MWC 2013: Samsung shows off the Galaxy Note 8!

 

Samsung may be holding back its Galaxy S4 announcement until a later date, but the Korean firm did have something to show at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Galaxy Note 8 is gunning for the Nexus 7 and iPad Mini, and slots neatly in between the “phablet” Note 2 and the full-scale Note 10.1 in the company’s tech portfolio.

It’s just 8mm thick and weighs only 338g, making it the ideal travelling companion. There’s a quad core processor inside to keep things nippy, and the inclusion of a SIM card slot means the device is truly mobile. You can even make calls on it, although holding something that size to your ear in public won’t do your street cred any favours.

The star of the show – and what will set the Note 8 apart from its aforementioned rivals – is the iconic S Pen. Already a hit on the smaller Note models, this stylus allows you to doodle on the tablet’s 1280×800 resolution screen, making it perfect for shopping lists and general note-taking.

The only potential sticking point is the price – given that you can make phone calls on this thing, its likely to cost more than a standard Note 2, which retails for about £500 when purchased without a contract. Considering the Nexus 7 costs less than half that figure, the Note 8 could find itself in a tough position, but we’ll wait for final pricing before we cast any dismal predictions.

Is the Note 8 the mid-size tablet you’ve been waiting for all these months? Leave a comment to tell us what you think.

Samsung hands out invites for Galaxy S4 launch event at MWC 2013

 

The Mobile World Congress event is currently running at full force, but not all of the world’s big smartphone makers are showing off their wares in sunny Spain. Samsung is instead choosing to announce its highly anticipated Galaxy S4 device at its own shindig in New York city.

In a rather cheeky move, the Korean company has been handing out invitations for Samsung Unpacked 2013 at this year’s MWC – a tactic no doubt designed to steal some thunder away from rivals like Sony, Nokia and LG. The magical date to enter into your calenders is 14th March.

Little is known about the Galaxy S3 review here successor at present, but we’ve heard rumours that it will possess an unbreakable screen with full HD resolution.

The grapevine also suggests that the handset will be powered by a quad core 2GHz Samsung Exynos 5450 processor, which will make it one of the most powerful mobile devices on the face of the planet. Wireless charging and a cavernous 2,600mAh battery are also rumoured to be making the cut.

Given the incredible popularity of Samsung’s previous Galaxy S blowers, we’d imagine that plenty of people will be waiting expectantly to see what March 14th will bring. Are you holding off upgrading your mobile device until you see what the S4 is capable of? Then let us know by posting a comment.

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Mobile World Congress 2013: Every new phone so far!

 

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is currently taking place in Barcelona and as usual, we’ve been gifted a generous helping of exciting new devices to look forward to this year.

All the usual challengers are present, with the likes of LG, ZTE, Asus and Nokia fighting for your attention – although cheeky Samsung is holding its own event on March 14th to announce the Galaxy S4, and has even tried to derail some of its opponents by handing out physical invitations during MWC 2013.

Scurrilous tactics aside, here are the best phones we’ve seen so far.

Nokia Lumia 720

Arguably the biggest announcement from Nokia during MWC 2013, the Lumia 720 slots into the company’s product line just below the 820, and removes the LTE connectivity seen in that particular model. Everything else is pretty impressive, particularly the 6.7 megapixel camera with a f1.9 Carl Zeiss lens. Removeable covers will appeal to fashion-conscious types – you can even obtain a cover which supports wireless charging.

LG Optimus G Pro

After making the popular Nexus 4 handset for Google, LG is on a roll – as this new phone clearly demonstrates. The Optimus G Pro has a gargantuan 5.5-inch 1080p screen, which might cause a bit of hand-strain but will be amazing for on-the-go movie viewing and gaming. Under the bonnet it features brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 technology, which contains a quad core chip running at a cool 1.7Ghz – that’s pretty damn fast in mobile terms. A 13-megapixel snapper and 32GB of storage round things off, making this a fearsome piece of consumer electronics. 2013 should be another bumper year for LG.

Nokia Lumia 520

Nokia is deadly serious about winning the low-cost smartphone sector, and has already impressed with the Lumia 620. The Lumia 520 is a similar proposition and has a 4-inch screen, a five-megapixel camera, dual core processor, 8GB of storage and comes in a range of appealing colours. While it’s not likely to trouble the quad core monsters at the other end of the spectrum, for an estimated price of £120, it should attract buyers on a budget.

ZTE Open

This dinky little blower clearly isn’t taking aim at the big boys, but the fact that it’s the first mobile phone to come with Mozilla’s Firefox mobile OS installed makes it a noteworthy challenger. Aimed at developing markets – which means it could end up here as a budget option – the ZTE Open is worth keeping an eye on, if only to see if the Firefox OS can really take on the likes of Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

Asus Padfone Infinity

The idea of a tablet which also contains a phone isn’t new – Asus has been banging on about the concept for quite some time now – but the latest in the Padfone line is something of a head-turner. For starters, it’s using the Snapdragon 600 chipset which means that quad core power is in play. Secondly, both the phone and tablet are rocking pin-sharp HD screens, which means zero compromise, regardless of which configuration you’re using. With a retail price of around £800 it’s not a cheap purchase, but where else can you get a cutting edge phone and tablet for that kind money?

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Nokia unleashes the super cheap Lumia 520!

 

Nokia has lifted the lid on the Lumia 520 at this year’s Mobile World Congress – and it’s clear that the Finnish giant has its sights set firmly on the budget smartphone sector. Following on from the reasonably-priced and rather excellent Lumia 620, the Lumia 520 offers even more bang for your buck, with an estimated retail price of around €139 (around £120).

Amazingly the Lumia 520 is rocking Windows Phone 8, the latest and greatest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. It also boasts a five-megapixel autofocus camera, 8GB of internal memory, microSD card support and a 4-inch touchscreen which is so sensitive it even works when you’re wearing a pair of gloves – a prime consideration during those relentlessly frosty mornings.

The handset also has access to the Nokia Music service, which allows users to stream the latest tunes to their headphones for free, and all the usual mapping and navigation tools that Nokia is famous for.

The catch? The Lumia 520 isn’t coming to Europe right away, but will be released in the Far East to start with before trickling through to other markets. However, with those kind of specs and that kind of price, we’re pretty confident it will be worth the wait – and it should make the 2013 smartphone war very interesting indeed.

Is this low-cost blower the one that could transform you from a Windows Phone doubter to a card-carrying advocate? Leave a comment below to let us know.

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Super cheap Nokia Windows Phone coming next week!

 

Mobile World Congress kicks off next week, and rumours are flying about what Nokia’s going to unveil at its Barcelona press event on Monday morning. Now a new report says the Finns are prepping a new, even cheaper Windows Phone for next week.

Reuters reports that Nokia is hard at work on cheaper phones to combat Chinese competitors like Huawei and ZTE who are able to undercut their rivals with low prices – and one of the models on show will be a Lumia running full fat Windows Phone 8.

That’s music to our ears. Earlier this month, we tested out the already super affordable Lumia 620, calling it the best Windows Phone ever – with the same software experience at an even lower pricetag (Below £100, perhaps), we reckon Nokia could be on to a winner.

The report doesn’t say anything about the rumoured Nokia Windows Phone with a giant PureView image sensor, so we may not be seeing the Holy Grail of camera phones in Spain next week – tune in on Monday to find out what we will.

Like the sounds of super affordable Windows Phone

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Mobile World Congress 2013: What to expect during this week!

 

Sony’s big PlayStation press conference isn’t the only gadget event going down this month. Next week in Spain, the world’s biggest phone makers and app developers will converge in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, a giant expo much like CES – but non-stop smartphones.

We’ll be covering all the happenings from it live, but in the run up to the mobile bonanza, we take a look at what to expect, from Windows Phones galore to a few big name no shows…

Nokia’s next big thing

Nokia is holding a press conference early on Monday morning, and we can’t wait to see what it’s got in store. The Finns have mostly managed to keep things under wraps, but there are a few exciting rumours whizzing around: MWC may be where we meet the Lumia Windows Phone with a full-on, 41 megapixel PureView sensor like the Symbian-ridden 808 cameraphone.

Nokia’s also been rumoured to be working on a Windows tablet to take on the Microsoft Surface – we don’t know for sure if it’ll be on show, but at the very least, expect a successor to the Nokia Lumia 920.

Big name no shows

While Mobile World Congress was the venue for Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S2 Android smartphone two years ago, times have moved on, and many of the biggest names on mobile now launch their new handsets at their own events. All the rumours point to Samsung giving the Galaxy S4 its own launch event in a few weeks’ time, while HTC has scheduled its own one for tomorrow, just days ahead of Mobile World Congress. Apple meanwhile has shunned these events for years, so don’t expect a new iPhone or iPad next week – in Barcelona, anyway.

The Chinese invade

In their absence, you can expect to hear a lot more from the Chinese upstarts. Huawei and ZTE both showed off impressive phones at CES in Las Vegas last month – including the gigantic Ascend Mate phablet – but they kept mum on a release in the West. With the world’s press gathered in one of Europe’s finest cities, might they announce release dates for their tasty new smartphones? Here’s hoping.

Samsung’s iPad mini rival

Samsung may not be showing off the Galaxy S4 in Barcelona, but the company is believed to be working on an eight-inch rival to the iPad mini, and it’s coming soon. Expect to see this cut-price slate next week – whether we’ll see Samsung’s rumoured low cost seven inch tablet next week as well remains to be seen though.

Asus goes insane

One thing you can rely on at a tradeshow: Asus will turn up with something ridiculous. Last year, it was a phone that powered a tablet. This year, it’s reported to be working on a “Fonepad”, a seven inch tablet that can also make calls, Dom Joly style. Will it be at Barcelona? Will it be utterly absurd to use? We’ll find out next week.

Stay tuned for all the coverage from Mobile World Congress next week. In the meantime, what are you hoping for? Let us know in the comments below.

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The PlayStation 4 unleashed, HTC One arrives and more:

 

Weeks like this come along only a few times every generation – console generation, that is. Sony whipped the covers off the Sony PlayStation 4 at long last, but that wasn’t all that happened this week – and when it comes to gizmo news, February’s barely even started. Read on for everything you missed this week.

The Sony PlayStation 4 revealed – sort of

At long last, it arrived – sort of. Sony execs took the stage in New York to reveal the next-generation PS4’s incredible hardware under the bonnet – and we where there live. While the gaming giant was happy to show off lots of new gamers for the system – see them all here – it was less keen to reveal the design of the machine itself, choosing instead to focus on its impressive network skills and instant streaming abilities. Expect plenty more to come from the company in the next few months.

Is the HTC One the one?

Just a day before Sony’s big announcement, HTC had one of its own to share: its new flagship smartphone for 2013, the HTC One. It’s packing some impressive hardware, from a HD screen to a stunning new camera – even the ability to act as your TV remote. Has it got what it takes to compete with Samsung this year?

Google gets the style

Google’s not exactly known for design flair – more its engineering prowess. That looks to be changing this week. First, we got word that it’s teamed up with some seriously stylish sunglass designers to create a pair of Google Glass specs that you’ll actually want to be seen wearing. Then it followed up by unleashing the stunning Chromebook Pixel, a super-charged Chrome OS laptop that’s as beautiful as it is expensive. Is it too much for what’s essentially a web browser?

More on the way

Though we’ve seen two massive tech launches this week, February’s far from over. Next week, the giant smartphone expo Mobile World Congress returns to Barcelona. We’re expecting phones and tablets and more phones – Orange has jumped the gun and shown off its new 4G blower already – and Nokia’s press conference on Monday morning promises to be the highlight of the show, so tune in then for all the news.

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