Monday, April 22, 2013

MWC 2012: Miscellaneous

MWC 2012: Miscellaneous

Wireless chargers; Sony accessories – pron and cons; a Samsung speaker for Tab (with a lamp amplifier and a wooden case) and more.

Wireless Chargers

Once again wireless chargers are hot: Duracell presented a whole stand with such things as well as LG and some other manufacturers. I have reviewed the PowerMate device and capabilities of these devices in this article.
Powermat Wireless Charging
It looks cool: all you need to do charge your phone is to put it on a special surface. Duracell presented a special charging case for iPhone 4. it seems very convenient but my experience with PowerMate had some downers too. If you are charging your phone via a cable you can make calls or text and not be afraid about the battery charge as your phone keeps on charging. I talk on the phone while it's connected to the charger all the time. When I go to bed I can watch a movie or check my Facebook page while still charging my phone. And when it comes to wireless charging you have to choose: to charge your phone or to use it. So it's best to leave your phone on the charging pad for the night. It is funny but an LG rep was trying to convince me that his company was the first to come up with this – as if there had not been similar Palm accessories before.
All in all, I think that wireless chargers is just a novelty product like USB fans. Although PowerMate have voiced some good ideas like installing wireless pads into tables so you phone/tablet can charge whenever you put it on it.

Sony

It can be hard to get a hold of latest Sony accessories but I promise to get a review of SmartWatch which is a successor to the LifeView device.
Review of Sony Ericsson LiveView
I find it hard getting used to just Sony instead of Sony Ericsson. Anyway, you can wear SmartWatch on your wrist or on your clothes, it features a number of apps and syncs with your smartphone via Bluetooth. Its screen can be used as a viewfinder for the phone's camera and you can take a picture remotely. You can control music playback from it, check your Facebook and so on. I hope I'll be able to review it but, anyway, it is a very specific gadget for die hard geeks and it will hardly be popular.
I liked the Smart Wireless Headset pro headset a lot more. It is a successor to MW600 and I can already strongly recommend it for everyone who like stereo Bluetooth headsets. It is all about its functionality and, of course, the SonyStyle in every detail. It has got an FM receiver that can function on its own without a paired phone. It also features a microSD memory slot so it can be used as an mp3 player as well. Naturally, you can make calls and read your SMS, the bundled pair of earphones are very decent and they have a clip so you can attach them to your clothes. I had a chance to try it out together with Sony Xperia Ion and I liked the sound quality and a huge volume margin.
This headset can work with NFC tags as well: if your home stereo has got one you can switch the headset to playing whatever is on on the speaker. The stand features a white SRS-BTV25 speaker.
Review of Sony SRS-BTV25

LG

Lg presented a curious headset: as you can see the body of the headset is supposed to be worn on the neck. When you take it off the cable retract to the body and the earpieces use magnets to stay together with the body when the headset is not used. The form factor is fascinating and the sound quality is good.

Samsung

At the Samsung showcase I accidentally bumped into three new speakers for mobile devices. One of them caught my eye: it's called Audio Dock DA-E760. Imaging the noise at the expo when you have to shout when you want to ask a rep a question but when they turned on this speaker it made people turn their heads as it was louder than anything there. Despite this, the sound quality is very decent. It has a wooden case, a remote, regular buttons on the body, a lamp amplifier (!) and Bluetooth 3.0 so you can pair devices wirelessly. It only has a cradle for Tab: bad news for iPhone owners. DA-E760 will be released in Europe in May or June for about €600.

Other speakers are not that cool but I will mention them later in my reviews.

Miscellaneous

Finally, I want to show you pictures from a number of stands (mostly Motorola ones). I am dying to get my hands on MOTOACTV – it is a fascinating gadget.

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