Mobile World Congress 2017: Nokia 3310 and all phones launched in Barcelona

The 2017 edition of MWC saw Nokia, Samsung, BlackBerry, LG and Motorola launch new handsets along with a new tablet and convertible from Samsung’s stable.

A Nokia 3310 device is displayed after its presentation ceremony at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. (Reuters Photo)

The phones that will at least capture your minds in the first half of 2017 are here as several key handset-makers launched flagship devices, tablets, two-in-ones at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Sunday.

Here is a roundup of all the phones and devices that were launched:

Nokia 3310 is back along with the new Nokia 6,5 and 3

HMD Global-promoted Nokia reintroduced the iconic Nokia 3310 handset in a new design along with the Snake game at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 in Barcelona.

The new Nokia 3310 is sleeker comes in different bright colours. The phone is expected to come with Bluetooth and an app store. However, the availability and the price of the phone was not announced. Arto Nummela, CEO of HMD, claimed that the new 3310 will have a battery life of 22 hours and will survive nearly one month of standby time on a single charge.

The company also launched a new Snake game -- once a great hit among Nokia phone users. The game can be accessed on Facebook Messenger under the games tab.

Read | 5 things you need to know about the new Nokia 3310

In terms of smartphone launches, HMD introduced the global edition of Nokia 6 -- a phone that saw huge success in China. HMD had to restock Nokia 6 units three times with JD.com -- a e-commerce site that was selling the phone. The new Nokia 6 and Nokia 6 Art Black Android smartphones have been priced at €229 (approximately ₹ 16,000) and €299 (about ₹21,000).

Other launches include the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 3. While the 5.2-inch Nokia 5 will retail for €189 euros, the Nokia 3 will retail for €139 euros. All the new Nokia smartphones will come with Android Nougat and Google Assistant. All the phones will also come with a laminated display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Nokia CEO Rajiv Suri also said that now all Withings products will retail as Nokia and Nokia Technologies were working towards virtual reality, connected health solutions and 5G.

Moto G5 and G5 Plus

Say Hello to the new #MotoG5 & #MotoG5Plus :
great product ✅
fantastic price ✅#LENOVOMWC pic.twitter.com/k8WeZuL9jZ

— Moto Global (@Moto) February 26, 2017

Lenovo-owned Motorola launched two new smartphones -- the Moto G5 and G5 Plus -- at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday at a starting price of $299 (approximately ₹14,000). The devices will start retailing in March.

In terms of specifications, the Moto G5 and G5 Plus will come in a metal body design. While the G5 will come with a 5-inch display, the G5 Plus will come with a 5.2-inch display. The phones will be offered in three RAM and storage variants. While users can choose from 2GB, 3GB and 4GB RAM units, storage options will vary from 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions. Most markets will also see the phones come with expandable storage upto 128GB.

MWC 2017: Nokia 3310, Snake game are back! So are new Nokia series 6, 5 and 3

In terms of optics, the G5 Plus features a 12-megapixel camera with dual autofocus pixels. The G5 Plus will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 2.0 GHz octa-core CPU and 650 MHz Adreno 506 GPU. The G5 Plus will draw power from a 3000 mAh battery.

On the other hand, the smaller Moto G5 comes with a 2,800 mAh battery, along with 13MP rear camera.

Samsung unveils Galaxy Tab S3 and Galaxy Book convertible, discloses S8 launch date

Samsung on Sunday unveiled the Galaxy Tab S3 and a the Samsung Galaxy Book two-in-one at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

In terms of specifications, the Samsung Galaxy book will come with a 12-inch Super AMOLED FHD (2160x1440) display, a 7th Gen Intel Core i5 Dual Core 3.1GHz processor. The device will two RAM and storage combinations -- 4GB+128GB SSD / 8GB+256GB SSD with expandable storage upto 256GB via a microSD card. In terms of optics, the Galaxy Book will come with a 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera and a 5-megapixel front shooter. The Book will also support fast charging.

Email, edit graphics and prepare your presentation, all while heading to the meeting. #GalaxyBook pic.twitter.com/S2rvGKqcjn

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 26, 2017

Interestingly, the Galaxy Book will also come with two USB 3.1 Type C ports, accelerometer, WiFi and will run on Windows 10 operating system.

The keyboard connection on the Book has been revamped, making it easier to shift from slate to connected and back again. With longer battery life (reportedly 10 hours) and expandable storage, the unit ships with keyboard and S-Pen in the box, as part of the standard package. For users wanting cellular connectivity, a single click on Samsung Flow enables hot spot capability for those with a Samsung phone. Samsung Flow is a new technology that emulates Apple's iCloud Keychain. This means users can share files or take calls from eithher their Samsung smartphone or the Galaxy Book. The Book ships with the new keyboard and Samsung SPen.

Full Coverage: Mobile World Congress 2017

On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab S3 comes with a 10.6-inch (1920x1280) FHD display, a 7th Gen dual-core Intel Core m3 processor, 4GB RAM

64GB/128GB eMMC (expandle via microSD up to 256GB). In terms of optics, the Tab S3 has a 5-megapixel rear and front camera. The tablet also supports Samsung Flow and will ship with the Spen.

See video the way it's meant to be seen: In true-to-life, cinema-quality HDR. #GalaxyTabS3 pic.twitter.com/JYbfgLQH8i

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 26, 2017

The unit is HDR ready, through its mobile Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe) and it incorporates quad speakers, tuned by AKG. The quad speakers' output auto-rotates to accommodate landscape or portrait viewing and battery life and frame rate per second (FPS) are both substantially improved from that of the S2.

Samsung also teased consumers with the launch of the Galaxy S8. The company said that it is going to launch the S8 on March 29 at an event called Unpacked.

Additionally, Samsung also launched a new remote/controller for ite VR headset which it launched in partnership with Oculus. The company claimed that the new remote will help users have a better VR experience.

Huawei launches P10 and P10 Plus along with the Huawei Watch 2

Hands on with the #HuaweiP10. Which feature do you like the look of? #unboxing #HuaweiMWC2017 #OO #MWC2017 pic.twitter.com/UhjuotjZIw

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 26, 2017

Huawei's two new phones bore the names P10 and P10 Plus. The P10 comes with a 5.1-inch 1920x1080 FHD display, while the larger 5.5-inch P10 Plus has a 1440p IPS display. Both come with a dual-lens 20 megapixel rear camera and a front-facing 12 megapixel camera.

Huawei also touted the photography capabilities of its new phones, pointing to the front and rear Leica-made cameras and the advantages of new motion-tracking facial recognition technology for taking portraits. But it was the company's partnership with Pantone that stood out on the day, with the smartphone to launch in eight different colors, including "greenery" and "dazzling blue".

A Huawei Kirin 960 octa-core GPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 3,200mAh battery make up the main internals, with the larger 5.5-inch P10 Plus featuring the same specs but with an option for 128GB storage and 6GB RAM. Prices remains unannounced.

Meet the #HuaweiWatch2! Your number one companion to take on any challenge. #freeyourspirit #OO #HuaweiMWC2017#MWC2017 pic.twitter.com/tkW2knabXZ

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 26, 2017

Also at MWC on Sunday, the Chinese mobile maker unveiled the Huawei Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic. The Watch 2 has a plastic chassis, while the Classic is metal. Both are sportier, bulkier successors of the company's original 2015 Watch, despite both of them having smaller 1.2-inch circular displays than the prior model's 1.4-inch screen. The Watch 2 includes LTE (a Wi-Fi only one will be available), and both timepieces offer GPS, heart rate sensors, and NFC for Android Pay.

The watches have two buttons and come with microphones and speakers. Huawei says the 420mAh batteries offer up two days of continuous power, which is double what the original version provided. A new, low-power mode also allows the watches to last up to 25 days, but functionality is limited to showing the time and counting steps.

LG launches the new G6 with edge-to-edge display

Korean handset-maker LG has launched its next flagship smartphone -- the G6 -- at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday.

The G6, which runs on LG's new 6.0 UI built on Android, will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and will draw power from a 3,300 mAh battery. But what is interesting is that LG has somehow managed to pack in a 5.7-inch FullVision display in a 5.2-inch body. The company also said that the phone will come with a new aspect ration -- 18:9 -- which will make the display look like a movie theatre screen.

In terms of optics, the G6 will come with the same setup as the G5 or the V20. The G6 will come with a dual rear camera setup with 13-megapixel wide-angle and standard lenses. The rear wide-angle lens will have a 125-degree radius. The front shooter will also support wide-angle photography upto 100-degrees. The G6, as LG claims, has a smoother video zoom and a better optical image stabilisation.

The phone that will come in three colours -- Ice Platinum, Mystic White and Astro Black -- is also IP68 and this means that the phone is dust and water resistant. On the assistant front, LG will come with the Google Assistant. The G6, which has minimal design made of metal and glass, also sports a fingerprint sensor at the back.

However, the company has not made any announcements regarding the price or the availability of the device. But if one thing is certain then the modular dream of LG has been put to rest.

BlackBerry and TCL launches KEYone

Blackberry, the Canadian handset-maker, launched the BlackBerry KEYone smartphone, earlier code named Mercury, at a price of $549 (approximately ₹39,000) at the Mobile World Congress 2017 being held in Barcelona late on Saturday night. Made in partnership with Chinese handset-maker TCL, the phone hits shelves in April and will be available globally.

As rumours suggested, the new KEYone comes with a physical QWERTY keyboard as well as a 4.7-inch touch screen. Run on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat, sporting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with Quick Charge 3.0 (BlackBerry calls it Boost charge), the phone draws power from a 3,505 mAh battery.

There were no announcements about the RAM or the camera unit of the phone. Thus, based on the pre-launch talk, the KEYone is expected to come with a 3GB RAM and 12-megapixel rear camera unit - something that most budget phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Notes and the Honor X already has.

However, what is interesting is that the physical keyboard will allow users to set at least 52 quick launch combinations either by light or long press, such as W for WhatsApp, F for Facebook, E for email and I for Instagram. Also, the company has retained the BlackBerry Hub which is an app for all kinds of texts, emails, chats or instant messages.

Additionally, the KEYone will come with BlackBerry's DTEK app which tries to increase security on the phone by drawing features from the BB operating system. The company said that it will release monthly security updates for the phone as well.