By now you know that I was at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week. It was insane. It was rad. It was a gadget overload. I’ve picked out some of the stuff I liked and thought was rad. I figured I’d share it with you. If you have no interest in reading an entire long post I’ve got a really short video snapshot that will give you the whole MWC experience in a matter of minutes. You can watch that below. Alternatively, the full piece follows:
My Mobile World Congress 2015 picks
We’ve already told you about the S6. I was also extremely impressed with the Ford offerings that were on display which you can read about here and here. I was also a fan of the Guess Connect Smartwatch. Here are my other Mobile World Congress 2015 picks:
The HTC One m9
So it isn’t all that different from the m8 BUT despite me giving it a bit of a hard time in this video it really is a gorgeous Android Smartphone and, I think, with an improved camera it is going to be a popular choice this year. The m9 brags m8 upgrades in nearly every area. It has a better camera, a better battery and will be more powerful:
Case Station
Personalised smartphone covers printed while you wait aren’t new. We’ve seen it before with Kase launching in Johannesburg earlier this year. Case Station is offering an identical service but there are some rad features unique to the company. For starters you can preview your case in real time by holding up the model to the in store computers. This allows you to move it around and really get a feel for your design:
I also liked that their case options are rather nifty. You can select a case with a credit card and money holder included. Ideal if you want to just carry your phone in your pocket and not lug around a purse. It’s also a great phone case for a clutch bag and you won’t have to worry about your bank cards scratching your phone screen:
The SanDisk Dual USB Drive with Type C Connector
FINALLY a USB Drive that allows you to plug in directly into your iPhone or iPad. It has a dual USB connection so you can move between different devices rather easily. SanDisk’s offering also has 32GB of storage. So you can load music and TV series without having to rely on cloud storage.
Alcatel Idol 3
I have a soft spot for Alcatel as it was the brand of the first ever cellphone I owned. I was really impressed with the Alcatel Idol 3 which launched at MWC15. It offers up JBL Audio, Technicolour Colour Enhancement, is 100% reversible, has a full HD screen and runs on a octa-core CPU. I wasn’t the only one that was impressed. Mashable, Android Authority and Android Central called it one of their MWC 2015 picks and it was named best of MWC 2015 by Know Your Mobile.
MOZ Mobile Gaming Consoles
Mobile gaming is on the rise. It is no surprise that gadget designers are focusing their efforts on this space. I loved these prototypes from MOZ. Mobile gaming consoles with an attachable keyboard and a console that can be used for a tablet as well.
Unica smartphone covers
These Unica covers aren’t smartphone brand dependent but rather work on size. The easy slide system means you can take photos without having to remove your phone. They’re also sexy as hell.
Firefox OS for smartphones
While no word yet on when we can expect a Firefox Smartphone locally, there is no doubt Alcatel will eventually bring one to the local market. The OS is simple enough to use and I’ll be interested to see how it takes off both locally and internationally.
While I got a chance to play with all my Mobile World Congress 2015 picks I didn’t forget about you. I’ve come back with a little something from the show to give away. It’s a Li-ion 2000 mAh Power Bank from Celly and includes all the charging cables you need. To get your hands on it simply tell me in the comments below which gadget at Mobile World Congress 2015 was your favourite (it doesn’t need to be on my list). I’ll choose my favourite answer and you’ll get the power bank.
