The end of the Mobile World Congress resulted in a veritable clean sweep by Samsung as the GSM Association announced the winners of the Global Mobile Awards 2013. Samsung won the device manufacturer of the year award, with the jury commenting that it has been a terrific year for Samsung. Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III was honored with the Best Smartphone distinction, because of its “proven global adoption”. Among the other awards bestowed to Samsung are for the best mobile enabled consumer electronics device – going to the Galaxy Camera – and the best mobile infrastructure for Samsung’s Smart LTE network.
Finnish manufacturer Nokia has also made an amazing comeback, not because of the Lumia family, but due to the low cost Asha family. Nokia Asha 305 bagged the award for the best feature phone or entry level phone, an award which recognizes the significance and importance of such devices in the global community. In the tablet category, the Nexus 7 (co-branded by Google and ASUS) bagged the top award. In the apps category, Facebook was adjudged as the best consumer app while Evernote was the best enterprise app. The best overall mobile app was Waze, a social navigation app available across multiple platforms which judges said was one of the best examples oof exploiting the potential of smartphones.
In other news, a Google employee was spotted at the MWC adorning the high-tech Google Glass, an augmented reality system attached to a simple yet stylized aluminum strip spectacle. Google Glass isn’t available to the general public yet, but is expected to arrive by the end of 2013 or early next year. The Glass, powered by Google’s Android operating system, has the ability to record 720p HD video and overlays information in a smartphone-like format. The user can interact with it using voice commands prefixed by “ok glass” and can also scroll through content with the help of finger movements alongside the device. This next-gen gadget, dubbed by Times magazine to be among the best inventions in 2012, is expected to cost around $1500.
Though the Glass is supposedly a great experience for the wear of the device, early reports suggest that it is not the same for other people interacting with the user. While actively recording, a white light turns on over the right eye, which is not noticeable by the wearer, but may turn out to be quite a discomforting experience for people around. There are several privacy concerns as well regarding other people in the field of view being recorded without consent as well as the storage of recorded videos on Google’s servers.
