Mobile World Congress is barely 48 hours old, but already the Barcelona blower bash has seen more stunning new mobile kit and next-gen software than we normally peep throughout the rest of the year. But if you’ve been sleeping off the weekend’s excesses and want to catch up on the goings on in Spain, you’re in the right place. Jump in now and catch up with what you’ve missed.
Undoubtedly the biggest story so far has been the birth of Windows Phone Series 7. Mooted previously as Windows Mobile 7, this is the spanking new mobile OS from Microsoft. And make no mistake, this is a complete game changer from the chaps at Redmond. As well as an all-new, Zune-like UI, it packs in finger-friendly multitouch support, does away with the old-school Start menu and, best of all, throws in Xbox Live gaming integration.
But it’s not just Microsoft doing the software samba. Nokia and Intel spent the best part of yesterday morning outing MeeGo, a mash-up of the chipmakers Moblin OS and the much-vaunted Maemo by Nokia. The open source effort is said to be ripe for laptops, phones, tablets and even in-car gadgets. There are plans to have it baiting Google Chrome OS in the not-too-distant future.
If it’s new handsets you’re after, the big players haven’t disappointed either. Sony Ericsson has slimmed down with the impossibly cool Xperia X10 Mini, not to mention the Vivaz Pro and Xperia X10 Mini Pro, the latter two both rocking QWERTY pads. All point to a much-needed boost for the Japanese-Swedish type’s chances in 2010. Not to be out done, Toshiba was on hand with its new TG02 Windows phone, as well as the sleek looking QWERTY-slider packing Toshiba K01.
HTC rolled up this morning with three new amazing mobiles that will doubtless keep them well ahead of the Android competition. The HTC Legend, using the same unibody construction as Apple MacBooks, rocks Andtoid 2.1 and Sense UI, while the HTC HD Mini and HTC Desire also got an airing. The latter is simply a Nexus One with HTC Sense slathered over it, while the former offers the same ace looks as the brilliant HD2.
Samsung has rolled out some stellar new kit, with the Beam projector phone and Super AMOLED packing Wave both doing the Korean’s Android hopes no harm at all. But it’s not just the big boys who’ve been touting killer new kit. The Palm Pre-alike Alcatel OT-890 has been doing the rounds on the show floor, as has Huawei’s stonking new U8800, even if the Chinese cobbler shoved it in the dirtiest display box we’ve ever seen.
And as well as some ace next-gen phones, Qualcomm has been wowing us with its new FLO TV services. It loaded it up on Chrome OS, as well as promising to deliver magazine content and telly on-the-move to smart-books packing the Snapdragon processor. It’s nothing short of astonishing, so make sure you check out our hands-on snaps now.
We’ll be bringing you even more news from Mobile World Congress today. So keep your peepers locked right here for all the latest pics and video.
