All the big news from MWC2017 in a neat little package

So another annual Mobile World Congress has finished. MWC2017 proved to be another year of interesting announcements, surprises and…well there really weren’t many tears. New technology was shown off, new phones and powerful concepts as well. It’s always a great way to start the year with the promise of new toys and widgets. Hopefully none that explode with the force of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s. So here, in no particular order, are some of the best announcements MWC2017 had to offer.

Samsung

The Korean giant announced a new Galaxy Tab S3 tablet. There was also a new stylus and controllers for their virtual reality headset. But really, nobody in their right mind gets excited by Galaxy tablets. Everybody wants to find out what the next Samsung Galaxy phone will do. That hope was achieved, though it wasn’t through official channels. At least we know Samsung has wisely decided not to call it the Supernova.

Nokia’s phoenix rising

Nokia is now on to its third iteration of being a phone manufacturer. After Microsoft’s disastrous purchase of the storied brand, Nokia’s brand has now been resold to HMD Global. The brand recently did a soft launch in China of the Nokia 6, a midrange device. Nokia also talked about two smaller and cheaper devices during MWC2017, the Nokia 5 and Nokia 3. It also revealed it was relaunching the Nokia 3310 packaged into a more modern design. The neo-3310 even includes neo-Snake in glorious colour! At the same time, Nokia also announced it’s bought Withings, famous for personal care products and a smart hairbrush.

Blackberry trying to do a rebirth (again)

Another famous brand down on its luck trying another gambit is Blackberry. The company gave up making its own devices forever-more, and instead is tasking Alcatel with making Android phones with Blackberry custom software. During MWC2017, Blackberry announced its final Blackberry device before Alcatel’s manufacturing contract begins. The Keyone is the last Blackberry, the last with a physical keyboard and certainly not a good value proposition, with midrange specs, but top tier prices.

Android, Android everywhere

MWC2017 wouldn’t be complete without phone makers other than Samsung making a splash. Thankfully, this year was no different, with Lenovo announcing the Moto G5 series of smartphones. LG also joined the fray with its G6, which is all waterproofed and what not. In other Android news, ZTE cancelled its interesting but doomed Hawkeye phone, which could apparently do a good impression of Spiderman’s skill of sticking to walls. The company realised charging top dollar for a midrange device in a Kickstarter wasn’t a great plan. Huawei tried to make its upcoming P10 the best it could be, but was lacklustre against the more established players.

5G connectivity sets the standard

Well, at least a standard for 5G mobile devices was set. Promising faster mobile internet speeds than you can shake a mobile data plan at, 5G promises to make us all more connected. Sony demonstrated 5G-like speeds with the new Xperia XZ, which can download at speeds of up to 1GB/s. Great, since no phone networks support that kind of speed. Presumably, 5G speeds will make it easier to walk into things as we check out all the clickbait articles in the world while walking. It will also make the Internet of Things possible, with small devices populating the airwaves. Each cell is meant to support at least one million devices per square kilometre. What worries me is just how many Internet of Things things will be step on on the way to work?

The future of SIM cards, miniaturised

Infineon also showed off its latest invention, the future of SIM cards for mobile devices. Rather than having a little SIM card chip thing, future devices will have embedded SIM cards which will can be programmed by telecommunications companies. Smaller SIM cards will also mean easier packaging for engineers, or perhaps more room for a slightly larger battery to last you through the day. Either way, eSIMs are a sign of the future in telecommunications

So these are some big stories from the MWC 2017. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Twitter.