So after all the talk, all the leaks and a healthy dose of speculation, it's finally been announced. The leaks might have left us with less of a surprise than Samsung would have liked, but the Galaxy S5 is now official, and everyone's talking about it.
Not to be upstaged by the big Samsung announcement at this year's MWC, Sony has also come through with its latest and greatest new smartphone – the Sony Xperia Z2. Another waterproof handset, it shares similar design traits to its predecessor, but in terms of both the hardware and software, the Japanese company looks to have been hard at work. I got a chance to spend a few minutes with the device in Barcelona, and as well as a hands-on video below, I'll be letting you know what I think of this most recent addition to the Xperia family, and moreover, whether it can serve as a genuine competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S5.
I’ve expressed my disappointment with the Galaxy S5 already - in all fairness, it’s nothing but a modest upgrade over last year’s Android flagship from Samsung, the Galaxy S4. However, it’s still become a coveted piece of technology, and we’re sure that the sales numbers for the new device will be impressive as ever.
It takes courage to stand out of the crowd and take something existing, play around with it in ways unprecedented, and present something that is both unique and unsettlingly different. Yet, if you do have that courage, such experiments can pay off well. This is exactly what Russian startup Yota Devices did with their unique YotaPhone, and now we get to see the prototype of the second-generation YotaPhone.
When the likes of Samsung announce a new top-of-the-line smartphone the world tends to sit up and take notice. With the Galaxy S5 being announced by that very same company earlier today at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, it's fairly safe to say that it gets the attention of not just those that are likely to go out and buy one, but also of the companies that make handsets that compete directly against it.
The announcements at MWC 2014 are flowing, and we’re covering them as they happen. One of the big guns that unveiled some remarkable tech today was Samsung, and boy, did they have things to offer. Other than the shiny new flagship in the Galaxy lineup, the Galaxy S5, Samsung showcased three new contenders in its Gear lineup, showing just how serious the Korean manufacturer is about this line of business.
Historically, Mobile World Congress isn't the place where iOS gamers go to get the lowdown on what they're going to be itching to buy soon. Full of more Android phones than any sane person would ever want to look at as well as all kinds of things far too technical for us, iOS gaming doesn't tend to be on the agenda. Thanks to Mad Katz though, 2014 is a little different.
Earlier on today, Nokia announced three new Android-based devices in the form of the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL. As you might imagine, getting any decent amount of time with these new devices is rather difficult, but here, we present an exclusive brief overview of the Nokia XL - the largest of these three new specimens.
We're really not all that far into Mobile World Congress 2014, held in Barcelona, but the announcements are already coming thick and fast. The latest to catch everyone's attention is Sony, with the Japanese technology firm today announcing that it is launching a new flagship smartphone, hot on the heels of its not-long-since-announced Xperia Z1S. The new model? The Xperia Z2. They're nothing if not predictable!
Having taken the wraps off the new Nokia X family, Stephen Elop also took the opportunity to announce that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) would be headed to Windows Phone, along with Adobe Photoshop Express. The instant messaging service, which only arrived for iOS and Android a few months back after years as a BlackBerry-only feature, will be releasing a version for the Windows Phone Store in due course, although at this moment, it is unclear as to when exactly it will become available.
