As the dust settles on Mobile World Congress for another year, we have had some time to come to grips with the sheer enormity that is the MWC. We have scrolled, trolled and polled to come up with the sexiest 6 products that got everyone hot under the collar at this years event.
MWC 2016: LG Rolling Bot
Without a doubt LG smashed this year’s event and as a result ended up with two entries on this list, and to be honest it could have been more considering we had to leave out the LG 360 V. So let’s get the ball rolling. See what we did there?
Cuteness is obviously an important thing to consider when looking at technology. Possibly the cutest item on the list and at the conference as a whole, the Rolling Bot is equipped with an inbuilt 8MP camera, a speaker and laser which can all be controlled remotely through your homes Wi-Fi via a simple app, regardless of where in the world you may be.
So this BB-8 like product is supposedly designed to keep one’s pets company while you’re out. Perfect for the professional with a pooch or the crazy with the kitties. What’s cool about this is that you can check up on your fluffy companion through the on board camera, then can save or share any pic or video you see from the device. Let’s call a spade a spade here. Who doesn’t want to check out what your pet gets up to while you work. If pictures aren’t your thing and poor old Fido seems a bit lonely then roll the bot around the house shooting the red laser, a sure fire way to drive your pet loco.
Really want to wreck their heads, talk through the mic and your pet will hear you through the speaker. We can only imagine this as being extremely entertaining. Other non-pet related uses include remote control capability with compatible devices, and home security.
Price and availability are yet to be announced.
MWC 2016: Sony Xperia Ear
I really can’t wait to use this, I really really can’t. After all the hype that been bandied around over the last year about how we will soon be talking to our phones for the most mundane tasks, Amazon Fire, Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Now just to name a few.
Now Sony have upped the ante with a small ergonomic earpiece which will essentially be a personal assistant in your ear. So for example that business man who screams down the phone to some poor PA will now just be screaming at himself.
This bit of kit will connect to the internet on your phone via Bluetooth, then you place it in your ear and either use Google Now or Sony Voice; to be honest given Irish Accents Google now is probably the better option. Sony Xperia Ear will last for up to 4 hours talk time or 80 hours standby time, but it is equipped with a case which doubles as a charger given access to extended battery life.
What we like about this is that the device is built to give smartphone users back their eyes as sad as that sounds its true. The plan is to not have users constantly glued to their phones as it offers hands free navigation, reads Facebook messages SMS and WhatsApp messages. It will search the web, make phone calls for you, and it will even greet you in the morning if you so wish.
MWC 2016: Cat S60
A phone made by Caterpillar; you know the chaps who make those yellow trucks? Turns out they make some meaty phones too, purpose built for the rough and tumble of construction work. The Cat S60 is a beast in beasts clothing. Withstanding a drop of just shy of two metres with a military grade shell and a touch-screen that will work with wet or gloved hands, it’s also massively waterproof up to 5 metres in fact (Sony eat your heart out ) and it can still take videos while submerged.
But wait that’s not all. The Cat S60 has an thermal imaging system powered by a crowd called FLIR, a world leader in the field. In order for this to work the phone sports dual rear cameras which work together to overlay the thermal and visual images for a clearer render.
You will be able to see the heat mapping live and by clicking on a particular spot you will be able to see the temperature of said area within 1 degree of accuracy up to 50 feet away. The CAT S60 lets you record images or video with all the data saved so it can be downloaded and analysed back at the office.
For the no- professionals having the access to such a heat mapping tool could be great craic, Hide and go seek and terrible Jim Carrey styled pick-up lines.
MWC 2016: LG G5
LG really put on a show this year and we really hope they decide to bring this glorious piece of kit to our shores. Not only does it look the part, it’s truly innovative and is by a county mile the biggest revolution to design we have seen from a major manufacturer in a long time. Unlike Project Ara or the Fairphone 2 these guys have brought modular to the masses. The look is sleek and simple with a nifty 5.3” screen set in a metal uni-body complete will all the essentials, volume keys, unlock nub and fingerprint reader. There is also an Always On display which is a cool new feature which will leave important info on the screen at all times , which will yes drain the battery but far less than all the times one would wake the screen fully just to check the time.
It has also got a fancy new camera, with 2 sensors on the rear, one a 16MP for big and bright and fast, producing strong images in line with their recent handsets but the second one is where things get unique. This 8MP camera has a field of view of 135 degrees. That means it’s actually wider than what we see with our own eyes and almost twice as wide as regular phone cameras. This means you can fit way more of the image in at all times, making it great for group shots or landscapes.
Did we also mention its modular?
MWC 2016: Dot Smartwatch
This may not change your life but it could change somebody’s world and that is what we like about this slick piece of kit. The Dot Smartwatch is on the surface a fairly bog standard looking smartwatch, it resembles a Fitbit or the Sony Smartband. The Dot Smartwatch features your standard function from messages to navigation to of course a watch, however this is a remarkable device in every way.
This is the world’s first Braille smartwatch, it features a series of pins that will rise and fall at customizable speeds, spelling out words in Braille. This will allow blind users so much more access to information at their fingertips as it will allow them to read eBooks without costing thousands of bucks like a standard Braille reader as this comes in at a reasonable $300 beans and pre orders start this year. It will also have a battery capacity of about 10 hours with a handy Braille-learning system.
“90 percent of blind people become blind after birth, and there’s nothing for them right now — they lose their access to information so suddenly,” Dot co-founder and CEO Eric Ju Yoon Kim stated. “Dot can be their lifeline, so they can learn Braille and access everyday information through their fingers, which is the goal of Braille literacy.”
Warm and fuzzy? Good not just me then.
MWC 2016: Samsung Galaxy S7/Galaxy S7 Edge
Not much more needs to be said than what appears to be this years leading flagship, but just in case you’re not convinced, take a look at this.
https://youtu.be/RfCubGgMkms
