 is the HTC Zeta, albeit with a different name and likely different specs. While the specs may seem hard to believe, if they are to be believed it will be among the most advanced phones available with a 2.5GHz quad-core processor that runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense 4.0. Engadget leaked some images of the Zeta, but a later update says that is only a concept and not a gadget that will soon be released. What’s to believe? 2.5Ghz might be too good to be true. Perhaps it will come after MWC 2012.
SONY
The 2012 edition of Mobile World Congress is the event which will mark the transition of the Sony Ericsson product portfolio under the brand name Sony. We have already seen what the Sony Xperia S looks like, but at MWC they are likely to unveil the new Xperia Arc HD or Nozomi. AndroidOS.in has published pictures of the smartphone which they say it will have a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a 12MP camera and a 4.3-inch 720p screen and will run on Android 4.0 out of the box.
TechRadar has brought some information to light that suggests Sony will be releasing an affordable smartphone dubbed the Sony Tapioca. With an 800 GHz single core processor, 512 MB RAM and Android 2.3 Gingerbread, it still will have enough to appeal to certain folks in certain parts of the world, permitting the price is right. Still, considering other leading manufacturers entry-level devices, we would hope that Sony improve the specs of this device or else it just won’t have what it takes to compete.
LG
LG was the first manufacturer to launch a Tegra 2 device, so it’s safe to say that we should expect something similar at Mobile World Congress 2012. Although they have been very discreet about what they prepared for MWC, it is rumored that the LG X3 will be there for all to see.
The LG XE features an impressive a 4.7 inch HD screen (1280 x 720), 16GB of internal memory, an 8 MP camera and a secondary 1.3 MP camera, with a maximum thickness of 9mm.
There can be no doubt that LG will present at MWC the new LG Optimus 3D 2. The device will be thinner than its predecessor, at just 9.8 mm compared to 11.9 mm, it will be 20 grams lighter and will be based on a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor from Texas Instruments. It will have a 5 megapixel camera capable of shooting 3D, 8GB storage space, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC (Near Field Communication) and HSPA+ support. Currently, the LG Optimus 3D 2 smartphone will run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
ACER
Acer CloudMobile has already won an iF prize for its original design and is a sign of things to come. Acer is striking out on its own here, and, as you will see below, this device in no way resembles the Galaxy S II or the HTC Sensation design types. This smartphone will hit the market in Q3 of this year, will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, comes with a 4.3-inch HD touch screen, Dolby Sound and will be 10 mm thick. As you probably guessed from its name, this device will offer cloud solutions that are designed to increase mobile productivity.
RIM
While all the focus is this time on Android devices, especially those with the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS, RIM aims to return in force by launching the new version of the BlackBerry 10 operating system. Mobile World Congress will be the first presentation of this new software, and RIM seems very optimistic about this mainly because it will be able to run Android based applications.
NOKIA
It seems that the once great giant is in do-or-die mode. For MWC, Nokia will be launching no less than six smartphones. Three of them are Windows Phone based, and three will run the already well-known Symbian. The most circulated name regarding Nokia at World 2012 MWC, is the Lumia 900, which could benefit from an official global launch.
ZTE
ZTE is already a big name in the technology world. The company’s releases may now begin to generate real trends in the industry given that the Chinese manufacturer works with both Google (Android) and Microsoft (Windows Phone). Expectations are high this year for ZTE, and the company’s new phones and tablet PCs could compete with any big famous brand. They’ve already surpassed RIM to take the fifth spot globally, so we can expect some good things from them going forward.
HUAWEI
We were really impressed by what we saw from Huawei at CES 2012. Their Ascend P1 and P1S phones were the thinnest superphones we’d ever laid our hands on, and they ran butter smooth with some serious power under the hood. Needless to say, we’ve been assured that they are pulling out all the stops this year, and will likely debut a quad-core device at MWC 2012. What remains to be seen is whether or not they can jam pack a 720p HD Super AMOLED display into one of their sub 7mm thin profiled phones. Either way, fresh new hot tech from Huawei is right around the corner.
Tablets
SAMSUNGBesides the much-anticipated Galaxy S III, the one device we do not know exactly whether or not it will be shown at Mobile World Congress 2012, is Samsung’s reputed 11.6″ tablet. Samsung said they will still come with ”something interesting”. It could be a new model Galaxy Tab. The new model could come with an impressive 11.6″ display. The diagonal will be accompanied by a double high resolution of 2560 × 1600 pixels, which translates into an increase of four times as many pixels. The tablet was presented at an event as a concept and will run on the new Exynos 5250 chipset with dual core processor at 2 GHz. What remains to be seen is what the huge 11.6″ screen will look like.
ASUS
The Taiwanese company has already announced that the Asus Padfone‘s commercial version will be shown at MWC 2012. A quad-core smartphone sits elegantly in a tablet PC which extends its battery power. ASUS’s brand new hybrid sounds very promising, especially since it may to potentially be able to function with the keyboard dock of the Transformer Prime. Of course, this is all still speculation, but who knows? The Padfone prototype shown at CES last month had a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, but there are various sources stating that they will abandon this chipset for a Tegra 3 chipset from nVidia.
Other Brands:
NVIDIA
NVIDIA announced a few days ago that they will be present at Mobile World Congress 2012. The company also announced some of the products that will employ the new Tegra 3 SoC. As expected, all products will benefit from quad-core processors from nVidia and will have the Android operating system. What we don’t know, and would be very interesting, is if they make mention of Tegra 4.
Either way, we’ll be there covering it for you! Are there any products that you are excited about for Mobile World Congress 2012? Let us know in the comments! Also, if your interested, check out our Best Android Phones of 2012 for a sense of what’s to come.
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