MWC: The hot trends

MOHAMMED HUSSAIN, MD of international mobile accessories retailer Mobile Fun, rounds up what he thinks are the Mobile World Congress’s hottest trends to keep devices charged, personalised, protected and compatible with trends such as NFC.

Wireless charging in cars

Unlike other major manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung, Nokia has embraced MWC and used it as a platform to launch a number of new devices. The most exiting has to be the Nokia Wireless Charging Car Holder.

The new kit works with Nokia Lumia devices, Qi standard wireless charging and has embedded NFC. It’s aimed at Lumia devices with built in wireless charging and other Nokia devices that are compatible with Nokia’s wireless charging shells. Good news though‚Ķthe charger isn’t just for Nokia devices though: we expect it to work with other Qi compatible wireless charging devices too.

3D printing custom 3D printed cases

Personalisation is a hot trend for accessories. Again Nokia is leading the way. They have two MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D printers on the stand to print personalised cases.

Nokia and MakerBot also launched their 3D-printing development kit to print cases for Lumia 820 or 520.

This is just the beginning‚Ķit looks like we’ll start to see more customised cases on mobile devices in the future.

Pop on portable power packs

Short battery life and devices without replaceable batteries are driving the use of portable power packs.

The PowerSkin PoP’n caught my eye. PoP’n is a 2000 mAh Pop-on Power battery charger with suction cups that stick to most mobile devices and connect via an interchangeable tip to a Micro-USB, Apple 30-pin or Apple Lightning Connector.

The PoP’n battery charger has a tough high-gloss plastic exterior, heat-injected soft rubber suction cups on the interior, and a grey Flex Tip Connector that can bend up to 90 degrees, accommodating even the largest of cases (depending on case port opening), in order to charge the phone. It is one of the world’s first Apple MFI-approved external battery chargers for iPhone 5.

NFC compatible accessories

NFC is no longer just for payments. NFC compatible accessories for speakers and home cinema products are being showcased at MWC.

Sony is leading the way with NFC-enabled Bluetooth accessories on show at MWC.

Bigger screens need shields

On seeing new larger devices flooding the market, 5.7-inch ‚”phablet‚” screens may be the de facto screen size in the next couple of years.

The ZTE Grand Memo was unveiled with a 5.7-inch display the device is set to go head to head with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2and Huawei Ascend Mate.

With more ‚”real estate‚” to protect, manufacturers such as Otterbox will be focussing on screen protection. Otterbox used the show to launch their Clearly Protected range. For those wanting to keep their messages private, this range is made of quadlaminar polyester, which prevents viewing from all four sides to help keep information confidential.