MWC-2017: Day 2
Mobile World Congress is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, organized by the GSMA and held in the Mobile World Capital Barcelona. This year the event commenced on 27th February and there have already been several announcements in the run-up to the event.
We have a team of analysts present at the event meeting with tech companies large and small to discuss and analyze the latest developments. We will be sharing some quick insights on these announcements, with more detailed analysis to follow of the implications of what transpires over the next few days in Barcelona:
Meizu unveils industry leading mCharge technology
Meizu unveiled its Super mCharge technology. The company claims it to be fastest charging technology available, fully charging a 3000mAh phone in 20 minutes. Meizu also clams to achieve 98% charging efficiency, yielding a power output of 55W with highest device temperature reaching to just 39 degree Celsius.
After the Note 7 debacle, OEMs have been taking extra steps to ensure safety of its devices. The impressive temperature figure announced by the company takes it a step further from its competitors.
Interactive touchpads to replace capacitive on-screen buttons
After Apple experimented with the Home button, a new trend is emerging for the smartphone on-screen buttons. Huawei and Motorola are replacing the long cherished physical capacitive buttons with new interactive touch buttons. These buttons support gesture controls and taps, combining the trio of Android shortcuts — Back, Home, and Recent Apps into one button interface. The new button, though a small change, will act as a differentiating factor in-terms of both form factor and user interaction. Going forward it might support various other functions as-well with new gestures coming in.
Vodafone enters into a partnership with Ford to provide connectivity services
As data consumption in connected vehicles is set to increase, Ford’s partnership with Vodafone brings in additional revenue streams for operators. Vodafone will provide connectivity on the go for various ranges of services including infotainment, emergency and others apart from Ford’s Connect and FordPass services. The new modems can connect up to ten devices and will be available for selected vehicles in Europe starting 2018 onwards. We will see more such partnership between automotive OEMs and operators this year as connected car services becomes more important to operators as they roll out GB LTE and other pre-5G upgrades.
HTC expanding its VR reach with Vive Tracker and Vive Delux
HTC is expanding its VR ecosystem. The company has made VR more immersive by announcing Vive tracker and Vive Delux audio strap. Vive Tracker is built for developers and accessory makers to make objects/accessories that can be incorporated into the VR experience. The Vive Tracker pushes the limits of VR by allowing the users to use their full body in VR. Further, Vive Delux audio strap will combine integrated audio with new comfort features, ensuring a more comfortable feel during long VR sessions. This will lead to an overall enhancement in VR experience.
Roborace showcased its race ready car
Roborace, the company will launch a racing series of self-driving cars and showcased its race ready vehicle at MWC. The car which looks like a heavily modified F1 car and is supported by Nvidia’s Drive PX2 AI chipset. The idea of a self-driving vehicle race is unique and will help established brands as well as start-ups. First steps are building interest in this segment to creating brand awareness. The founders envision two race categories. The first is more conventional and is a no-contact race. The second is described as a ‘no holds barred’ version. Components players in this ecosystem will get a platform to showcase their technologies and to develop for new business opportunities.
IOT Revolution -2017
AT&T, Ericsson and QUALCOMM Technologies collaborated to demonstrate the first VoLTE call for IoT using an existing mobile network. The VoLTE call made on Cat M1/LTE-M technology used Qualcomm’s MDM9206 modems, Ericsson’s radio and core network technology, and AT&T’s mobile phone network. The demonstration opens up new verticals within IoT which will be enhanced with voice services support. AT&T has suggested such voice services support could be used within the alarm and security industry, automotive, wearables and connected health markets.
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