5 awesome travel gadgets from the Mobile World Congress

The globe’s biggest mobile tech show saw the birth of everything from work tablets & physical phone keyboards to HDR and 4K

Barcelona, Spain: TravGear is just back from the Mobile World Congress, where all kinds of mobile tech was unveiled, including some great new gadgets from the likes of Sony, Samsung and Blackberry. Here are our favourites from the floors of the city’s Gran Via exhibition centre:

1 – BlackBerry KeyOne: physical keyboard & security features

Touch-keypads aren’t for everyone, so it’s good to see the return of a bevy of BlackBerry’s, chief among them the KeyOne. The highlight is the physical keyboard, of course, but there’s something undeniably retro about the design. Happily, it runs the latest Android 7.0 Nougat OS.

2 – Samsung Galaxy Book 12-inch: backlit keys & a generous keyboard

Can this mighty-sized tablet + keyboard finally kill-off the laptop? TravGear hopes not – tablets just never (ever) have the same ease of use as a laptop for power-working, but the ‘Book’s specs are arresting; Windows 10, a new S Pen stylus, a keyboard cover, backlit keys, and two USB-C 3.1 ports.

3 – ZTE Axon 7: AMOLED screen & Google Daydream VR

This one’s for movie junkies; the absolute latest Dolby Atmos audio tech is here, with video displayed on a 5.2 inch AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution. It’s also got hefty speakers on the front, though the camera is average. It’s also compatible with Google Daydream VR, which technically doesn’t yet exist – but could be amazing.

4 –LG Watch Sport: gym exercises & all-day battery

Able to track gym exercises – unlike most Android Wear – LG’s latest smart watch also has built-in optical heart-rate reader, GPS, an altimeter, an entire day of battery, can be used to make contactless payments, and can be used to make phone calls. Still think nobody needs a smart watch?

5 – Sony Xperia Premium XZ: 4K and HDR video

The debut of this phone could mark a turning point in entertainment on-the-go; its ability to play and also stream video not only in 4K resolution, but also in HDR, surely means the beginning of the end of airline video screens. Especially with Netflix now doing HDR downloads …