Meet the Next Generation of Phones and Wearables

Meet the Next Generation of Phones and Wearables

Posted by maghestra on Friday, March 14, 2014 0

If, like many, you've been struggling to get a Mozillaphone before the app store is well-populated, the Revolution could be your best choice. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

If, like many, you've been struggling to get a Mozillaphone before the app store is well-populated, the Revolution could be your best choice. Hardware and performance are mid-range, but if it's the operating system magic that you crave, this phone's got it. Easily switch from Android to Firefox OS and back to Android. The Revolution ships pre-rooted with no Google apps on board – add them later if you want — and you'll notice it's the only phone with an "Install another OS" option on the menu. Just insert an SD with the proper files on it and click "Install now." This makes it the only Intel Atom-powered Firefox OS phone, and it could soon also run Windows Phone 8.1. Available online for $305.Photo: Maurizio Pesce The GalaxyS5 introduces some welcome new features like a fingerprint scanner, a pulse sensor, and waterproofing. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

The big new flagship from Samsung stole all the headlines. That's expected — the Galaxy is a perennial best-seller, and this version introduces some welcome new features like a fingerprint scanner, a pulse sensor, and more substantial waterproofing.Photo: Maurizio Pesce Blackphone: a common smartphone with extra privacy added on top. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

A common smartphone with extra privacy added on top. The unveiling of Geeksphone's Blackphone was one of the most-anticipated events of the MWC. It runs PrivatOS, a reportedly surveillance-proof operating system built on top of Android. The core of this privacy-driven device is in the services it offers: 5GB of "secured" cloud storage, a VPN for untraceable web researches, and encrypted texts and VoIP calls (guaranteed only if both sender and receiver are using the same dedicated apps, Silent Text and Silent Phone). Available online for $629, it comes with the first year of services included – after that, they'll cost you $10/month.Photo: Maurizio Pesce Awarded "Best-in-show" device at MWC, the Gear Fit is Samsung's first attempt to make a wearable fitness-tracker. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

Awarded "Best-in-show" device at the Mobile World Congress, the Gear Fit is Samsung's first attempt to make a wearable piece of tech for the fitness-tracking crowd: it is solid, light, and features a curved Super AMOLED display that comfortably hugs the wrist. The quality of the screen is impressive, and there's also enough room to browse easily through all the body-tracking information, as well as the notifications coming from your smartphone. The other good news is it can be paired with 20 different Galaxy devices, making it more desirable than the first Galaxy Gear – which could only be used with the Galaxy Note 3. It's a bit expensive though: the price is rumoured to be between $200 and $250.Photo: Maurizio Pesce The Fairphone is not a smartphone you choose for its specs. It's a device you buy for what it stands for. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

This is not a smartphone you choose for its specs. It's a device you buy for what it stands for. The Fairphone is an attempt to create a more ethically-minded handset — it's built in an ecologically and economically responsible manner, using conflict-free materials, and made by people given better working conditions than what's found in the bulk of the industry. The Dutch phone-maker documents every bit of the manufacturing on its website. If you're considering getting one, this is the right moment to do it: a second batch of Fairphones will be assembled and shipped later this year.Photo: Maurizio Pesce FingerQ is an encrypting system that allows you to grant access to applications, files and contact lists only after verifying your fingerprint. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

Worried about your privacy? FingerQ is an encrypting system that allows you to grant access to applications, files and contact lists only after verifying your fingerprint. To achieve that, this Hong Kong company offers a range of products, from covers to dongles, adding another layer of security to your Android device. Fingerprints can be used to unlock the phone or just to access selected applications. Specific apps are available on the Play Store, but the software can be used to also unlock normal apps like web browsers or even WhatsApp. Specially advised for paranoid BYOD-equipped managers.Photo: Maurizio Pesce The other big headline-grabber from the Barcelona show was the newest device from Nokia. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

The other big headline-grabber from the Barcelona show was the newest device from Nokia. Even though the company will soon officially become a part of Microsoft, it has released a line of devices running customized Android. Instead of hooking into Google, however, it connects to Microsoft's cloud services and ships with standard Microsoft productivity apps. It's intended solely for developing markets, but the whole world will certainly be watching to see how it does.Photo: Maurizio Pesce The Ibis, a crystal and stainless-steel dual-face smartwatch that challenges consumer perceptions about wearables being unattractive. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

"There's no wearable product you actually want to wear. They're all extremely ugly," Motorola vice president of product Rick Osterloh said at MWC. This is exactly the starting point of Creoir, the Finnish engineering and design company that created the Ibis, a crystal and stainless-steel dual-face smartwatch that challenges consumer perceptions about wearables being unattractive. The display is split in two, featuring a mechanical watch on the upper side and a notifications panel on the lower one. Running a low-power optimized Android platform, it can be customized and can synchronize with both Android and iOS.Photo: Maurizio Pesce The Kopin Golden-i -- you put it on your face. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

This is just an enterprise product, but it's without a doubt the best wearable headset computer around. It will be available in a couple of months through Verizon with a price tag of roughly $1,000 to $1,500 – the same price we're expecting for Google Glass. It is also the lightest headset to date, weighting just 4.5 ounces. The Golden-i produces an image that's equivalent to a 15-inch qHD display, and you can wear the eyepiece in front of either the left or right eye, and on the upper or lower edge of your field of view. The interface is super easy to deal with. The battery is replaceable and rechargeable with up to 8 hours of time spent working, talking and videoconferencing. Voice recognition is built in. It works perfectly even in noisy environments and supports up to 46 languages.Photo: Maurizio Pesce With a 5.9-inch screen, the N1 seems like it would be impossible to use with just one hand, right? Wrong. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

The first thing you notice while holding the huge Oppo N1 is the 206-degrees rotating camera on the top edge of the phone: it's a 13-megapixel lens you can flip back and forth to easily snap pictures from different angles. The N1 runs a customized version of CyanogenMod, and I love the clean user interface they designed. With a 5.9-inch screen, the N1 seems like it would be impossible to use with just one hand, right? Wrong. In fact, Oppo has added a small touch area on the back cover that lets you flip pages and shoot pictures. To solve the massive global problem of taking group selfies, the N1 also comes with a small remote control that works up to 15 meters away from the phone. Oppo N1 is available online starting at $600.Photo: Maurizio Pesce It's a wristband, it's a headset, it's the TalkBand. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

It's a wristband, it's a headset, it's the TalkBand. Huawei enters the wearable market with its brand new fitness tracker with an incorporated Bluetooth headset. I went hands-on with at the Huawei booth here in Barcelona. I noticed immediately how cheap the rubber strap feels. And yet, the rest of the hardware feels solid, and the (curved) AMOLED display is bright. There's also a USB plug hidden at the edge of the strap to easily slide it into a PC for recharging. It will be available Q3 for 99 euros – and supposedly for $99 as well.Photo: Maurizio Pesce This year, it was Canonical's turn to present its long-awaited Ubuntu OS smartphones. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

A year ago Mozilla unveiled the first Firefox OS devices, in partnership with ZTE and Alcatel. One year later, it's Canonical's turn to present its long-awaited Ubuntu OS smartphones — although they'll be produced by two small and virtually unknown companies - the Spanish Bq and the Chinese Meizu. They'll be shipped worldwide starting day 1. Bq Aquaris is a quad-core dual-SIM smartphone with 4.5-inch display and a plastic satin-finished sharp cover. The Meizu MX3 is bigger (5 inches) and has a more powerful octa-core processor, but the glossy shell feels cheaper in you hands. More renowned manufacturers will follow after the official launch.Photo: Maurizio Pesce YotaPhone has a second, e-ink-powered screen on the back of the device. Photo: Maurizio Pesce

We saw the first-generation prototype of the YotaPhone during the CES 2013. A year later, the Russian company unveiled a second-generation phone right here at the 2014 MWC. The YotaPhone 2 is less bulky and with a more Nexus-esque design. But the fundamental philosophy remains the same: provide consumers a better way to interact with their phones without draining the battery. By adding an e-Ink screen on the back of the phone, you'll be able to keep an eye on calendar items and notifications without unlocking the device every two minutes. The first-generation YotaPhone ships for 500 euros (about $690) and sales have already hit around 12,000 units.Photo: Maurizio Pesce

View the gallery in full screen to read more about each new device.

BARCELONA, SPAIN — The Mobile World Congress trade show is the yearly coming-out party for many of the phone industry’s marquee devices. Manufacturers from around the globe descend upon the Fira Gran Via here to hawk their new wares, showing off flagship phablets, mass-market handsets and low-end contenders. And while it’s primarily been an Android party for the last few years, the software landscape is changing. Last year, Mozilla made headlines with the first Firefox OS devices, and this year Ubuntu, Sailfish and even Tizen and CyanogenMod have arrived with their own smartphone OSes. Differentiation is just as jarring on the hardware side. We saw many new ideas in consumer handsets, like rotating cameras, double displays, and biometric scanners. And of course, wearables are everywhere. Samsung debuted three new wrist-worn devices, with Sony and Huawei showing off their own as well. Besides smartphones, wearable computers made up the most consistent category here. Have a look at our photo gallery to see what the future of mobile computing will look like — at least for the next year.

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