So far in 2011, we've seen great things at CES, with the Motorola Atrix and the LG Optimus 2X, and other big side announcements like yesterday's Kyocera Echo, and more notably, the iPhone 4 on Verizon. And come MWC, we can expect quite more. MWC is where manufactures dump their latest models, and quite a few devices get announced between here and CTIA.
In other words, we're looking at stuff that's about as impressive as the headliners of CES without all the 300+ Tablet stuff. Yeah, there's going to be a few tablets, but MWC is more about the phones than other integrated devices. So here's what WE'RE looking for:
Samsung
Korea's #1 Device Manufacture has been indulging in success over the last year with their highly popular Galaxy S line. So what can we expect? Well, obviously another Galaxy S. And to be more specific, a complete sequel. Rumored specs include a 4.3-4.5" Super AMOLED Plus screen, 1.2 GHz Orion Dual-Core CPU, and an 8 MP Camera. It also comes with the standard goods: Bluetooth 3.0 and Android 2.2 (possibly Gingerbread).
Outside of the Galaxy S II, we also are looking at another Galaxy Tab. Specs here include a 7.0" Screen that is rumored to be either IPS or Super AMOLED, although take that with a grain of salt. Other than that, it will run on a dual-core Tegra2 CPU and have several improvements over its predecessor (whether Android 3.0 is part of that, we don't know yet)
Other than the big two, we're looking at another showing of the 4 Galaxy Budget models (Ace/Fit/Gio/Mini) and some new bada 2.0 Handsets. And potentially a few new WP7 devices, including a 4G LTE version of the Omnia 7.
LG
On the other hand, LG isn't one to be left out. While they may be only the #2 device maker in Korea, it wasn't until recently that they started to push the smartphone market. At CES we saw the Optimus 2X, the world's first dual core phone, and that's only one small step into LG's future.
So you already have Dual Core. Where do you go next? 3D. The next big member of the Optimus family is rumored to have a Glasses-Free 3D (Sharp-developed, possibly IPS), and a TI OMAP 4th Gen dual core CPU. Other specs include dual cameras, or in other words, 3D video capture.
There's also the Optimus Tab, or the T-Mobile G-Slate. This device runs on a Tegra2 CPU and Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and it's one of the big-name tablets in this sudden influenza. It also supports 3D.
Other than that, we may look at a few budget Optimus entries and perhaps an American edition of the Optimus 7.
HTC
HTC has yet to enter the dual-core or tablet markets, but the latest rumors suggest that MWC could change that. HTC is rumored to announce around a half-dozen devices, including a few budget models, a new flagship, a buttonless phone, and at least one tablet.
The next big flagship for HTC is likely to be the Desire 2 (a.k.a. Saga). Right now, specs are skimpy, but the screen is 4.0-4.3" and anywhere from standard TFT to Super AMOLED (although I doubt the latter), and it will have a new edition of HTC Sense. Another potential flagship model is the HTC Pyramid, a dual-core powered Gingerbread with support for T-Mobile 4G.
One of the more interesting phones we're looking at right now is the buttonless phone, which some experts have tentatively named the Droid Incredible 2. As for this, we don't know anything other than the fact that there are absolutely no buttons on the front and that it's heading toward Verizon in the future.
Tablets. This should be the highlight of HTC's keynote. The rumor mill suggests a 7" 'HTC Flyer' which is basically on par with the Galaxy Tab, but has Android 2.3 with a new HTC interface, HTC Sensation that has been described as "desktop-like." Also rumored is a Honeycomb-powered HTC Verdi, which will have a 10" display.
Budget phones? Their latest YouTube video suggests a new phone that looks like the Wildfire, minus the trackpad. Also, leaks earlier this month said that there may be a new Brew MP handset, perhaps a sequel to the original Smart.
Sony Ericsson
After a year of putting out advanced hardware with outdated software (Android 1.6 to be precise), Sony Ericsson looks like it's on pace for once. They announced the Xperia Arc at CES, which has a 4.2" IPS 'BRAVIA' Display and Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and it's expected to make a cameo at MWC. Also in store is the Xperia Neo, which has a 3.7" display and is a smaller version of the Arc.
But the biggest announcement of the keynote and maybe even the conference? The Xperia Play. If you saw that creepy Super Bowl ad, you know that this is basically like a PSP and an Android phone combined. It's expected to have a 4.0" Display (BRAVIA), a 1 GHz Snapdragon 2nd-Gen CPU, and most notably, the full-out gaming controls. Rumors suggest this may land at T-Mobile.
Side-Note: It's rumored that there may be a Phone 7 (Xperia X7) device too...
Nokia
Nokia is continuing to fall, but their newest OS MeeGo will make its debut here at CES in the N9-01. Rumors speculate that there will be several new MeeGo devices, most mid-range. In addition, there is rumored to be the E6 and X7 Symbian-powered devices.
The N9-01 looks like it will be Nokia's newest flagship. Running on a 1.6 GHzz Intel Atom chip, it has a 480x854 ClearBlack AMOLED Display and 8 MP Camera. It will run MeeGo 1.2 and possibly land on T-Mobile.
Other
Aava Mobile also plains to announce a Medfield-based MeeGo phone, which may be able to dual boot between MeeGo and Android. Huge nerd factor. Other devices include the Huawei IDEOS X3 smartphone (a toned-down X5) and the S7 Slim Tablet, a new Asus WP7 device. Although we have no idea what, it's highly likely that Motorola will announce a phone of some kind - you don't want to be that guy that passes up on a conference. This last idea is wishful thinking on my part, but if I remember right, Pantech applied some Android device for FCC Approval last year, and it had support for AT&T bands. Again, wishful thinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment