The head-turners of MWC 2013

CEBU, Philippines - As an annually held event, the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) plays an important role in showcasing the newest in mobile developments and trends to the world.

Held on February each year, this year’s MWC took place in Barcelona last February 25 to 28, gathering more than 60,000 attendees to the occasion.

With prominent mobile device manufacturers, mobile operators and mobile content creators unveiling their newest products and service offerings last week, here is a quick look at four of the head turning device-debutants of MWC 2013.

Though the respective Cebu launch dates of these gadgets is still unclear, knowing about them now is certainly worth one’s while.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 by Samsung

Physically described by netizens as a “plumper version of the Galaxy SIII”, the newest member of Samsung’s Note family of phtablets (phone + tablet-combined devices) hogged the limelight in MWC 2013.

Measuring 8 inches in size and featuring a quad-core processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, the Note 8.0 comes with Samsung’s S-Pen Stylus, and boasts a 1280 x 800 screen resolution that does wonders for mobile video viewing experiences.

Android-driven, the device brings definitive meaning to the phtablet ideal, with a size factor that puts it in between Samsung’s 10-inch sized Galaxy Tab and 5.5-inch sized Galaxy Note 2.

The new Galaxy Note 8.0 also comes with support for cellular and data connections, making it a mid-sized tablet device that can function as both, tablet and mobile phone.

Though the highly anticipated Galaxy S4 didn’t make its debut in MWC 2013 (announced to be unveiled in a separate event this March 14), the new Galaxy Note 8.0 proves to be a powerhouse phtablet worthy of the world’s attention.

The ZTE Open by ZTE

Featuring a 3.5-inch sized screen, a 1 GHz processor, 256 MB of RAM and a 3 Megapixel camera, the hardware specifications of ZTE’s ZTE Open can’t exactly be described as stellar.

However, the mobile does come with an “edge”, one that isn’t readily found in other handsets – it runs on the new Firefox OS.

As the world’s first Firefox OS-driven smartphone, the ZTE Open can be described as functionally simple, a cheery product that is aimed for the consumption of emerging markets.

Given that the Firefox OS itself was developed to run on entry level devices, the ZTE Open’s overall hardware specs perfectly matches with its operating system’s aimed consumer range, considering that a high-end spec phone would significantly cost more as premium rated device.

The Cat B15 by Caterpillar Industrial

Caterpillar Industrial, the company internationally known for manufacturing forklifts, payloaders, tractors, and bulldozers, made waves by announcing its newest heavy duty device last week – the Cat B15 smartphone.

Waterproof, dustproof and shock proof, the first smartphone by Caterpillar comes with a 4-inch sized screen, a 1 GHz dual-core processor and a 5 Megapixel primary camera.

Android-driven, the rugged Cat B15 is made with hardened aluminum and rubber components, deeming it as the smartphone of choice for professionals in the construction or industrial fields.

Considering that Caterpillar’s specialty is in the making of industrial and construction equipment and machines, the unveiling of the Cat B15 came as a big surprise to many.

But as surprising as the Cat B15 debut may have been, it has to be said that Caterpillar is not the only heavy equipment manufacturer that features its own phone.

After all, Samsung also manufactures industrial construction equipment too, just as the Korean brand also makes mobile phones and tablets.

The HP Slate 7 by HP

A couple of years back, HP rolled out the HP Touchpad, a tablet which ran on the webOS mobile operating system.

Noted to be one of the brand’s well-known failures, poor sales figures led to the discontinuation of the product, a product status which came some seven weeks after it was initially released in the United States.

Last week, HP featured its new HP Slate 7 tablet, with the device essentially representing HP’s new take in designing and developing its own HP-branded tablets.

Android-driven, the HP Slate7 is powered by a dual-core 1.6 Ghz processor, backed by a RAM rated at 1 GB. With support for microSD removable storage (up to 32 gigs), the tablet features an internal memory of 8 GB.

With a screen measuring 7 inches in size (1024 x 600 screen resolution), a cursory look at the Slate 7’s specs defines it as a non-features dazzling device, but considering that it is expected to cost no more than $200, its overall value as a tablet is quite reasonable.