6 Intriguing Phones From MWC You Can't Buy

6-intriguing-phones-from-mwc-you-can-and-39;t-buy photo 1

Mobile World Congress should be about phones you can buy, and for the most part, it was. We got flagships like the LG G6 and Sony Xperia XZ Performance and midrange options like Moto G5 Plus and Alcatel A5 LED. But there were also quite a few very nice-looking, powerful phones that will never hit US shores. Let's take a (wistful) look at a few of them.

Oppo 5X Zoom

What Oppo showcased—a phone with an incredible 5x optical zoom—was technically a prototype. What makes this interesting is that Oppo isn't going the iPhone 7 Plus route, which is capable of 2x optical zoom thanks to its dual sensors. Instead, Oppo modified the camera unit so the second telephoto sensor is at a 90-degree angle to the rest of the phone.

 

That lets the phone zoom physically while remaining inside the device. Oppo ditched the camera bump, while still allowing you to keep all the benefits of a telephoto lens. Unfortunately, this is only a demo and it may be some time before we see it for sale. The problem is compounded for US customers since Oppo doesn't sell here. Oppo phones are also GSM-only, but don't support all US LTE bands to do well on T-Mobile or AT&T's networks. All this means that you should expect to be using a 5x optical zoom unless someone other company decides to take up the mantle.

Gionee M2017

The Gionee M2017 is the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, except with a 7,000mAh battery at a fraction of the price. Interested yet?

This monster phablet reminds us of the premium Vertu phone. Its back is made of a vaguely steampunk mix of black leather with bands of gold metal on the top and bottom, and a textured metal panel surrounding the rear camera sensors. The build gives it a hefty, very solid feel. The front of the phone also stands out due to a 5.7-inch Quad HD AMOLED display with a curved screen. There's no special edge features or stylus, but it's a nice look that increases usable screen size. It runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with a heavy custom UI layer, which some may not like, but it's well optimized for AMOLED displays, taking advantage of black and other dark colors for all its menus, home screens, and themes.

Taking a peek under the hood reveal solid specs, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. On the back, you'll find a dual 12-megapixel and 13-megapixel camera capable of 2x optical zoom and 4K video recording. The front has an 8-megapixel sensor.

In many regards, it's an impressive device, but unfortunately, it's also one we're unlikely to see. Gionee doesn't sell any phones in the US market. Though Blu does sometimes sell rebranded Gionee phones, it isn't likely we'll see this one because it doesn't have all the LTE bands for use on US carriers. That's a pity because the massive battery could keep you going for days.

ZTE's Gigabit Phone

ZTE's Gigabit phone is more concept than fact. It appeared in physical form and was demoed showing a gigabit download speed. It runs a Snapdragon 835 processor, but that's about all we know. The phone is very much in its prototype stage and until ZTE launches an actual phone with a Snapdragon 835 processor and carriers roll out their gigabit LTE networks, you won't be able to get a gigabit phone. We expect at least another year or two to pass before the first consumer devices ready for gigabit speeds are available.

DarkMatter's Katim Phone

For the security-minded, DarkMatter's Katim phone seems like a good choice. It's essentially an anonymous black slab running a "hardened" version of Android. That means it has increased security with all the bells and whistles in terms of encryption. You have a cryptography card with special micro SD cards that will only work if the phone has matching crypto keys. That prevents anyone from loading anything unfamiliar onto your device. There's even a special switch on the side of the phone to activate a Secure mode, which shuts off the cameras and mics so it can't be activated remotely. There's also a built-in Katim messenger that secures and encrypts your messages, and allows you to have them self-destruct after a period of time.

If all this sounds appealing, you may want to hold off before pulling out your wallet. No pricing information is available yet, but the phone is likely to be costly both due to the software and solid hardware that includes a 5.2-inch display, 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, waterproofing, Gorilla Glass 5, and a 3,800mAh cell. Beyond that, the device is directed toward government agencies, enterprise users, and administrators, more than the average consumer.

Noa H10 LE

 

The Noa H10LE is a phone that brings back memories of the OnePlus One; a powerful device from a little-known company. Available in Matador Red for its limited-edition version, the phone has a metal unibody build, a sleek design that measures just 0.3 inches wide, 4GB of RAM, 65GB of internal storage, dual 13-megapixel rear cameras, a deca-core MediaTek Helio x27 processor, and a fingerprint sensor.

If there's any downside to be found, it's that it runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, which looks a bit dated, but for a relatively unknown company, it seems like a solid phone. With that said, Elements, the Croatian company responsible for manufacturing the Noa H10E, only sells its devices in 14 countries and the US isn't one of them.

Nokia 3310

 

This isn't your grandfather's Nokia 3310. Though the phone is a throwback to indestructible Nokia brick of yore, it's a more modern refresh with a nicer display, an altered build, and refreshed hardware. Despite the improvements, the phone does have most of what made it a beloved device. It comes running Symbian 30, with 22 hours of talk time and a month of standby time. There's a web browser, a simple grid icon menu, and Snake, all the features you need really for a backup phone.

The phone comes in single and dual SIM editions, and will be sold for a modest price of $50. Sadly it's a 2G-only device and lacks cellular support for the US so unless you want a retro paperweight, the 3310 won't do much good for you.

For more, check out PCMag's roundup of the Best of MWC 2017.

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