1- Smartphones
First and foremost, the smartphone is the central product at this year's show, organised by the GSMA, the world's leading telecoms body bringing together operators and handset manufacturers. And there's been a flurry of new products announced at giant press conferences, starting with the eagerly-awaited one by Samsung for its S9 and S9+which we have already discussed here.
As well as the world's number one, which is making small changes to its highly successful top-of-the-range range, others have made their presence felt, such as Nokia which is renewing its range launched here a year ago. And the Finnish company, now in the hands of the Chinese HMD Global, is showing the dynamism to match its ambitions: in the long term, it could well see itself on the podium of smartphone manufacturers!
As well as some nice modern reissues of vintage models like the 8110, the range is stretching upwards with an impressive flagship, the Nokia 8 Sirocco (€749 inc VAT). With a beautiful 5.5" curved pOLED screen reminiscent of the Samsung Edge, a compact size and a high-performance camera by Carl Zeiss, all it needs to be perfect is the latest version of the Qualcomm processor that powers most high-performance models. It's worth noting that, like many Nokia smartphones, it is certified Android One, which gives it a pure Android interface, with no overlay that is necessarily more cumbersome and complex, as well as the guarantee of rapid updates, when others have to wait months. But it is not yet Google Enterprise Recommended like the Nokia 8 (and the BlackBerry KEYone, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, LG V30, Moto Z2 Force Edition, Sony Xperia XZ1...), which can be easily configured in fleets.
Another giant of the genre, LG, is just offering a timid evolution that includes artificial intelligence functions (particularly for photography) for its excellent V30, renamed V30S ThinQ, one of the most pleasant to hold.
More radical, Sony The new XZ2 and its Compact version (from €599), with screens measuring 5.7 and 5 inches respectively, have abandoned the characteristic square design of their devices for a more anonymous, but still very high-end style.
The Compact, as its name suggests, is recommended for people who don't want a giant screen and like to use just one hand to operate their smartphone. As for performance, it's the same regardless of which model you choose, with a very high level thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, the best from the American specialist.
For more extreme uses, various brands offer models that can withstand everything from falls to immersion in salt water, appealing to the most exposed (or careless) travellers. Among them, the British brand Bullitt offers models bearing the Caterpillar (with integrated temperature sensor, laser distance measurement and ambient air analysis) or Land Rover. The French from Crosscall are targeting sporting activities with their Action X3, which meets military standards for shock resistance and IP 68 waterproof certification (€349).
The French are also out in force, with brands such as Echowhich offers entry-level and mid-range products with an elegant design, while Marseille-based Wikorecently acquired by a Chinese company, is moving upmarket with an impressive edge-to-edge model, the View 2 Pro (€299), which is very reminiscent of the Apple iPhone X. The same mimicry applies to theAsus ZenFone 5Z, more upmarket but very well placed in terms of price (€599) given its high-flying technical specifications.
There is also a surprising model developed by Energizer. The battery specialist has scored a major coup with a smartphone that boasts a capacity of... 16,000 mAh, or 4 times more than the best conventional smartphones! The Power Max P16K Pro has some pretty top-of-the-range features, and is fortunately equipped with a fast charge to power itself. While it's still a reasonable size, it weighs in at a hefty 300g. Expect to pay €599 when it launches at the end of the year.
We should also mention Chinese Xiaomi which is showcasing its latest creations on a large stand befitting its new European ambitions. Currently known in France only to geeks who appreciate its ultra-competitive, high-performance design products, the brand is preparing to officially enter the French market. This should rapidly make it a real challenger to the big brands.
Finally, it's impossible not to mention the big absentees: firstly, Applewhich never takes part in this type of event, preferring its own launches. But the Californian giant is present in the background, between the manufacturers of iPhone accessories, the many new products heavily inspired (to put it mildly) by the design of the iPhone X, and the timely rumours about the next models to bear the Apple name: a replacement for the entry-level SE model and an XXL version of the iPhone X in particular. Another big absentee among the heavyweights, at least when it comes to new smartphones, Huawei preferred to wait until the end of March to present its top-of-the-range P20. We'll come back to this in due course. And finally OnePlusOnePlus, the Chinese manufacturer that still offers a single top-of-the-range model with formidable technical features, for a price of around 30 to 40 % less than the big names on the market. OnePlus had no stand, and no new products, but members of its team were on hand to work on developing its implementation in France. Stay tuned.
2- Laptop computers
Huawei didn't come to Barcelona with a new mobile phone, but it did take the opportunity to present its MateBook X Pro, whose name and design are very reminiscent of the Apple MacBook Pro. The manufacturer is making no secret of the fact, and is emphasising all the aspects in which its PC performs better in comparison. For example, its beautiful touchscreen has reduced its borders to such an extent to make the most of 9% of available space that the camera has had to be moved to keyboard level, hidden in a key, which will quickly pose a problem when teleconferencing, with fingers on the keyboard in the foreground... Apart from this design flaw, the whole package is very attractive, both light (1.33 kg) and thin, very durable, fast (less than 10 seconds to start up) and secure with a fingerprint sensor on the power key. It includes two USB-C sockets and a conventional USB socket, which is always very useful. Minimum price: €1,499 inc VAT with an Intel i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage.
At Lenovo (which is also not offering any new smartphones at this year's MWC), we can look forward to the presentation of the Yoga 730 (from €999 incl. VAT), a modular laptop available in 13" and 15" versions, including the Amazon Alexa voice assistant (in French by the end of the year) as well as Microsoft Cortana.
3- Safety
R. Samani, chief researcher at McAfeeOur security specialist explains the issues that are increasingly affecting mobile WiFi users: "It is estimated that there will be 444 million hotspots in the world by 2020. Our Mobile Security application provides bodyguard-like protection for the data on your smartphone. The average total value is estimated at 36,000 $!
Other ways of securing GSM lines are offered by leading specialists in the field, such as France's Atos with its Hoox for business solution, or even to use specially secure smartphones such as the Sikuran anti-hacking model. Enough to secure crypto-currencies, as proposed by Archos with its brand new Safe-T mini cryptocurrency wallet.
4- Storage
First of all, the internal storage capacity of smartphones is evolving. Not only are the top-of-the-range models getting a native capacity of 128GB in many cases, but those that still have a slot for a micro SD memory card are seeing its potential increased beyond the classic 256GB possible until now. This is enough to accommodate memory monsters no bigger than a fingernail, like the very latest 400GB micro SD card from... SanDisk.
There is also an external battery that can be recharged without a power socket, thanks to a recharging cartridge that includes a mini fuel cell, whose chemical reaction will add 1,250 mAh in just a few minutes to the conventional 2,750 mAh battery. A technology launched by the Swedish company myFC.
