Review: Plenty of innovations in phone systems beyond Apple's iOS and Google's Android

BARCELONA, Spain -- When it comes to smartphones, consumers have an array of choices from Apple to... well, Android.

The impression you get stepping into most phone carriers' showrooms is that the programmers behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android are driving most of the innovation in smartphones. You'll find few phones on display that run other software systems.

Research firm Gartner says 94 percent of smartphones sales last year were either iPhones or Android devices. Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices made up another 5 percent combined.

But what about the remaining 1 percent? They are the wannabes such as Firefox and Sailfish —and many of them are introducing innovative advancements in features and functions.

I had a chance to try out some of these little-known systems at the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, this week. Many of these systems aren't even available in the U.S., where I live. Although I don't see myself replacing my Samsung Android phone even if I could, some of these alternative phones have features I envy.