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New Nokia, Samsung phones to be unwrapped at MWC

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 23 Feb 2018
A queue outside the Huawei flagship launch at MWC last year.
A queue outside the Huawei flagship launch at MWC last year.

Next week, thousands of tech journalists, electronics brands and developers will flock to Barcelona, Spain, to see the latest innovations in mobile technology at the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC).

Last year, 108 000 visitors from 208 countries and territories worldwide traipsed through the conference halls. The event hosted more than 2 300 exhibitors.

The event officially starts on Monday, but some of the large smartphone manufacturers, including Nokia and Samsung, will launch their 2018 flagship devices this weekend.

Samsung is expected to make a huge splash on Sunday evening with the launch of its new S9 devices. Leaks on the Internet have shown that users can expect a Snapdragon 845 chipset, a new camera with an adjustable aperture, stereo speakers, and a super-slow-motion video mode.

HMD Global, the company that has the rights to sell Nokia-branded phones, is rumoured to be launching several new devices on Sunday, which will cover all market segments.

Sony is hosting a launch on Monday morning and is expected to announce a phone with a curved screen and a new flagship with the new Snapdragon 845s chipset.

Other brands expected to unveil premium handsets include BlackBerry, Alcatel and Asus.

What not to expect

The new Cat S61 smartphone will feature enhanced thermal imaging capabilities.
The new Cat S61 smartphone will feature enhanced thermal imaging capabilities.

Huawei, which for the first time last year launched its P-series device at MWC, will reportedly go back to launching these devices later on in the year in April. The consumer group is expected to announce other devices, such as a new wearable, on Sunday.

LG will also not announce the G7 device at MWC. The company has pushed out its release date and instead will unveil an upgrade to its V30 device from last year that will have artificial intelligence capabilities.

Xiaomi and HTC are also rumoured not to be making an appearance at the show this year.

Other than smartphones, the congress will be awash with wearables, tablets, virtual reality headsets, mobile apps, robots, drones and more. Innovations in the technology that powers the mobile devices will also be on display.

Adventure time

The Land Rover Explore Outdoor Phone will be on show at MWC next week.
The Land Rover Explore Outdoor Phone will be on show at MWC next week.

Several mobile manufacturers decided to launch smartphones pre-MWC and to only show them at their stands next week.

Bullitt Group was among those and this week announced new Land Rover and CAT rugged cellphones.

The Land Rover Explore Outdoor Phone was designed for people who "live for adventure". The device has a tough exterior and a 4000mAh battery that gives two days of typical use. Battery life can be doubled by adding the Adventure Pack add-on. The Adventure Pack has a GPS patch antenna which the company says improves the reliability and accuracy of the GPS.

The Cat S61 is aimed at professionals who work in the building industry, utility workers and emergency first responders. The device features an enhanced FLIR thermal imaging camera with live-streaming, built-in laser-assisted distance measuring, and an indoor air quality sensor. The sensor alerts users to high levels of indoor air pollutants in their working environment.

Both devices are dustproof and waterproof up to 3m for an hour, and their screens are optimised for outdoor use, meaning they are still legible in direct sunlight. Both will be made available in SA later this year.

* ITWeb will have two journalists in Barcelona reporting on happenings at MWC.

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