MWC 2017 Preview: Samsung, LG, Nokia, BlackBerry, 5G And IoT

Sony

The Japanese tech giant is expected to reveal a clutch of new Xperia smartphones. The Xperia X2 can be expected to make an appearance as Sony’s flagship, with it likely to sport a QHD or 4K resolution display; this is hardly a revelation in the smartphone world, but Sony’s experience in producing TVs means it makes mobiles with suitably impressive display.

There’s a good change that the Xperia X2 could have an edge-to-edge display and a front devoid of physical buttons.

Arguably, there isn’t much to get excited about here from a business perspective, but Sony generally makes well-made smartphones that aren’t as pricey as those from Samsung and Apple, potentially making them appealing for rolling out new handset to a workforce.

However, there is still scope for Sony to surprise us with some unexpected features, but we’ll have to wait and see what the company revealed at is Monday showcase.

Nokia

2017 is the year Nokia attempts a comeback to the smartphone market after Microsoft bought its hardware division. Developed under license by HMD, the Nokia 8 will be an Android smartphones set to be the new Nokia flagship.

Rumoured to be sporting Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chip, the Nokia 8 should have plenty of processor grunt to power Viki, Nokia’s take on the virtual assistant set to rival the likes of Cortana and Siri. If Nokia can crate a virtual assistant with functionality that errs on the side of the rather impressive Google Assistant, then the Nokia 8 could make a decent splash in the competitive mobile market.

Fans of nostalgia will also get a glimpse at the Nokia 3310 reboot. Arguably the device most people think of as one of the first mainstream mobile phones, the ‘new’ 3310 is set to cost around £50 and brings in a tough mobile with a battery life that last much, much longer than today’s smartphones.

However, like it or not, many of us have come to rely on our smartphones for all manner of daily tasks, so other than tickling feelings of love for retro tech, the 3310 is not likely to be a must have. That being said companies could put them to use as cheap second phones for people working in the field for extended amounts of time, where access to a power socket may be sporadic.

Huawei

The Huawei P10 will make its debut at the company’s Sunday showcase. While most iterations of flagship smartphones have incremental boosts in power, the P10 is set to be a real powerhouse, with a Kirin 960 processor and 6GB of RAM; storage goes up to a hefty 256GB.

Expected in two guises, the P10 and P10 Plus will both rock a 5.5inch QHD display, with the latter featuring a curved screen. Dual cameras are expected ot be present and correct, and the design looks to be in keeping with the P9, which sported a fairly sleek look.

The Chinese tech giant is also expected to showcase a sequel to its Surface Pro bothering MateBook, which will likely usher in boosted performance and a much-needed increase in battery life.

Another tablet is also expected in the form of the MediaPad T3. Rumoured to offer 10, 8 and 7inch display options, Huawei’s tablet is expected to retain the design and sharp display of its predecessor but have a solid spec increase under the hood.

While Huawei enjoys large success in its native nation, it has yet to really take the enterprise world by storm in the West in the same fashion as Apple, Samsung and Microsoft products, but with an updated product line, it could be in with a fighting chance.

Continues on Page 3…