The month of January saw a bit of lull and stillness in the mobile phone market. Prior to it, the holiday season had carriers announcing scheduled lineups. Now the manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and LG seem to wait for the most expected World Mobile Congress to announce their latest lineups for 2013.
But the wait may not be too long as we’ve witnessed the best, the strange and the most exciting phone models in pipeline from companies like Samsung and RIM signaling the release in coming months. If rumors are to be believed, it is better to stay back till you get the factual details of what’s in store for a big hit.
# 1 Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S4 has filed two new trademarks at Europe, both for application software for Smartphones, tablets and computers called Eye Scroll and Eye Pause.
If the Galaxy S4 comes with new features, then we should suspect that it will use some eye tracking technology, for example with Eye Pause, if you are watching a video and would move your eyes from the display to look at something else, the feature could possibly pause the video you were watching.
Wit Eye scroll feature, when you are browsing the web page on your device, as your eyes scroll down the screen display, then the tracking technology could take you to the next page on the web.
However these two functions are yet to be announced specifically with the device which is what we are all waiting for. Powered by Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A15,
The device will run on Android operating system version 4.2 (Jelly Bean, having a RAM of 2 GB and internal storage of 16 GB expandable up to 64 GB with microSD card.
With a good capacitive touchscreen display of 5 inches with 1080 x 1920 pixels, the device is believed to have an upgraded camera with a 13 mega pixel sensor keeping spectators at watch making the choicest one for themselves.
# 2 BlackBerry Z10 and X10
The BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry X10, most anticipated phones from BlackBerry will be launched on 30th of this month. Users are excited with RIM staging a grand comeback, assuring to keep Z10 or the ‘L Series’ as the Flagship device of the company.
However questions on whether the device will hold its fans like last time still needs to be answered. Believed to be sporting RIM’s famous Qwerty keyboard, the BlackBerry X10 device aims to remind you of a traditional feel but with a modern style that better fits the times than the aging designs of many current BlackBerry devices.
The Blackberry z 10, seems to implement a whole new user interface, doing away with the familiar blackberry system we were used to. However, with its unique features, the device will resemble the likes of Android and iOS.
RIM is mercilessly using the phrase ‘Flows’, hitting on the idea of the device which is to be launched. The whole flow concept comes to light when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, minimizing the current app screen that you’re using and showing notification counts from the left hand side including new emails, BBMs, texts and social media messages. With a decent battery life that supports big screen, RIM is all set to launch the flagship device holding on to fans like previous years.
# 3 YotaPhone
The dual-screen Yotaphone might seem silly but it expected to give a break this time with more compelling longer use.
The phone is said to come with a secondary display that’s bigger, better and far more capable than Samsung’s Upstage which is a phone, when flipped, will change into a music player. The most basic think that you can get off with is to ‘throw’ any image from the front screen to the back. For instance, your airline boarding pass can be sent into the back screen keeping it there for a while when you work on something else. So the rear screen initially acts as a storage or reference case that you can use later.
The phone gets more powerful with interactive apps and is known to be developing its own apps for clock time, weather, to-dos, RSS reader, Twitter client and more. The Android phone comes with a 1.5GHz Qualcomm S4 dual-core processor with a RAM of 2GB and 32GB of storage. Solidly built with a 4.3 inch 720p HD LCD screen on the front and a 4.3 inch, 200 dpi e-ink screen at the back. A 12 mega pixel and another 2 mega pixel camera come along with the device.
# 4 Sony Xperia Z
Looks pretty and possesses standing out features that Sony readily unwinds this year, The all new Xperia Z is a premium product that serves to be a waterproof device. The phone is reported to meet military specifications IP55 and IP57 which means that it is dust resistible and submersible up to 3 feet depth of water for 30 minutes almost.
Sony has added a ‘Battery Stamina’ to the phone’s settings, claiming to improve standby mode by four times or more by automatically shutting down battery draining apps when the screen is off and starting them up again when it comes back on. There are certain default modes that can be configured to your likes. You can also avail Sony’s Walkman app, while one-touch functions let you share music, photos and video via NFC between compatible Sony devices, which the Xperia Z lacks.
The device is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and runs Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) OS, backed with a 2GB RAM and 1GB of internal storage expandable via microSD slot. Standing out among all Android competition, the looks can say it all with its 5-inch 1080 pixel screen and featuring a 13 mega pixel camera with HDR capture. Covered with glass for water resistance, the super hit phone is available in black or white, reminding the Apple’s iPhone. The phone is believed to be priced approximately at 
35,000.
# 5 SpareOnePlus
Those who desire ultimate safety can use the SpareOnePlus phone. Packed with extraordinary features, the phone comes in Flat Black and Matte Silver, both with red battery screen giving a premium look and feel.
The phone is known to run on AA battery and provides talk-time of 10 hours with 15 years standby time. However, what’s new here is the Plus model’s inclusion of a location based service which identifies the exact location of a cell ID, accessible through a free Smartphone app, as well as loud incoming calls and audible numeric feedback that reads the dialed number. Widely known as a disaster preparation kit like use, it is encouraged that the features of this phone should be made available in the phones everyone use for a better feasibility.
The features include Torchlight on top which provides continuous light for 24 hours, a dedicated 911 dial button to alert authorities which works even without a SIM, the ability to preset 9 speed dial numbers and a new talk through re-sealable waterproof bag that is floatable and a humidity proof seal. The bag can resist temperatures of -22F to 140F and protect against water submersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter. What’s thought provoking is that the bag is also designed with room to accommodate small items such as credit cards, bandages and the like..
SpareOnePlus is available at $99.9
