MWC 2016: Five smartphone scorchers to watch out for

From Virtual Reality headsets to laptops to auto accessories, the Mobile World Conference 2016, Barcelona, has unveiled the line-up of newest gadgets on the block. Here is a look at handset offerings from five major companies.   

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Samsung's offering at the latest MWC include a curvy 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and the larger 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge, both available in premium metal and glass slab design, this time with waterproofing and expandable storage. The greatest add-on with the S7 and S7 Edge is the hefty helping of battery life.

Additionaly, Samsung has also announced the bundling of its Gear VR headset with its S7 range

LG G5

LG has come out with a strong competion to its Korean rival. The G5 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, a fingerprint scanner, a sleek metal body and a 5.3-inch quad HD screen. What comes as the zing factor is the phone's removable bottom, which exposes an expansion port and the battery. This modular design allows users to add more battery, accessories and add-ons by plugging them into the phone. The G5 also comes with a dual-rear camera setup and runs the latest Snapdragon 820 processor

HP Elite X3

With the Elite X3, Hewlett-Packard is attempting a comeback into the smartphone game after failing with the Palm Pre and a few others. HP is pitching the Elite X3 as the do-it-all Windows 10 device. Powered by Windows 10’s Continuum feature, this dual-SIM 6-inch phablet slots into a dock to turn into a Windows 10 PC, allowing users to connect to an external display, keyboard and mouse. The device also has its own battery, keyboard, a 12.5-inch display and various ports.

Sony Xperia X

Sony came to MWC with its Xperia X series,which consisted of the Xperia X, Xperia X Performance and XA smartphones. The Xperia X runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor; the Xperia X Performance is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 procesessor. The Xperia XA would also be featuring an edge-to-edge display

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus

Lenovo's new all-metal smartphone has a 5-inch wide-view FullHD display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. Also present at the Lenovo MWC party was the Vibe K5, which has a 5-inch HD screen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 415 octa-core processor. According to media reports, the company has indicated that the Vibe K5 Plus could launch in India soon.