Competition for the biggest honours at MWC 2014 has been fierce, but our dauntless team of phone experts have scoured the show floor for the biggest and best tech of the year.
What will be crowned best tablet? At a phone show, which handset could possibly take best phone? And what's the tech that's got tongues wagging both at MWC and on the internet?
Meet the winners of TechRadar's MWC 2014 Awards:
Best phone: Samsung Galaxy S5
Commended: Sony Xperia Z2, HTC Desire 816
While some were left underwhelmed by Samsung's latest flagship, we judged the Samsung Galaxy S5 to be the best phone on show as well as the most improved.
Phones and tablets editor Gareth Beavis explains, "This was easily the hardest category to judge, as there were a lot of great choices on show. Both Sony and Samsung's phones have lots of really great features and will be big hitters this year, while HTC managed to offer something impressive at a mid range price point.
"But the overall combination of power and features users actually want over the useless, gimmicky 'innovation' seen on S4, swung it for us."
Best tablet: Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
It's Best Tablet two years on the trot for the Xperia range - will Sony ever let another company have a look in?
Beavis said, "Last year's winner made a lot better, with beefed up internals and a greatly enhanced screen. The iPad Air has set a high bar to beat, but the technology on the Xperia Z2 Tablet, like powerful front facing speakers, means it has a great chance."
Best in show: Samsung Galaxy S5
Commended: Samsung Gear 2 Neo
No other device managed to beat the S5 in terms of desirability. It's the best of the best. As Gareth puts it:
"It's only fitting a phone should win Best in Show at MWC, and the Galaxy S5 is a phone that a lot of people will be proud to own.
"The need for a standout feature on a new smartphone has diminished in recent times, and now users are getting phones that actually do what they need them to, which the S5 embodies well."
Commiserations to the runner-up, which shows that smartwatches are on the up but still have a way to go.
Gareth says, "The other big story this year was wearables, as we expected. The Gear 2 Neo is the best of the bunch simply because it's last year's Galaxy Gear made much more usable.
"It should be cheaper and is lighter than the main Gear 2, plus still has all the excellent fitness features we're looking forward to testing out."
People's choice: Nokia X
Commended: Samsung Gear Fit
Cinderella story. Out of nowhere. A former Windows Phone fixture, now about to become an Android champion. It looks like a mirac... Nokia X is the people's choice! It's the people's choice! It's the people's choice!
"The Nokia X is getting people interested in the low end again," Gareth told us, explaining the buzz.
"Sure, the story is Android being used, but really it's Nokia looking to penetrate the budget market with whatever OS works best, so it's great to see this is a hot topic."
And on the runner-up: "The Gear Fit is a strong device too, as it's got a beautiful curved OLED as it's display and focuses just on fitness, while also pushing well into the smartwatch territory by showing off notifications."
Congratulations to all the winners - see you again, same time next year!
- Keep up to date with all the goings on at MWC 2014
Source : techradar[dot]com
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