In last week’s column I shared my first impressions of Samsung’s gorgeous Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones following their unveiling at the start of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. In the days that followed there were plenty of other mobile marvels on show at this, the world’s biggest mobile tech expo. Here are five that caught my eye.
LG G5
If the Samsung S7 Edge was the most beautiful phone at MWC this year, the LG G5 wins the prize for the most innovative.
At first glance it’s an attractive, if unremarkable device – a metal body with a fingerprint scanner on the back, 5.3-inch quad HD screen and running Android 6.0.
But then it goes all Transformers on you.
Unlike any other phone, the bottom of the G5 slides off to expose an expansion port and the battery. This brilliant, brave modular design means G5 owners will be able to slot in a variety of aftermarket modules.
Need more juice? Slide in the battery module and, bam! You’ve got enough to go all day and all night. If you’re a photography buff, the photo module delivers both a beefier battery and a palm fitting grip with a dedicated
HTC Vive
Virtual Reality (VR) was huge at MWC with what seemed like every second phone maker offering a headset. But for serious gamers and industry watchers it was HTC’s Vive that reigned in Spain this year.
At $799 (R12 500) it’s no cheapie, but that didn’t stop 15 000 enthusiasts from buying it within just 10 minutes of pre-orders.
It comes bundled with two wireless VR controllers, head-tracking sensors and two VR titles from HTC’s partner, Valve, as well as a front-facing camera. Bear in mind you’ll also need a super high-end PC to “drive” the Vive.
Xiaomi Mi 5
Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has developed a reputation over the past few years for impressively-specced, well-built smartphones at highly attractive prices.
But none to date has embodied this philosophy as perfectly as the Mi 5, a stunning assembly of aluminium and glass. to rival the build quality and looks of Apple’s 6S and Samsung’s S7 Edge.
And it’s not just in the eye candy department that the Mi 5 is taking on the heavyweights. It’s got plenty of brains courtesy of a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
The best part, though, is the price tag. It starts at $413 (R6 500), at least one-third cheaper than its big name rivals. Little wonder Xiaomi has already received more than 16 million pre-orders.
Samsung Family Hub smart fridge
So this giant, high-tech chiller isn’t exactly portable, but it earned its place at MWC because you need a smartphone to use it properly.
Say you’re at the shops, but don’t have the shopping list – on a conventional fridge it’s probably attached to the door with a magnet. With the Family Hub, organised types will have stored the list on the Cloud using the fridge’s built-in tablet, allowing them to read it remotely on their phones.
There’s no word yet on South African availability and pricing, but I predict the price tag will have a chilling effect on all but the most well-heeled.
Sony Xperia Ear
Bluetooth headsets are undoubtedly useful gizmos, allowing you to take calls while on the go without the entanglement of wired earbuds. The trouble with wearing one, though, is that you look like a sales type out of the 1990s and people shoot you nervous sidelong glances as if expecting you to start bellowing “show me the money” at any moment.
Sony’s hoping to overcome this sterotype with its Xperia Ear by making the earbud as small and unobtrusive as possible, while building in the kind of functionality Tom Cruise’s brash character in Jerry Maguire could only have dreamed of.
Sony’s pitching it as a digital assistant in your ear, delivering social media updates, the latest news and weather, voice search capability as well as turn-by-turn directions.
I’m a sucker for these devices, but I’d have preferred Sony to have used Android’s Google Now voice assistant, rather than its own.
– Follow Alan Cooper on Twitter @alanqcooper.
