Samsung last night unveiled its latest Galaxy handset on the first day of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, wrapping up a day with few surprises. Not even Nokia's announcement that it would sell its first Android phone came as too much of a shock to the thousands of attendees at the event. The move had been well flagged, with even the name leaked online in the run-up to the event – the Nokia X.
There was some interest in the day's keynote speech, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg taking to the stage for the first time. Coming in the wake of the company's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, space at Mr Zuckerberg's appearance was in high demand.
He said he was seeking between three and five phone companies as partners in connecting billions of people who don’t yet have access to the internet, providing data service free of charge to those who can’t afford it. That would bring access to everything from weather information to social networks for those who are currently cut off from the internet.
'Good for the world'
"I want to show that this model works, that's why we're looking for partners who are serious about this," he said, acknowledging that the venture would make a loss for some years. "If we do something that's good for the world, we'll eventually come up with a way to make money from it."
He also called on governments to be transparent about their use of data.
Across the city, Samsung showed off the Galaxy S5 smartphone for the first time, promising to get “back to basics” and focus on what mattered to customers. In Samsung’s view, that meant concentrating on the camera, data download speeds and health applications, while also building in some extra security.
"People want a smartphone that enhances and enables their mobile life," said Simon Stanford, vice-president of Samsung's UK and Ireland's IT & Mobile division.
The S5 has a 16 megapixel camera with a fast autofocus and a new selective focus feature to focus on a particular point while blurring out the background.
It also offers LTE, otherwise known as 4G, and improved wifi performance, supporting fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and includes a new wifi technology that increases data speeds by wi-fi and LTE.
On the health front, the S5 comes with the new version of Samsung’s S health app, which includes a built-in heart rate monitor.
Fingerprint reader
The device is also secured with a fingerprint reader, which protects your financial information, and has a "kids mode" for younger family members.
Another new wearable device was also unveiled, with the Gear Fit joining the Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. The Gear Fit has a curved touchscreen Amoled display, which Samsung claims is a first, and a built-in heart rate monitor. It is compatible with 20 Galaxy devices at launch.
Earlier yesterday, Sony unveiled not only a new flagship smartphone, the Z2, but also a tablet that claims to be the thinnest, lightest 10-inch tablet on the market. An incremental upgrade from the Z1, the new phone sports a bigger screen at 5.2 inches, and a more powerful chip.
The company is bringing some of the technology and innovation it has developed for its audio and video business to its phone, building in the ability to capture video in 4K resolution and offering noise cancelling headphones for the Z2 handset. Sony also announced a mid-tier phone, the Xperia M2.
