Three handset trends that you can expect to see at MWC, but which are becoming irrelevant

 

Well this year will be the first year that I am not going to MWC for a while (which I’m a bit sad about – it’s a good show), but the IntoMobile team will have reporters on-site – and they’ll be paying special attention to the devices on show. In fact, some vendors have already started announcing or leaking their line-ups for this year. But are some of the trends we are seeing in handsets, especially those that will get their unveiling at MWC, actually becoming irrelevant? I think so…..

Camera Megapixels

Like a bobbing buoy in the sea, announcements come up regularly that one handset or another is going to have a heavyweight megapixel camera module inside it – 8MP is not uncommon right now, neither is 5MP. But we are also pushing out slowly to the 10-12MP area! However, does it matter? No, not really. The quality of the optics, and then also the processing available inside the device are what really matters. Anyone who had the SE K800i will know what with it’s diminuitive 3.2MP camera, excellent quality shots were achievable. So if you are getting excited over an 8MP device, think again – go try it out if possible before buying. And have a chuckle when some vendor announces12+MP …. The device will probably be about 1 inch deep and could quite possibly not take great pics!

Onboard Memory 

8, 16, 32 – it’s like being tested on your multiplication tables when you were younger! Devices are now coming with Gigs of onboard memory, and yet, how many of us are likely to fill the memory up? With a few notable exceptions where you might upload/download enough to the memory to fill it, most of that memory will be redundant. At the end of the day, you have got to stuff a LOT of video at good quality bitrates, to fill that memory. And yet, onward we go, putting up to 32GB in to mobile devices. More important than having 16GB or 32GB though are two things (1) the ability to get media in to and out of that memory easily, and (2) the ability to navigate your media easily – if you have these, then managing the finite memory you do have becomes easy. For me, iTunes as a media manager wins out in a big way, since things are VERY simple – but there are other good memory managers out there too.

Touchscreens

Bah! A plethora of devices are now out with touchscreens – from capacitive, to resistive, to hybrid models where the screen actually travels on contact – but very few are actually good. It’s not enough to implement a touchscreen for the sake of having one, or to add to your device line-up – but vendors won’t learn, there will be LOADS of touchscreen devices at MWC. Very few device vendors do touchscreen well – some will even choose to implement a flashy (but unresponsive) touchscreen-UI over a dog-tired O/S (naming no names…!).

Far more important than whether a device has touchscreen or not, is the UI itself – is it logical, can you click/press/touch to the functions you want easily, and is it responsive? Hey, if you can implement touchscreen on the top of that, then great, but it’s not essential – and doing it well is HARD! 

So there’s a trio of tech that will be announced inside of devices at MWC, and you can bet that devices will be pushing the limits – unfortunately, in most cases the User Experience (Ux) will be neglected, and devices that are hamstrung in their usability will appear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m positive we’ll see some great devices – but those will be where tech has been tied to the aesthetics of design and usability….

If you fancy going to MWC, it IS a cool show – check out more details on the website here.

[Image via: Mobile Word Congress]