Bucket Tech: OPPO - MWC 2023

OPPO is showcasing a range of its latest innovative technologies at Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC2023). During the event, OPPO is not only showing a selection of flagship devices including the pocketable OPPO Find N2 Flip, but also introduces a number of industry-leading innovations based on its four Smart Initiatives - smart entertainment, smart productivity, smart health, and smart learning, such as OPPO Wi-Fi 6 Router AX5400, OPPO Zero-Power Tag, MariSilicon Y Bluetooth audio SoC, OHealth H1 family health monitor, OPPO Air Glass 2 and more. By delivering enhanced, connected experiences through these virtuous innovations, OPPO is reinforcing its position as a future-focused company that seeks to unlock new possibilities for smart living.

" As the world’s fourth largest mobile phone brand, OPPO has showcased a series of innovations at MWC23, from folding flagship phones to the latest technology behind the Internet of Experience. By bringing new technology breakthroughs to market, we are unlocking new possibilities for smart living to better serve our users worldwide,” said Billy Zhang, President of Overseas Sales and Service of OPPO.

Focusing on Smart Living Initiatives, OPPO showcases milestones in “Virtuous Innovation”

Based on its four internal Smart Initiatives: smart entertainment, smart productivity, smart health, and smart learning, OPPO has brought a number of technology breakthroughs to the event, providing more ways to empower smart, connected experiences in the future.

In “smart productivity”, OPPO has further expanded its communication technology product portfolios. OPPO Wi-Fi 6 Router AX5400 is OPPO’s first Wi-Fi router product, supporting the Wi-Fi 6 AX5400 standard, and is capable of providing a 2.4GHz+5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi signal at the same time. The combination of its high-gain antennas, OPPO’s self-developed anti-interference algorithm and network directional speed-up technology enables Wi-Fi with wider coverage, enhanced stability, and faster speeds.

OPPO Zero-Power Tag is the first prototype device based on OPPO Zero-power Communication technology. Leveraging key technologies such as RF signal harvesting, backscattering, and low-power computing, it harvests radio waves from the surrounding area to power its own functionality and communicate battery-free in order to meet the diverse needs of IoT in the coming 6G era. This is the first time that OPPO has demonstrated the OPPO Zero-Power Tag’s capabilities in item identification and positioning, and data collection from temperature sensors, both powered by RF energy.

OPPO is also showcasing its extensive achievements across other Smart Initiatives, such as OPPO’s first self-developed flagship Bluetooth audio SoC, MariSilicon Y, the new-generation, ultra-light AR glasses, OPPO Air Glass 2, OPPO’s first family health monitor concept device OHealth H1, and OPPO’s first end-to-end power management chip SUPERVOOC S, etc.

In addition, OPPO is also jointly demonstrating a number of technological milestones with different partners, including select proposals from the OPPO Research Institute Innovation Accelerator: EEG Hearables from IDUN Technologies and Cynteract’s glove designed to help people with hand injuries to recover more effectively; hardware accelerated ray tracing technology on the Snapdragon®8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform; innovative Android features like Nearby Share and Fast Pair on OPPO flagship smartphones, and trails of Google One and YouTube Premium for up to 6 months, with selected OPPO devices.

Revolutionizing the vertical foldable experience, OPPO Find N2 Flip will turn flips into users’ first choice

OPPO Find N2 Flip, OPPO's first vertically folding phone recently launched globally in London, has become a major draw to OPPO’s booth. OPPO Find N2 Flip and Find N2 have both been appointed as Official Smartphones of the UEFA Champions League. UEFA Champions League Ambassadors and football stars, Michael Owen and Luis Garcia both join OPPO on the first day of MWC, becoming the first global users to experience the incredible OPPO Find N2 Flip.

Actively practicing corporate social responsibility, OPPO has committed to achieving carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050

Under its corporate mission of “Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World”, OPPO has taken action to integrate sustainability into its long-term development strategy. By the end of 2022, OPPO managed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 6,000 tons annually. Starting with the European market in 2023, OPPO will remove virtually all plastics from the external packaging of its mobile phone products and will ensure that all packaging materials are made from 100% biodegradable materials.

On the opening day of MWC2023, OPPO has also published its first <OPPO Climate Action Report>. The report proposes OPPO’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050, and outlines its future blueprint for low carbon development. With these plans, OPPO will transform its entire business into a low-carbon enterprise.

Bucket Tech: HUAWEI at MWC 2023

The HUAWEI Consumer Business Group presented their innovative technologies, flagship products and ecosystem at the Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC 2023), running from February 27 to March 2, 2023.

Under the theme “GUIDE to the Intelligent World” HUAWEI created an immersive high-end flagship store - a "tech oasis" that integrates smart technology and trendy life scenarios.

The diverse range of innovative products showcased at the exhibition include the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro, HUAWEI WATCH Buds and the HUAWEI WATCH GT Cyber.  Those in attendance experienced HUAWEI brand immersions delivered through technology exchange activities, in-depth conversations with global industry and ecological partners, and demonstrations of their latest innovations and future strategies.

“Guided by our vision of a fully connected, intelligent world, we have exhibited a series of our innovative high-end products and technologies at MWC 2023. With each innovation, we ensure to explore new technological capabilities, meet the needs of consumer and support the ongoing development of the industry,” says Akhram Mohamed, Vice President of Operations at Consumer Business Group, South Africa.

Smartphone innovations including HUAWEI Mate 50 Series and more

In 2022, HUAWEI maintained the lead in smartphone innovation with the breakthrough HUAWEI Mate Xs 2, well-received HUAWEI Mate 50 Series, and the stylish HUAWEI nova 10 Series. At MWC 2023, these leading-edge products were on display to demonstrate HUAWEI’s imaging capabilities, leading folding technology, and understanding of the needs of users.

The HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro leads the way with several breakthroughs. From the XMAGE imaging system to the ultra-reliable Kunlun Glass, it delivers the ultimate technological innovation experience.

HUAWEI continues to promote the development of advanced mobile camera imaging technology. On February 26, during the HUAWEI XMAGE Salon held by the tech company, it unveiled the "HUAWEI XMAGE Trend Report 2023" and invited experts to discuss research results and explore the evolving relationship between technology and creators.

Various smartwatches unveiled, exploring new directions for the development of wearable technology

Last year, HUAWEI smart wearables continued to bring improved product experience to consumers worldwide through innovations in design, manufacturing process and software and hardware functions.

At this year’s MWC, two innovative wearable products were launched, demonstrating state-of-the-art innovations in wearable technology. HUAWEI WATCH Buds combines the features of TWS earbuds and a smartwatch, offering users enhanced convenience by integrating these two devices into a single unit. The HUAWEI WATCH GT Cyber offers Quick-to-Change watch case smartwatch designed to meet the multi-scenario needs of young users and their desire for self-expression.

Moving forward, Huawei wearables will continue to integrate the capabilities and advantages of software and hardware services to bring the ultimate sports and health experience to consumers worldwide

incREDible

I sit here, still battling to find the words to express what we witnessed last night. Don't get me wrong, even though we were 3-0 down, there was still belief that we could do it. Every Liverpool fan had that feeling of hope and belief but to see it unfold was just magical. Anfield on a European night is a stadium like no other, we've heard the tales of the past, we witnessed for ourselves some of these incredible victories, Olympiakos in 2004, Chelsea in 2005, Dortmund 2016 but last nights win against Barcelona tops them all. The passion, the commitment, the fire and desire each and every player showed is just testament to that performance. When Jurgen took over four years ago, critics were out against him, criticizing his high intensity training regime, his rash and wild football style, last night we saw it bare fruit, in fact this whole season we saw what Jurgen envisaged for this team. 

On Monday night, after Vincent Kompany struck and incredible goal, handing Manchester City a slender one goal win over Leicester, it sank the hearts of all Liverpool supporters as we knew that virtually wrapped up the league for them and with a mountain to climb on Tuesday night, our teams displays this season would have no trophies to show for but Jurgen and the team had other plans for us. I'm a big critic of Divock Origi, while he might be a squad player for me he never seemed to fit into the Liverpool team that Klopp has built, I've been giving him stick every time he came on for us this season, but today I eat my humble pie. He scored two important goals for us last night, the first one was crucial, an early one that kick started the come back momentum, and the last one which was the key to sending us to Madrid in June. His play all round last night was magnificent, fighting for the long balls, pressing and keeping the ball up the pitch when it was needed, Klopp trusted him and he repaid him. 

In a game like that, you cannot pin point individuals, as that was a proper team effort but a word to our captain, Jordan Henderson, the one many fans wanted to see go for most of the season, last night proved why he still wears that armband. From the first goal, till the final whistle, he was there marshaling his troops, fighting for the ball, urging the team forward, never letting anyone drop their heads, that is what a captain does and that is why he will always be our captain. Even when his night looked over after he banged his knee, he came back on to fight till the end. He wanted to be there, fighting through the pain making sure his team gets over that line and they did. 

Emotions were at an all time high when that final whistle blew, the team standing in arms in front of the Kop will bring a tear to any supporters eyes. They were all in it together, the fans played just a big of a role as the team did last night. Their voices unsettled that Barcelona team and even with two former Liverpool players, they could do nothing. Praises after the game coming in from stars of the game, Csec Fabregas being one of them and ex managers of the game, Arsene Wenger and one that left me speechless was an interview with Jose Mourinho, his admiration of Klopp shows that he does appreciate good football when he sees it and isn't always a pompous arrogant jackass. The Barca players head home shook after what happened to them last night, but there's a lesson for everyone from this, something that we Liverpool fans always knew, never, ever write Liverpool off in Europe. 

You'll Never Walk Alone

Bucket Tech: Huawei Mate X - First Impressions

After Samsung dropped their Galaxy Fold during their Unpacked event on the 20th of February, only time would tell when the next major phone manufacturer would launched a competitor to it, but we never thought it would happen in under a weeks time! The very same weekend Huawei dropped their Mate X folding screen device at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona. The Chinese manufacturer have always been one of the industries great disruptive with their in your face marketing and calling a spade a spade when comparing their devices to others and it's with this you have to take your hate off to them. They're brave enough to call out the opposition then tell you why their devices are much better than the rest. 

With the Mate X is more of the same, although folding screen technology is extremely new and none of the devices are ready for public purchase, one cannot deny that Huawei's offering looks miles advanced when compared to the Samsung. It's aesthetically pleasing, and the design making better sense than the Samsung with it have a single screen which folds and not 3 like the Galaxy Fold. also the Huawei Mate X is much more slimmer and when unfolded, has a seamless screen. Now while the Huawei may make use of a single screen, I have some concerns, the device folds outwards, meaning when the it's in phone mode, the other half of the screen will rest on the surface. So the quality of glass used must be scratch resistant and pretty hardy to survive impact all round. 

While the device looks great, the features make it even better. The Huawei Mate X has EMUI 9.0 which was born with a minimalist natural design to harmonize technology with humanity. The upgrade enables quality of life and gives you an immersive experience with nature. Huawei say the UI is like nothing you've experience on a smart device and if you're going to have a special phone, might as well have a special user interface to go along with it. The Mate X is also 5G, making use of the Huawei Balong 5000 chipset, the worlds first 7nm multi-mode 5G chipset which has the industries leading 5G download speed. The dual sim port has support for 2G / 3G / 4G and 5G so no matter what sim you have the Mate X will handle it. The camera on the device was made by Leica and has a single file compact layout which is situated on the handle bar of the phone. It has a host of features with wide and ultra wide lenses and also allows mirror shooting for the best quality selfies. The handle bar negates the reason to have multiple cameras on the back and front, a real smart move by Huawei. 

Security wise, the Mate X has super fast fingerprint reading technology, not sure if it has facial recognition but we presume it does. The battery is split into two, with a combined power output of 4,500mAh and has the world's fastest 55W Huawei SuperCharge technology so you can charge the phone from 0 to 85% in just 30 minutes! Overall the device looks great but as I said about the Galaxy Fold. Its of a tablet that folds into something small enough for you to carry in your pocket. While the features are great and the device looks pretty stylish I just don't see the need for this sort of device at the moment. No doubt its going to be pretty pricey when it hits our shores as well. 

Why, Phil?

This past weekend, many Liverpool supporters were left asking themselves this very question, why Phil? Why did you leave us? I, like many others were angry, but also it wasn't the best kept transfer secret and everyone knew it was bound to happen but for us Liverpool supporters there still remained that glimmer of hope the Philippe would see the bigger picture and stay with the club a little longer but alas it wasn't to be. The rumour mill started from the new year with his sudden thigh strain which kept him out of 2-1 win over Burnley and then the 2-1 win over Everton in the FA Cup, concerns were growing, all eyes were on Twitter to see the latest in terms of the on goings of this transfer. When news of him having not traveled with the rest of the squad to Dubai for some summer training, the writing should have been on the wall for us but yet, like the blind some of us refused to speculate. Then the news came, late Saturday night, Liverpool have accepted a bid from Barcelona for Coutinho. It was done, he was leaving us for Spain, for a club that is no stranger from hijacking our star players, as they did not so long ago to Luis Suarez. But why? Did he not see the bigger picture that was unfolding at Anfield? Was he fed up with the cold miserable weather? Did he not get enough hugs from Klopp? What was it? Why did he leave?

Well, I have a theory, well not so much of a theory but it makes a lot of sense. Hailing from South Africa, we for some odd reason love the English Premiership, and hold it in high regard as on of the best, if not the best leagues in the world. Many other countries share the same sentiments even though 90% of the die-hard supporters will never get a chance to see their team play live, we still cherish the weekends when they play. Much like how our fanfare with the English league is, down in South America, they love the Spanish League. Perhaps it has to do with the culture, the language, the style of football. The appeal is there and and there's many a kid in the street playing football with a dream to play in the La Liga. Philippe was one of those kids, Born and raised in one of the biggest cities in South America, Rio de Janeiro, he showed great promise in Vasco da Gama's youth system and was eventually signed by Inter Milan, he didn't have an easy time in Italy but it was a stepping stone into Europe and a step closer to achieving his dream of playing for Barcelona. After a few seasons being loaned out to various clubs, eventually in 2013 he was signed by Liverpool. Under the guidance of Brendan Rogers, he didn't take that long to settle down and fans saw glimpses of what the kid could offer. 

"Little Magician" as he is fondly called, he started making his way into the league, with some acute passing, masterful trickery and that deadly curling shot at goal. He soon became a fan favourite and won numerous awards with the clubs but sadly no trophies, In his 5 year spell at the club, he became a fan favourite one player that we hoped started every game. Just before the 2017/18 season could start, speculation came in that a bid for him was received from Barcelona. With him being integral to the squad, you could understand the clubs decision to turn down any sort of bid for the player but for Philippe, this was his moment. That kid playing in the dusty streets of Rio, dreaming of playing for Barcelona one day was now a reality. Hence he submitted a transfer request, which the club also shot down. Now, whether or not the he could see it, Liverpool are on a long term building program with the manager and the owners for the first time on the same page. They both trust each other and they both want success, while I understand the player must be frustrated for one, not winning and silverware in his time, and two, finally having his dream move in place only for the doors to be shut, which made him oblivious to the bigger picture at hand. 

While for him at that time as a kid, LaLiga was the be all and end all of football, times have changed and English football is highly regarded in Europe and it shows on its center stage with all 5 teams now in the knock-out phase of the Champions League. But I suppose if you have to take into account the language barrier, the weather and the style of football, you can see why his mind was still dead on making the move. After what seemed to have been ages for the summer window to close, he still remained at the club. Whether he was unhappy or not, we couldn't tell as he still played well for us, scored some amazing goals, none more so than what proved to be his last for us against Swansea. What a pearler that was and just the right way to remember him. 

His decision to leave the club in January may be odd, we're not sure what sort of agreement he made. maybe if the club were still challenging for the title he would have stayed till the end but whatever the case is, he's gone now and with that he became the second most expensive player in world football. That burden of the price ta won't bother him though, he's going to shine at Barca, with Messi and former partner in crime Suarez its only evident that he will. At the same time, while over the last 3 games, we've proved we can win without him, and we no doubt have the fire power, he still will be missed for created chances out of nothing and scoring some cracking goals. 

Bye Philippe. 

Silly Season is Over

As the door slammed shut on the summer transfer window last night, it brought much relief to many clubs out there who were trying their hardest to hold onto their star players. Over the years the game has changed and the money has escalated, I mean it's quite ridiculous in some cases. This transfer season saw the record price for a player being smash, previously it was held by Paul Pogba who's transfer from Juventus to Manchester United cost the English club a cool £89 million but a year later saw PSG come in to shatter that price by triggering a release clause in Neymar's contract with Barcelona to lure the Brazilian to the French side for a whopping £198 million! With clubs prepared to fork our insane amounts as those, it just blew the costs per players out of proportion. 

Smaller clubs who had players who gained interest from bigger clubs had exorbitant price tags slapped to them, just so the club could make a great profit from the sale but what that actually did in most cases was scare the prospective buyers away, ultimately ruining chances for the players. Then in certain instances you get players who wanted a change, and tried forcing moves but were unsuccessful. One case which is close to home is of Philippe Coutinho wanting to switch to Barcelona. Understandable it was a life long dream for him and I agree with the player that he tried to be reasonable and respectable about it with the club but when Liverpool didn't budge, he played the transfer request card which didn't go down well with the club nor the fans, thereafter faking injury to make matters worse. 

While we might be livid with the player and can't understand why he would want to move away from what seems like an exciting future for the club, we can't tell what his ambitions or aspirations are. Like Stevie Gerrard said in an interview, it might have been a dream for him to play for Barca as a kid and they could have threatened him and said this would be his one and only chance to join. So you can sort of understand the predicament he was facing. It's quick for supporters to get angry at situations like this but this where football teachings come into it, there is no player bigger than the club. For me, it was a tough pill to swallow when I heard it but if he doesn't want to stay, let him go. Virgil van Dijk faces a similar fate with Southampton but yet with just 2 hours to go in the window, both Coutinho and van Dijk still remain servants to their club, whether it be loyal ones remains to be seen. 

While there was plenty of drama, there still was a lot of sales going on, so who do you reckon did the best business in the Premier League? Many say City, getting their players in before or during preseason, they spent a lot, got in some quality players, prices on some of them remain questionable but at the same time you got to see how the market reacts. Chelsea made some clever purchases but would it be enough for them to defend their title? I personally don't think so but they should still be putting pressure on whoever is. Spurs, finishing second last year and still have a squad which is probably the same as last years may find things a bit different this season, as it is they haven't had the greatest first 3 games but I feel their lack of desire in the transfer market may come back to bite them. Arsenal? The less said the better, for them it's all about holding down the gates and making sure there isn't a max exodus. So far Oxlade-Chamberlain managed to break-out and sign for Liverpool. A signing which confused me a bit seeing that we didn't really need him but who am I to judge. 

I personally think the cleverest deals were done by Jose, he's a shrewde guy and gets what he wants. Signing Lukaku and Matic proved to be the last pieces in his jigsaw puzzle that is Manchester United. They have been unbelievable since the first kick of the ball this season and really look like the United of old, with Zlatan declaring himself fit again and rejoining the Red Devils for one more season for "unfinished business", who knows what this team who looked destined for 6th place again can achieve. My only concern if I was a United fan, is what happens if players get injured, what then? We saw how sides could frustrate United last season and we saw how United could frustrate teams by not wanting to play football in fear of losing. Overall, this Silly Season has been one that certainlly riled up emotions from many and most of us are glad to see its over so we can concentrate on the real matter at hand and that is the football!

Bucket Tech: Mobile World Conference 2017

Life as we know it revolves around our mobile phones, with many now using smart phones for os much more than just phone calls goes to show how important these devices are to our life. I read a joke last year that if you had to fall down, you would first check if you phone was fine before noticing if you were injured, which could very well be true for most of us! With technology constatnly evolving, consumers demands increase with them wanting the latest and greatest device available. This push saw mobile device manufacturers create updated or new devices every year and now almost in under a year .The biggest stage for brands to showcase their top models is at the Mobile World Congress currently taking place in Barcelona. This past weekend saw some big releases and today we're just going to give you some of the highlights. 

Huawei P10 and P10 Plus

The Chinese giant wasted no time in showing to the world it's key smart device, the P10 and P10 Plus. Taking over from the P9, the P10 epitomises everything the company stands for. They are quickly becoming one of the top players in the market and with good reason to. They are in the forefront of the latest tech and do not compromise on quality of  their products. The P10's key features are the Leica Dual-Camera 2.0 primary camera on the P10 and the Leica Dual-Camera 2.0 Pro Edition on the P10 Plus. Both cameras have a 12-megapixel RGB sensor,and 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and enhanced fusion algorithms, with superior technical and artistic photography features to garuntee you professional pictures on almost every click. The P10 and P10 Plus also for the first time feature Leica front facing cameras to complete the total photography package on the devices. Both devices are also avialable in a selection of unique colors as a result of the first cross-industry partnership with Pantone Color Institue, the world's foremost authority on color. Key technical features of the phone are the new powerful Kirin 960 processor and all new EMUI 5.1 which is Huawe''s latest high performance SoC chipset. 

Blackberry Keyone

Also known as the BlackBerry Mercury, this device is set to be the one that kick starts this almost dead mobile devices life in the market. I have a softspot for Blackberry, I've owned two of their devices, both of which are still in great working condition, apart from the battery life on one but their phones were practical, smart and proper business orientated. The Keyone see's a change from what we usually expect from Blackberry but also incoperating all the things we loved about them. For one, it has a full key pad as well as a touch screen. It runs Android OS v7.1 (Nougat). At the heart of the Keyone is a Octa-core 2.0GHz Cortex - A53 CPU on a Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 Chipset. Pretty powerful stuff for this phone. It has 32GB internal memory with a microSD slot capable of up to 256GB. The devices expected release date is April 2017. Blackberry has a lot to do to gain back the markets trust but I think the Keyone could be the catalyst for this. 

Nokia 3310

While we on the subject of comebacks, remember this one? I did a post a few weeks back about the announcement but had no idea what to expect. I said I doubt they would remake the exact phone we were used to all those years ago because it isnt practical in this day and age, while most say they would love one, would they really use it? I doubt it. So Nokia thankfully didn't just recreate the 3310 but brought out an updated version of the classic phone. The 3310 is going to be an entry level phone that would be affordable to almost anyone so don't expect anything fancy from this device. It has a color screen but a small one that measures 2.4 inches. It has an internal memory of 16MB and microSD slot up to 32GB stick. It has a 2 megapixel camera with LED flash. There is really nothing really to write home about this device other than it's name and it's claimed standby battery life of up to 1 month but I forsee a lot of sales due to its nostalgic nature.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

4K HDR screen on a mobile phone? Yup, Sony have managed to do that on the XZ Premium. with 960fps uper slow motion capabilities. While this seems amazing, the first time I saw Quad HD screen on a phone I was blown away by the clarity but there is one major draw back, it kills your battery. Hopefully Sony have found a way around this. Can't have your key feature being the number one reason your battery is depleting.  The 5.5" screen isn't the only thing the device is good for though, the phone comes with motion eye camera that enables the super slow motion capturing, it's water resistant with an IP65/68 rating which is the best you can get when it comes to durability. It has Hi-Res Audio with Digital stereo for true sound quality. More details will be made available closer to its release date in April this year. 

Bucket Tech: Nokia 3310 - The Resurrection

Yesterday Nokia announced that it will be making one of it's famed model cellular telephones again, the 3310. Many websites reported it being "back from the dead", but did the phone really ever die? The popular model from the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer developed a cult status as the "never say die" phone in the early 2000's, with battery life lasting for over a week and what seemed like an unbreakable build even though the split faces popped out, no real damage was done to the body. The phone was also one of the smallest on the market, with a great design, feel and look, it also had changeable covers to make it the ultimate fashion accessory. Ever since the introduction of smartphones, models like the 3310 tend to fall away to the side with limited features and most importantly, no internet access. 

For some reason the phones popularity began to rise again of late through internet memes, many of which depicted the phone as the God among phones, with it's great battery life, such memes showed the phone being found buried somewhere for many years with it still have 90% battery life, or some memes showing buildings or floors breaking when the phone was dropped onto it. Whilst this was all great and funny, we never imagined the actual manufacturer to go back and build the phone again. Nokia say they will build a modern version of the device to sell, which would retail for about 59 Euros, that's roughly R850, Now while we don't exactly know what this new 3310 would be like, it is said to have the key features that made it great, i.e good build quality and great battery life. 

The device is said to launch later this month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Now I have my doubt's about this device, if it is just a 3310, it won't be the most practical phone around. It would be used purely for texting and calling, yes for the older generation it would have been perfect 2 years ago but with many in the late 60's to 80's age bracket adapting to modern technology and making use of applications like Skype, Whatsapp and Face Time, what would a phone like this be of use to them? Also, have you ever tried making your smartphone dumb? That is turning off data and reducing it to just GSM connectivity? You'd be surprised at how long your phone battery will last, at most some could go on for 10 times longer than usual.

For some, the nostalgia of owning a 3310 again might be something great and Nokia could have a great product on their hand in terms of re-marketing itself as a global competitor after the Microsoft disaster but I honestly don't see the need for this phone unless you planning on having it as an emergency phone stored away somewhere in a break-glass case when the Zombie Apocalypse begins. 

Bucket Tech: LG G5

The Mobile World Conference is currently on the go in Barcelona and today saw one of the main days in terms of phone releases, Samsung unveiled their S7 Galaxy but while that was pretty big, many had their eyes cast over at the rival Korean stand of LG.

LG launched their latest premium smart phone the G5 and although the phone it self is a pretty good product, more was said about the accessories made available for it. The companies catch phrase/ hashtag for the G5 is #LGPlayMore which encourages users to have more fun with their phone and with that they've launch a host of portable accessories that connect and transform the device. 

More about that later, the phone it self is much different from the older models with the G5 shedding the plastic casing and opting for a full metal semi sealed unit. I say semi sealed because what they've done is pretty smart, the battery is still removable unlike many of it's competitors. The bottom bit of the phone slides out with the battery attached and you can purchase an additional battery that slots in. Also apart from the material the phones shape is more modular, none of those funny curves that we've become accustom to in previous gen devices.

The device makes use of a snapdragon 820 chipset with 4 gigs of RAM, the screen size is reduced from 5.5" to 5.3" making the over all size much more manageable in your hand and it is remarkably thing at only 7.7mm. The standard battery that comes with this device is slightly smaller than the G4 at 2800mAh and it has the same camera as it's older brother with teh 16 megapxel, 2160 resolution at the back with wide angle capability and 8 megapixel in the front. 

Now, back to the interesting part, LG have launched a host of devices that can be used with the G5. They call these "friends" and really gives value to their tag, LG Play More. First up is the Cam Plus Adaptor, not only does it have an increased battery size but also provides more area for the user to hold the phone and has buttons and a scroll zoom attached to it. 

The Audio DAC (Digital Audio Converter) module will be another popular one, it's basically a HiFi louder speak attachment for you to use with your phone. No need for a bluetooth speaker as this has been tuned by the guys at Bang & Olufsen and provides high quality stereo sound that is unrivaled by a phone. 

LG have also launched 360 Virtual Reality glasses that pairs with the phone, that can be used for apps like google cardboard as well as a 360 camera that snaps a 360 picture which you can view and manipulate on your phone. Another cool "friend" is the Rolling Bot, which if you watched the latest Star Wars movie, it's pretty similar to BB8. it's a drone but doesn't fly it rolls around and has a built in camera which you view and control from the G5.

Overall this phone has ticket all the right boxes so far, I'm keen to see it in the metal and LG have been tight lipped about it's local launch but I'd guess it will be here but the second quarter. Being an LG owner myself, I'm hoping they've improved on their software and OS issues they have had on previous models.