20 Hot Products At Mobile World Congress 2016

Mobile World Congress Kicks Off

Get ready for mobile overload as Mobile World Congress 2016 kicks off this week in Barcelona, Spain. This annual tech conference is a launching pad for the world's biggest mobile vendors to show off their smartphones, tablets, wearables, and other cutting-edge products, from Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones to LG's new Stylus 2 handset.

While Mobile World Congress is known for the mobile devices launched at the event every year, the announcements made at this year's conference may have a different focus -- the Internet-of-Things, 5G connectivity, and virtual reality.

Following are 20 hot new products that will ensure this year's Mobile World Congress starts out with a bang.

LG Stylus 2

LG has announced it will unveil its Stylus 2 at Mobile World Congress. The 5.7-inch phone will be a successor to the G4 Stylus, LG's handset product that features a stylus for note-taking.

LG has enhanced its latest Stylus to feature a pen with a nano-coated tip (as opposed to the previous version's rubber-tipped pen). The phone will also contain new features specific to the stylus, such as Pen Pop, which toggles a shortcut popup menu when the stylus is removed, and Pen Keeper, which prevents users from losing their stylus by displaying a popup message when the phone is in motion without the pen in it. The Stylus 2, which runs on Android and is powered by a quad-core chipset, touts a 3,000 mAh removable battery and SD card slot.

LG G5 Quick Cover

LG used an interesting marketing strategy for its new LG 5 smartphone -- taking the wraps off the LG G5 Quick Cover. "Known as a company ahead of the times, LG took this characterization to heart by revealing the existence of the accessory before the actual product," LG said in a release.

The LG Quick Cover, which has a glossy metallic finish, offers a touch function that allows users to take calls and controls alarm settings without opening the case. Users can use this cover's always-on display to check the time, date and notifications.

LG X Cam

LG also took the wraps off the newest product in its X series, the X Cam, which the company will showcase at Mobile World Congress.

The X Cam, a 5.2-inch device, has enhanced dual rear-facing cameras -- which are 13-megapixels and 5-megapixels -- and a front-facing 8-megapixel camera. While prices on the phone were not disclosed, its 2,520 mAh battery and 2GB of RAM suggest that it may be in the midrange market -- LG states that the phone is "designed for customers who do not want or need all the bells and whistles that come with today's high-end phones but still desire a great camera or advanced display."

Behind the display, the X Cam packs an octa-core chipset clocked at 1.14GHz, and the phone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The X Cam will be debuting in markets in Asia, Europe and Latin America next month.

LG X Screen

In addition to the X Cam, LG will also take the wraps off the X Screen as part of its X Series at Mobile World Congress.

While the X Cam's best features are its cameras, the X Screen excels in its display -- the phone contains a 4.93-inch HD touch screen with a 1.76-inch "always-on" second screen that is taken from the design of LG's premium V10 phone. This screen allows users to easily access frequently used apps, answer calls, or play music.

The X Screen also runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, packs a 2,300 mAh battery, and touts a quad-core chipset with 2GB of RAM. The phone has a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 8-megapixel front-facing camera. Like the X Cam, this phone will be debuting next month in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Samsung Galaxy S7 And Galaxy S7 Edge

At Samsung's Mobile World Congress booth this year, all eyes will be on the South Korean company's latest flagship -- the Galaxy S7.

A teaser video for Samsung's new Galaxy S7 and its larger companion, Galaxy S7 Edge, reveal that there may be few design changes, but it will be waterproof and support wireless charging. The phone will reportedly also have better cameras with more low-light support and a microSD card slot. Consumers also expect the Galaxy S7 to pack a Snapdragon 820 processor, which is Qualcomm's fastest chipset.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Platform

Qualcomm will make a handful of announcements at Mobile World Congress, but two pre-show announcements so far have caught everyone's eyes.

The company announced enablement of its first secure fingerprint authentication for Tencent's WeChat mobile payment services, meaning its framework can secure online transactions on mobile devices without a pin or password. It also announced the expansion of its Snapdragon Wear platform with the addition of leading ecosystem companies, including Borqs and Infomark.

Beyond these announcements, consumers will be watching closely as the company showcases its new Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, revealed last week for wearables.

IoFIT

Other than mobility, wearables will also have a big presence at Mobile World Congress. One interesting wearable that will be on display at the show is IOFIT, a new smart shoe developed by Salted Venture. Salted Venture is a startup supported by Samsung Electronics.

IOFIT is a solution that utilizes pressure sensors and a coaching app to measure users' balance, weight shift, ground force contact and location of center of gravity. These measurements improve user balance and body posture, leading to better fitness routines, posture and golf swings.

Sierra Wireless IoT Solutions

Sierra Wireless will be showcasing its latest Internet -of-Things cellular technologies for automotive, mobility and smart city applications in its Mobile World Congress booth.

Sierra's technology includes low-power, wide-area technology, which can power smart meters, fitness wearables, and healthcare wearables; and wireless multi-operator smart SIM and connectivity services.

These services will be showcased for two applications, according to Sierra -- a personal monitoring system for seniors and a mobile terminal for police operators.

Xiaomi Mi 5

While some mobile vendors are keeping their Mobile World Congress product launches completely secret, Chinese vendor Xiaomi has been pretty transparent about the phone it plans to show off -- the Mi 5.

The company has sent out Feb. 24 invitations for its new phone, which will succeed the Mi 4, and the preview for the event features a large number, 5, with the phrase "all you ever imagine, and more" underneath.

Little is known about the actual details of the Mi 5, but according to rumors, the Android-powered phone will tout a quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor and a 5.7-inch screen with 1080p resolution.

SK Telecom's 5G Demonstration

South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom has announced it will demonstrate its fifth-generation mobile communication platform at Mobile World Congress. The platform, which was built in collaboration with Nokia and Intel, will reportedly provide data speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second, which is 200 times faster and with 1,000 times more data capacity than the current 4G LTE network.

The announcement comes as other companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, throw their hats into the 5G ring by unveiling their public roadmaps of building a 5G platform.

RanPlan To Launch iBuildNet 3.0

Ranplan will be showcasing the latest release of its iBuildNet -- an all-in-one, heterogeneous networking planning solution. This solution is targeted for small cell and Wi-Fi networks for both indoor and outdoor networks.

The company's newest 3.0 version adds new features, including enhanced Wi-Fi planning capabilities and support for LTE-A key standards, including standard updated multi-MIMO, which improves the speed and capacity of home networks.

This product helps users plan their indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi and cellular networks in coordination, reducing the time and cost of deployment and ensuring support for future technologies and standards.

Visa -- Biometric Authentication

With mobile payments becoming increasingly popular, all eyes will be on Visa's booth at Mobile World Congress. The company has announced it will showcase "the future of payments," including connected commerce, which leads to new ways to pay with mobile devices using mVisa and Visa Checkout, as well as wearable contactless payment devices.

One of the more interesting products on display will be biometric authentication payment prototypes. Biometric authentication will allow device users to pay at the register with a wave of a hand or facial recognition, as well as enable fingerprint capabilities on devices.

Visa recently introduced the Visa Developer platform, which gives developers access to hundreds of Visa APIs and SDKs for Visa's payment technologies and services.

Cypher And Cisco's Collaboration

Cypher and Cisco are announcing a collaboration at Mobile World Congress' MobileFocus Global event to implement Cypher's voice isolation software within the Cisco interoperability system.

This voice-isolating software uses math, neural networks and pattern matching techniques to detect and isolate the speaker's voice, as well as ignore all other background noises. According to Cypher, this technology results in a 99-percent reduction of background noise and 20-percent improvement of audio quality.

Cisco's Instant Connect solutions are a perfect fit since they are often used for voice traffic by first responders in extreme environments where being understood can be a matter of the highest importance," said Cypher CEO John Walker. "By isolating specific elements of human speech, our technology can eliminate virtually all background noise… in a much more affordable software-based solution."

Bullitt's Cat S60 Smartphone

Some smartphones at Mobile World Congress will have long battery life, and others will have crystal-clear displays, but Bullitt's phone will have a unique feature -- a thermal integrated camera.

This phone, the Cat S60, will have an embedded thermal camera from FLIR, the leader in thermal imaging technology. This phone has an array of applications, including detection of heat loss around windows and doors, spotting moisture and missing insulation, identifying over-heating electrical appliances and circuitry, and seeing in the dark.

The 4.7-inch Cat S60 is also waterproof in depths up to 5 meters for one hour, so it can be used as an underwater camera, and is drop-proof to 1.8 meters. This Android phone comes with a Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 13-megapixel main camera with a dual flash and underwater capabilities.

HP Elite x3

HP Inc. is showcasing its new mobile device, the HP Elite x3, at Mobile World Congress. This device is built for work with business-grade security, HP support, access to corporate apps on HP Workspace, and durability.

The 5.96-inch display phone, which runs on Windows 10 Mobile, also includes wireless charging capabilities and two high-resolution cameras. It packs a Snapdragon 820 -- Qualcomm's fastest processor -- and contains 4 GB of onboard memory.

The mobile device will go on sale in the summer. Pricing is not yet available, according to HP.

Lenovo Tab3 10 Business

Lenovo showed off its enterprise smarts by lifting the curtain on the Tab3 10 Business, a tablet that is targeted to companies.

This Android tablet is optimized to support employees who need to be constantly on the move while they are working. The 10-inch tablet supports Android for Work, which targets security and manageability, and comes pre-loaded with Android for Work productivity apps. On the security front, the Tab3 10 Business uses hardware encryption software and policy control.

On the inside, this tablet packs a MediaTek processor clocked at 1.3 GHz, as well as options of 2GB or 3GB RAM and a 7,000 mAh battery with up to 12 hours of usage time. On the camera front, the tablet has a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera and front-facing 5-megapixel camera. Pricing for this tablet ranges from $199 to $299, and it will go on sale in June.

VIBE K5

Lenovo also used Mobile World Congress as a launching pad for its smartphone, the VIBE K5.

This 5-inch phone combines high-end features, such as a premium aluminum casing and Dolby Atmos enabled speakers, with affordable $125 pricing. The VIBE K5 runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop and packs a 64-bit Snapdragon 415 processor, fairly typical specs for a low-end smartphone.

Under the hood, the VIBE K5 also touts 2GB of memory and a microSD slot that enables up to 32GB of additional memory, as well as a 2,750 mAh interchangeable battery with up to 15.1 hours of talk time on a 3G network. On the camera front, the VIBE K5 contains a 13-megapixel autofocus rear-facing camera and 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The VIBE K5 will be available in March. Lenovo's VIBE K5 Plus, unveiled alongside the VIBE K5 at Mobile World Congress, is the higher-quality companion phone. Starting at $149, this 5-inch smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 616 with better performance.

Yoga 710

Lenovo revealed its new consumer Windows 10 PC, the Yoga 710, a convertible laptop targeted for travelers and mobile workers who are productive while on the road.

As its predecessors are known for, the Yoga 710 can flex into four modes, including laptop mode, stand mode, tent mode and tablet mode.

The Yoga 710 comes in a 14-inch model, which is powered by a sixth-generation Intel Core i7 processor and contains better Wi-Fi connectivity, and a smaller 11-inch model, which is powered by a Core m5 processor. Both models contain 8 hours of battery usage and up to 256 GB of SSD. Both models will be available in May.

Intel's 5G Collaborations And IoT

While Intel has kept mum on specific products it will launch during Mobile World Congress, expect the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company to play a big part in the conference. Intel will likely discuss its role in 5G, or fifth-generation mobile communications technology, and how it will rival competitor Qualcomm in this space.

As it did at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Qualcomm will also likely showcase the various applications it is powering for the Internet-of-Things.

Nokia's 5G Efforts

Like Intel, Nokia will be focusing heavily on 5G infrastructure and deployment, so head over to the company's booth to learn more about the technology's use cases.

Nokia is expected to talk up its partnerships with carriers all over the world and demonstrate the transformations in the cellular network to achieve scalable device connections. The company will also detail applications such as 5G autonomous vehicles and the experience of being in a stadium running on 5G that can handle fast, live multi-casting with synchronous data transmission across a large number of smartphones.