The 2014 Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona, Spain once again this year, lasting of total of three frantic days, filled with interesting forums and speeches, exclusive software showcases and  new product unveilings. With so much going on, it’s often difficult to keep track of all the new releases detailed from the last 72 hours. TechSmart has got you covered with our wrap up of the products that may not have grabbed the most limelight, but will certainly peak great interest from consumers.

Samsung Gear Fit

As expected, Samsung had a very busy schedule at MWC. Two of the company’s three new releases did not surprise us much, one did however, the Gear Fit. A wonderfully styled fitness band, hoping to keep Samsung relevant among the slew of similar bands popping up from its competitors.

The Gear Fit features a 1.84” curved Super AMOLED display and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity for call, mail and app notification. Samsung has fitted this band with a range of fitness tools and functions, including an accelerometer, heart rate and sleep monitor, pedometer and timer. The Fit also features changeable straps, dust and waterproof design as well as 2100 mAh battery offering 3 days of use (based or normal activity).     

Pricing and availability for the Gear Fit is yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to make it to retail outlets by before the end of Q2 2014.

Blackphone

Amid the NSA spying allegations, the Blackphone from Geeksphone and Silent Circle, may just be the most perfect device to ensure the government does not go snooping where it does not belong. The Blackphone proudly boasts the ability to enable users with full control over privacy and sharing of content, as a fully ‘unlocked’ device. Perfect for all you habitual jailbreakers.

Featuring the specially designed PrivatOS, which hinges off Android, to provide users with a range of application tools to offer unparalleled security and user control. Finally, no more spamware.

The Blackphone is not just designed for covert op agents, it also features some solid specs underneath. It’s powered by a 2 GHz quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage and 4.7” HD IPS display. The Blackphone is as expected… black, with a look and feel akin to that of the iPhone 5 with Android navigation keys.

All that privacy is gonna cost you a pretty penny, with the basic version of the smartphone set at $629 on pre-order. Should you want a bunch of value added services and applications from developers Silent Circle, the Blackphone could end up costing around $1 508. So you gotta ask yourself, what is your privacy worth to you.  

HP Pavillion x360

HP looks to make a dent on Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga (review) dominance of the convertible notebook market, with the Pavillion x360. The defining feature of the latest notebook to come from the American manufacturer, is the screen’s ability to tilt a full 360 degrees. That is of course, if you consider a closed notebook to be the first degree.

HP is touting the x360 as a entertainment notebook with student and home office application. This convertible runs Windows 8, and will be available in two processor variants. The first is an Intel Pentium 2.17 GHz N3520 unit, the second a similar 2.13 GHz N2820 version. The x360 also sports a 11.6” touch enabled HD LED backlit display as well as a Beats Audio dual speaker setup.

Based on the specs, the x360 does not seem much of a workhorse, but it should prove quite adept at making content viewing easy and enjoyable. Prices for this convertible start at $390 and is currently available for purchase on the US HP online store.         

Qualcomm eight-core processor

Back in August of last year, Qualcomm Senior VP Anand Chandrasekher described eight-core CPU’s as “dumb” and nothing more than a “marketing gimmick”. Fast forward six months later and the landscape looks pretty different. Chandrasekher has since been demoted for his comments and Qualcomm has detailed plans for its latest batch of 64-bit eight-core processors.

These new units fall into Qualcomm’s middle to upper tier lineup, and will supersede its flagship Snapdragon 800 chipset. Qualcomm has already begun building the newly designed Snapdragon 615 (eight-core, 64-bit) for mobile devices and will release it alongside the 610, a similar quad-core variant. The 615 is set to feature up to eight 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 cores, integrated LTE, and an Adreno 405 GPU. All of which should add up to a powerful and expensive unit.

Qualcomm is well aware of an eight-core processors allure, stating that the new CPU is designed to specifically appeal to Chinese consumers, who tend to favour more cores, according to the manufacturer.

Set for a release in Q4 2014, we will have to wait and see whether doubling the number of cores has a significant effect on performance.     

Sony Xperia Z2

Sony, like Samsung had a host of new products to show off at MWC this year. Chief among them were its flagship lineup of smart devices, with the most crowds drawn to the Xperia Z2 smartphone. The Z2 is Sony’s follow up to the Z1, which debuted early last year to a fair amount of success. Sony is now looking to recapture that reaction with a refreshed version of its top-tier device.

The Z2 will be the first smartphone from the manufacturer to run Android 4.4 (Kitkat), it has also been fitted with a larger 5.2” full HD display, compared to the 5” version found on its predecessor. Other enhancements see the Z2 powered by a 2.3 GHz Qualcomm quad-core processor as well as weighing 6 g less than its big brother at 163 g. Along with these modifications and refinements, Sony has still retained the classic smartphone shape synonymous with Xperia, as well as the trademark dust and waterproof design.

The Z2 is currently available for pre-order on Sony’s site at $600.