Top 10 Mobile World Congress insights: Nokia, Samsung and Qualcomm dominate headlines
We round up the biggest headlines from another packed show
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) has come and gone in a blur of announcements, unveilings, keynotes and the odd plate of tapas.
As usual, the Barcelona phone fest continues to prove a key staging post for the year ahead and an indicator of the big trends in the mobile market.
V3 was live on the scene and after our week-long stint at the event we've put together some insights into the major trends and biggest announcements that we think will be key for the coming year, and beyond.
10. Blackphone aims to hide data from spies' eyes
The Blackphone handset from Silent Circle and Geeksphone was announced ahead of this year's MWC, and the firms took to the Barcelona show to give the handset its first official airing.
Silent Circle describes the Blackphone as the "phone no-one else has dared to make", as rather than focusing on a high-end camera or top-of-the-range screen, the device is all about security. Given recent NSA revelations, the firm is hoping that this will win over buyers.
While Android is at the phone's core, Blackphone runs Silent Circle's own PrivatOS, which equips the handset with a bunch of tools and features to ensure its user's privacy is retained. These include anonymous search, automatic disabling of non-trusted WiFi hotspots and private texting, calling and file-transfer capabilities.
That's not all, either, as the phone comes with $700 worth of other features pre-loaded for free, including a two-year subscription to Silent Circle's own application suite, and two years of Spideroak encrypted data backup, with 2GB free data included each month.
Blackphone will cost $629 and there could be a few enterprises considering the device as the Snowden PRISM revelations continue to flow.
Top 10 Mobile World Congress insights: Nokia, Samsung and Qualcomm dominate headlines
We round up the biggest headlines from another packed show
9. Mobile market is still up for grabs despite Android dominance
While the Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and Nokia X have been the main talking points at this year's MWC, the technology show has also been home to emerging operating systems and hardware, such as Mozilla's Firefox OS and Samsung's Linux-based Tizen software, suggesting that Android, iOS and Windows Phone haven't got the mobile market all to themselves.
Mozilla, for example, was keen to talk up its Firefox OS in Barcelona, revealing that we will soon be seeing the operating system on both $25 smartphones and those touting high-end specifications.
Meanwhile, Samsung is hoping its Tizen operating system will become a big thing soon, too, and has eased consumers into the operating system by equipping its Gear 2 and Gear Neo 2 smartwatches with its own open-source OS, with plans to expand this to smartphones and cars. This should have Google worried: if Samsung's risk-taking pays off it could end up dumping Android altogether.
8. Panasonic gets tough with new tablets
Panasonic's Toughpad tablets have been getting a name for themselves in the enterprise and government services space for years. This is because not only are they almost indestructible, they come loaded with a host of enterprise productivity and security applications and technologies such as barcode scanners and use of Microsoft Windows 8 Pro.
The only real issues with the Toughpads has been their £1,000-plus premium price tags and slightly hefty form factors. This MWC, Panasonic moved to address the second of these issues, unveiling its brand-new 5in, FZ-E1 Windows Embedded and FZ-X1 Android Toughpad tablets.
Featuring the same rugged IP68 certification as previous Toughpads, coupled with full 3G connectivity, the new Toughpads are the first to let users actually make and take calls on their tablets – a key selling point that could expand Panasonic's already strong enterprise customer base.
7. Mozilla Firefox OS not just after emerging markets
Firefox OS blasted onto the scene in 2013, with former Mozilla chief executive Gary Kovacs claiming the HTML5-based mobile operating system would set the smartphone industry ablaze. To date, running on intentionally low-end and low-cost devices designed to target emerging markets, Firefox OS has enjoyed moderate success.
This MWC, Mozilla has looked to ride off this success and partnered with a number of OEMs and network carriers to launch a number of new Firefox OS devices. The most interesting of these is without a doubt the Fire S. Built by Alcatel, the Fire S is one of the highest end Firefox OS smartphones ever made.
The Fire S is confirmed to feature advanced LTE connectivity and is the first-ever Firefox smartphone in history to feature a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. Other key specs include a 4.5in quarter high definition (QHD), in-plane switching (IPS) display and an 8MP rear camera.
While there's no word when and if the Fire S will arrive in the UK, its high-end specs seem to suggest Mozilla has plans to expand its Firefox OS customer base and start targeting the high end of the market too.
Top 10 Mobile World Congress insights: Nokia, Samsung and Qualcomm dominate headlines
We round up the biggest headlines from another packed show
6. Intel underlines commitment to mobile market growth
For years Intel's interest in the mobile market was tepid at best – and it showed, as it fell behind rivals such as ARM while the market exploded.
Chief executive Brain Krzanich has admitted this on several occasions, and the firm is now fighting to gain share of this vital market, which started with the launch of the Atom-powered San Diego.
At this MWC, Intel unveiled its new dual-core Merrifield and quad-core Moorefield mobile processors. Designed to take on Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon processors, Intel has worked hard to load Merrifield and Moorefield with an arsenal of cutting-edge technologies, claiming they will offer superior performance to any other chip on the market.
The tactic has proven a hit and several OEMs, including Asus, Dell and Lenovo – which is set to buy Motorola, one of a select few mobile makers with experience of making Atom-powered smartphones – have inked partnership deals with Intel to create and release devices using the new chips.
5. Sony impresses with the Xperia Z2 Although MWC was awash with hundreds of smartphone announcements, one that really grabbed our attention was the launch of Sony's latest flagship handset, the Xperia Z2, thanks to its impressive video recording abilities.
The Xperia Z2 can record 4K video due to a camera recording ability with a pixel resolution four times that of Full HD at 3840x2160, a feature not seen on previous Sony smartphones.
Like the Xperia Z1 and the Xperia Z smartphones that came before it, the Xperia Z2 can also be dunked in water for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5m, due to dust-resistant and waterproof IP55 and IP58 certification. This means users will be able to film most life experiences in super-high 4K video quality no matter where they are, whether it's on a road trip, in a downpour, on the beach or in the sea.
Top 10 Mobile World Congress insights: Nokia, Samsung and Qualcomm dominate headlines
We round up the biggest headlines from another packed show
4. Zuckerberg is a Facebore One of the most anticipated keynotes at the Spanish conference was that starring Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
Queues to join him on stage snaked back and forth outside the auditorium's entrance. Before long the interior filled up, with hundreds of people being turned away just 15 minutes after the doors had opened
However, Zuckerberg, who talked up Facebook's Whatsapp buy and Internet.org collaboration for the duration of his appearance, failed to spark the imaginations of onlookers, with attendees leaving just 20 minutes in.
It might have had something to do with the lack of charisma of the 29-year-old social media chief, proving that being the creator of one of the biggest social media businesses the world has ever seen or having more money than you know what to do with still can't buy mass appeal.
3. Samsung comes out all guns blazing with Galaxy S5 and Knox tools
It's been a few years since a company genuinely shocked us at MWC, with most preferring to avoid the inevitable scrum for attention that happens at every trade show and save their best announcements for private events.
Luckily Korean tech giant Samsung chose to come out all guns blazing at MWC by unveiling its ultra-slick Galaxy S5 flagship smartphone and new hacker-busting Knox security service.
Featuring a blisteringly fast new Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip, radically upgraded 16MP rear camera and coming with a new ruggedised IP67 certified design, the Galaxy S5 has the chops to be one of 2014's best smartphones.
This is especially true when you consider the S5's support for Samsung's latest Knox security version. The new Knox is particularly good as it features a Knox Marketplace and Knox Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) tool.
Knox Marketplace is an enterprise mobility app store that sells Samsung Knox services and business-focused apps and productivity aids, like Microsoft Office 365. EMM is a cloud-based mobile management service that makes it easier for IT managers to monitor and control Knox enabled devices.
Top 10 Mobile World Congress insights: Nokia, Samsung and Qualcomm dominate headlines
We round up the biggest headlines from another packed show
2. Qualcomm steals march on rivals with 64-bit octa-core chip
In what the US chip maker is calling a "world first", Qualcomm took a lead on its rivals at MWC when it launched two 64-bit octa-core processors, the Snapdragon 610 and 615.
Based on ARM's Av8 architecture, the Snapdragon 610 and 615 additions to the Snapdragon 600 line are 28nm system on chip (SoC) 64-bit processors aimed at bringing high performance to mid-range to high-end smartphones, helping to bring high performance to cheaper handsets.
The game-changing chip adds support for hardware accelerated geometry shading and hardware tessellation, which Qualcomm said will provide more detailed, realistic mobile games and user interfaces. The chips also integrate the firm's third-generation LTE modem for 4G connectivity and dual SIM support.
However, the Snapdragon 610 and 615 processors are anticipated to begin sampling in the third quarter of 2014, so we're not likely to see them in devices until towards the end of the year.
1. Nokia Android deal smarter than it looks
Nokia kicked off this year's MWC by unveiling its Nokia X smartphone lineup, news which shocked the technology world due to the Finnish company's choice to equip the phones with Android, rather than Windows Phone.
However, this move doesn't mean Nokia is turning its back on Microsoft and buddying up to Google, and it could actually see the popularity of Windows Phone devices rise.
Thanks to its adoption of Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP), Nokia has switched out Google's services and replaced them with its own and Microsoft's. Google Play has been replaced with Nokia Store, Drive by OneDrive and the usual slew of pre-installed applications replaced with alternatives from the two firms.
This could be Nokia's smartest move yet. With the Nokia X lineup set to retail for less than £100, the company is targeting the devices at first-time smartphone buyers, who will no doubt familiarise themselves with both Nokia and Microsoft's own services, and who could eventually see themselves upgrading to a higher-spec Windows Phone device.