Tech2's top 10 hits at MWC 2012

Is it just us or did this year’s Mobile World Congress feel like it got over in a day’s time? It’s probably because all the major announcements happened on the first day, itself, and what a first day it was! ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ and ‘quad-core’ seemed to be the buzz word around every booth at the event and it will only spread as we make it through this year. We’ve seen offerings from all major manufacturers and we hope you got the play by play as well, if not then we can get you your fix from our MWC 2012 coverage.

Today, rather than just listing out the phones and tablets that were announced at MWC, we’ve shortlisted 10 devices that have gotten us really excited, either due to the design, build, features, or simply because it has a mind boggling camera. So, let’s have a quick look at some of the gadgets that will soon bleed your wallet dry.  

Samsung Galaxy Beam

Move over Maxx Mobiles and Spice, Samsung is now having a go at a concept that has failed to really take off, which could pave the way for a new niche segment, after 3D phones. On the face of it, it’s just another Android phone, that is, until you turn your attention to the HD projector sitting on top. The 15 lumens lamp is capable of projecting a 50-inch wide screen and this coming from Samsung, you know it will be good (at least, we hope so). 

Samsung's new direction

• 4-inch TFT display with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 8GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

Huawei Ascend D quad

Huawei is one of our favourite OEM for mobile phones and they haven’t disappointed this time. Out of all the phones they announced, we are really looking forward to the Ascend D quad, primarily due to its own, homegrown quad-core number cruncher. The phone hits all the check boxes as well, 4.5-inch “Retina” grade screen, 8.9mm thick and ICS. While Nvidia have been harping about their Tegra 3 SoC, Huawei’s K3V2 SoC could give it a run for its money. It has more GPU cores (16 vs 12 on Tegra 3), the CPU is supposed to be faster in pure number crunching tasks and is more power efficient, due to a smaller fabrication process. Plus, it’s one hell of a looker! 

The Ascend D quad

• 4.5-inch IPS+ display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 8GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD

Sticking with Huawei, we are also looking forward to their MediaPad 10 FHD tablet that feels like a nice mix between a Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer with a sprinkling of the new Transformer 700. It’s powered by Huawei’s K3V2 SoC, but this time, it’s clocked at a higher 1.5GHz. It will support LTE and pack in an IPS, Full HD screen, which should be a sight to behold. 

Four-cores and no slowing down

• 10-inch IPS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution
• LTE, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 8GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

Nokia 808 PureView

One of the most talked about phones right now, happens to be a Nokia – Who'd have thunk? We knew they were planning on a successor to the N8, but no one saw this curve ball coming. The 808 packs in a whopping 41MP sensor, along with a new pixel oversampling technology that captures data from seven neighbouring pixels and condenses it into one pixel. This means even though you’ll mostly be shooting in 5MP or 8MP mode, the quality will be of a 41MP sensor, so images are mostly noise free, even in low-light conditions. Nokia says, you’ll also be able to capture an image in true 38MP resolution, but obviously, the quality will go for a toss. 

Some crazy optics

• 4-inch AMOLED  display with a 360 x 640 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 41MP autofocus camera with Xenon flash 
• VGA secondary camera
• 16GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

HTC One X 

We can’t wait for HTC's entire new ‘One’ series to launch and the One X is definitely ‘one’ of the phones to watch out for. This is their replacement for the Sensation XE (we think) and is packed to the gills with features. Despite the large screen and Tegra 3 SoC, HTC have managed to squeeze them all in a 9.3mm polycarbonate shell (like the Lumia 800) and their new design, which has the screen ‘spilling’ over from the sides. All we know is, this is one sexy looking phone, dripping with awesomeness. Oh, and all the new phones come with Beats Audio and Sense 4.0 as well, so there’s another bonus. 

'X'ceptionally good

• 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD 2 display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, NFC
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 32GB onboard
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket