MWC’s Bounty of Gadgets

With the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2011 drawing to a close, geeks everywhere are rubbing their hands in anticipation of the hot new hardware. Hitesh Raj Bhagat rounds up some of the more exciting launches

1 Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 2 Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo 3 Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 4 Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Army

First up is the Xperia Play – an Android phone with PSP-style gamepad buttons. It’s the world’s first phone with a Playstationcertified controller built in. It runs Android 2.3, has a 4-inch 854 x 480 pixel capacitive screen, 5MP camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and all high-end smartphone features. Hardware is a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor with embedded Adreno GPU for 3D graphics. It weights 175 grams; only slightly more than the average smartphone.

Next, we have the Xperia Neo which has a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen with Sony’s Bravia display engine, 1Ghz processor and 8MP camera.

The Xperia Pro is a touchscreen Android phone with side slider QWERTY keypad. Like the Xperia Neo, it has a 3.7-inch touchscreen capacitive display (which uses Sony’s Bravia display technology), 1 Ghz Qualcomm processor, Android 2.3, 2MP front and 8MP rear camera. Both the Pro and the Neo have HDMI output and Sony’s Exmor R (for mobile) image sensor, borrowing technology from Sony’s CyberShot range of cameras.
Finally, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, also seen doing the rounds at CES earlier this year. The striking curved design, powerful hardware (1Ghz Snapdragon cpu + Adreno graphics engine) and large 4.2-inch 480 x 854 pixel capacitive touchscreen set it apart from the rest. It’s also unbelievably thin at just 8.7mm.

1 Samsung Galaxy S II 2 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung’s Powerful Sequels

After several teaser videos and leaks, the next version of the Galaxy Tab was unveiled at MWC. Contrary to rumors, it's not called the Galaxy Tab 2 but the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (referring to the 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 screen). It has the powerful 1Ghz dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, Android 3.0 (Honeycomb; designed specifically for tablets), 16 or 32GB internal memory, 2MP front and 8MP rear camera, 1080p video recording and playback and Wi-Fi N — all encased in a 599 gram shell (just a shade under the iPad's 680 grams). Meanwhile, the Galaxy S II is the flagship smartphone and lays claim to the title of world’s thinnest smartphone at just 8.5mm. It may be thin, but it still has a 1Ghz dual core processor, 1GB RAM and 4.3-inch 800 x 480 pixel Super AMOLED Plus display. Samsung also showcased the Wi-Fi 4.0 and 5.0; 4 & 5-inch
Android media players with built in Wi-Fi.

1 HP TouchPad 2 HP Pre3

HP Bets Big on WebOS

Even since HP’s acquisition of Palm in 2010, speculation was rife that HP would use the WebOS operating system in upcoming devices. The HP TouchPad has a very similar size to the iPad (with the same 9.7-inch screen size) and is the first tablet to be powered by WebOS. It has a 1.2Ghz dual core Qualcomm processor, 16 or 32Gb internal memory, GPS and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. Next up is the Pre3, successor to the Palm Pre, with suitably bumped up hardware. WebOS’ primary mainstay is the excellent multi-tasking, which shows all running applications as ‘cards’ which you can flip through.