What was hot. . . and what was not

For years, we knew that water is death to electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets. And if you wanted something that would withstand the elements, you had to buy a “rugged” device that looked like someone had encased it in foam for its own safety. But not anymore, it seems. Everyone is jumping on the water-resistant bandwagon, with Sony merrily dunking its new Tablet Z (above), Fujitsu producing a waterproof Windows 8 device and companies such as Loksak willing to cover everything else.

NOT: 3D:Remember a few years ago when you couldn’t move at trade shows for people telling you how 3D was the future?

Well, not this year. There was a reappearance of the technology at a few stands, but for the most part this year was remarkably free of executives extolling the virtues of having 3D on the go, or staring at 3D tablets until your eyes went a bit funny.

The no-shows

In particular, the absence of Google’s Android stand – the one place for the past two years that you knew you would see some interesting products and services, pick up some collectable badges, and take a quick jaunt down a slide while clutching your free juice from the juice bar.

Google, we’re not mad, we’re just disappointed.

The “wow” moments

There were very few product announcements made at the show that actually took people by surprise.

If it hadn’t been leaked in advance of the big reveal, it had already been announced by the company themselves. HTC held its own event in London only last week to unveil the HTC One; Samsung is planning an unpacked event in two weeks’ time.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy the show, but a few surprises should always be included to keep us interested.

The queues

If you’ve been to Mobile world Congress, then you know. You queue to get in, you queue to get out. And in between, you queue for what seems like hours for food.

But PayPal this year had a brilliant idea: give people a QR code that lets them place a lunch order, pay with PayPal and they can pick it up from an express line. Which is allegedly quicker. Genius.

Vapourware

For every great product you saw, there were more that you know either will never see the light of day, or will sink without a trace for various reasons.

Some are disappointing to see go; others, not so much. We won’t name names.