Mobile World Congress (MWC) is known for the excitement that surrounds a series of new flagship smartphone unveilings. However, other mobile gadgets such as wearables and software that runs on mobile devices are also exhibited at the show.
As MWC wraps up today in Barcelona, here is a last sweep of the popular gadgets and software on display.
Xiaomi flagship
Chinese brand Xiaomi, known for creating smartphones with high specifications and low prices, launched the mi5 at MWC yesterday. The company's latest flagship phone features a 5.15-inch edge-to-edge display with a physical home button that doubles as a fingerprint reader - a first for Xiaomi.
Under the hood, the mi5 has a Snapdragon 820 chip with 3GB or 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. It has a 3 000mAh battery with quick charge. The device has a 16MP camera and can record video in 4K. Prices start at $300 (R4 700), which is much cheaper than other smartphones in the market with similar specifications.
Camera jewellery
Both Sony and Motorola debuted wearable cameras this year: the Motorola VerveCam and Sony Xperia Eye. Both can be worn around the neck on lanyards or clipped onto clothing. It is immediately clear the devices are cameras, so would not be appropriate for undercover spy work.
The VerveCam is waterproof at up to 30m and streams directly to smartphones through inbuilt WiFi. The Xperia Eye is a concept product by Sony that features intelligent shutter technology which can use facial and voice detection to capture images.
Remix OS
Technology company Jide has created an Android operating system that runs on desktop computers. The company announced at MWC that the beta version of Remix OS will be available as a free download next week.
Remix OS combines the best of the Android and PC experiences. It allows users access to over 1.5 million apps in the Google Play Store on desktop, while adding options like a start menu, a file manager and multiple windows to the Android system.
Entirely wireless
While Motorola did not launch a smartphone this year at the congress, it introduced several wearables, including the Verve One and Verve One+ completely wireless headphones, or rather "ear buds". The small in-ear sound devices connect to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth.
The buds stay put in ears, without the use of a cable or extra peripheral, through the use of replaceable gel ear tips. The Verve One+ version is dust- and waterproof. Through a dedicated app, using Google Maps, the ear buds can be tracked if lost. They come with a carry case that doubles as a wireless charger.
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