PhoneDog.com - The latest about Mwc 2009

VIDEO: BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile) Road Test Review

3/8/2009 5:20:00 PM

Noah took the Curve 8900 to Spain for a week. What's his verdict? Find out right here

VIDEO: Motorola Aura and Aura Diamond - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/27/2009 3:50:00 PM

Security tries to run Noah out of the building when he gets too close to the $5,000 MOTO Aura Diamond at MWC in Barcelona. But MOTO PR saves him and gives him hands-on time with the "regular" Aura (only $2,000).

VIDEO: Motorola Surf A3100 - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/27/2009 3:35:00 PM

Surf's up, baby! Noah checks out MOTO's newest Windows Mobile device, the touch and QWERTY Surf A3100. Live from MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

VIDEO: Sony Ericsson C905 8.1MP CyberShot Cameraphone - Hands-On

2/24/2009 7:30:00 PM

Noah gets a demo of Sony Ericsson's flagship CyberShot phone, the C905. With an 8.1 MP camera and a host of photo-centric features, the C905 brings the "camera" to cameraphone.

VIDEO: Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman Phone - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/24/2009 7:30:00 PM

Sony Ericsson's new flagship Walkman phone finally has a 3.5mm audio jack! Noah checks out the W995, a flip phone with the Walkman player and a 8.1mp camera - live from MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Google's Magic Steals Microsoft's Thunder

2/22/2009 1:15:00 PM

HTC's Monday morning press conference last week at MWC ended with a Q&A session. The company had just launched two sexy new phones chock full of industrial design refinements, practical new features, and some very cool updates to their Windows Mobile-based TouchFlo 3D user interface. The entire dog and pony show, as it were, was about Windows Mobile: two new devices running WM 6.1, ready to be upgraded to WM 6.5, and featuring a refined version of HTC's TouchFlo 3D, a WinMo-only custom UI.

So, of course, Sascha Seagan of PC Magazine opened the Q&A with a no-holds barred salvo wondering where HTC's next Android device was and why they hadn't even mentioned Android during the presser. I love that guy. I mean that taking nothing away from HTC's two new WinMo devices - both Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 impressed me, and underscored the company's ongoing commitment to making Windows Mobile phones as easy to use - and easy on the eye - as possible. But we all wanted to know where the next Android phone was hiding, and Sascha cut to the quick for everyone in the room wearing a Media or Analyst name tag.

The vibe around the grounds of Fira de Barcelona on Day One of MWC '09 was that Microsoft had bullied Google out of the show by flexing their industry-wide muscles to keep the focus on WinMo 6.5 and MS' new cloud-based mobile services, and away from that pesky upstart from Silicon Valley and its mobile OS with that funny robot name. Google? Android? The "G2"? Didn't hear a peep about on Monday - except, that is, if you ignored the show and read the tech blogs, all of whom starting running the same story about a Tuesday presser Vodafone had scheduled.

Sure enough, come Tuesday at noon, Vodafone's pavilion was packed to the gills with those same Media and Analyst types, and we were treated to Magic. Literally, I mean: the new Android phone is the HTC Magic, and it more or less looks like a T-Mobile G1 minus the QWERTY board. Magic sports a touchscreen/trackball/buttons layout similar to G1's, but eschews the G1's sliding display/hidden thumbboard design in favor of an all-touch approach. Which means it needs an onscreen touch-QWERTY system, which means it needed to run the latest rev. of Android, the infamous "Cupcake" build that everyone keeps asking me when T-Mobile USA is going to push out to G1 owners.

Suddenly nobody seemed to care much about Microsoft. Europeans wanted to know which countries Magic would be available in and when Vodafone's exclusive on the device would run out. Americans wanted to know if this was the G2/"Sapphire" phone they'd been reading rumors about, and when it would come to T-Mo in the States. (For what it's worth, there seems to be a chance that T-Mo and HTC have something entirely different cooked up for the US market, and are managing to keep it a closely held secret for the time being).

The funny thing about all of this is that Magic, unlike HTC's two new Touches, is kind of an odd-looking phone. Like I said, it looks like a G1 minus the bottom layer (but done up in white). Vodafone's hardware buttons are a bit different than T-Mo's, but otherwise it's a very similar look. I didn't much care for G1's industrial design when it launched and I don't much care for Magic's now, but it's great to see a slimmer, QWERTY-less Android option. Actually, it's just great to see another Android option, period.

Vodafone and HTC execs made two things clear about Magic: First, they DO NOT want you calling it "G2." Second, there are no announced plans to bring the device to North America. Google, like Apple - and unlike most of the other major handset makers, is an American country - so I'm guessing they're pushing HTC and the other Android phone makers to launch the cool new stuff in the US first, and then let it trickle out to the rest of the world. Magic - a slightly different but not really "all new" device - makes sense as a European-only launch: Google gives Vodafone "the new Googlephone" as an exclusive, which makes Voda happy, but HTC makes the device evolutionary, and not revolutionary, as compared to G1.

Which begs the question What might Google and HTC have up their sleeves for the next US-bound Android device launch? Three points before I try to answer that: 1. The rumored T-Mo-bound G2/Sapphire device that was leaked around the Web looked and sounded an awful like what turned out to be Magic, which HTC and Voda assured us is NOT headed to North America; 2) T-Mo has been working really hard to put an end to leaks; 3) A little birdy I ran into after the press conference Tuesday was all excited and chirping a happy song. When I asked her "Why so happy?" she flew away, landed on the HTC building for a second, and then made a bee line for T-Mobile's pavilion. I swear when she landed again she looked back at me and winked.

UPDATE: Photos of a T-Mobile USA-branded HTC Magic have hit the Web. Not sure what to make of this, and everything you just read could be nullified by said T-Mo bound Magic. But I'm still hoping I'm right, and I've got one source in a position to know who told me "the next T-Mo Android phone is NOT what everyone's expecting." Though he could be diverting me on purpose. Hopefully all will be revealed soon, right?

VIDEO: LG Renoir KC910i 8MP Cameraphone - Live @ MWC 2009

2/19/2009 5:10:00 PM

Take a picture, baby, I ain't got time to wait. It's a 8MP auto focus camera and it's a touchscreen phone. It's the LG Renoir, in Noah's hands at MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

VIDEO: Samsung l7410 Mobile Projector Phone - Live @ MWC 2009

2/19/2009 5:00:00 PM

Cell phone? Portable projector? Yes and yes. Noah watches some video - projected onto the wall - courtesy of the Samsung l7410. Check it out live from MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

VIDEO: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Hands-On

2/18/2009 5:55:00 PM

Noah checks out Nokia's all-touch 5800 XpressMusic and I think this little taste left him wanting more ... Check out the device's media and messaging features live from MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

VIDEO: Nokia E75 Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/18/2009 5:50:00 PM

Nokia launched a cool little smartphone with a horizontal-sliding QWERTY board ... think Rant or Rumor but a full-on smartphone with Nokia's dressed-up design. Noah checks out the E75 live from Barcelona.

VIDEO: Samsung Beat DJ - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/18/2009 5:45:00 PM

A cell phone you can mix beats on? Sure, why not! Samsung's Beat DJ has a touchscreen-based app that lets you "spin," mix, and add samples to your favorite music. It makes calls, too ....

VIDEO: Nokia N86 8MP hands-on @ MWC 2009

2/18/2009 10:10:00 AM

Noah gets a hold of Nokia's new 8MP dual slider, the N86. This N-Series S60 phone has a new, sleek look and dedicated media controls. But this particular pre-production model had a few issues, too.

VIDEO: Palm Pre live demo: Synergy Calendar and Contacts Sync

2/17/2009 1:30:00 PM

Part of our multi-part demo of Palm Pre in action at MWC 2009 in Barcelona. Noah came away impressed, trust us.

VIDEO: Sony Ericsson Idou 12.1MP cameraphone - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/17/2009 1:25:00 PM

Sony Ericsson's "back with a vengeance" with the Idou. This multimedia monster sports a 12.1MP camera, full toucshcreen, and Symbian OS. It won't ship until later this year, but Noah got a demo of the current prototype at MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Palm Pre out-iPhones the iPhone

2/17/2009 9:40:00 AM

I got my first in-person look at the Palm Pre smartphone Monday in Barcelona, and I came away a believer. Having not gone to CES last month, I hadn't yet seen Pre in person, and while I trusted my fellow bloggers when they proclaimed that Pre really was all that and a bag of chips, I'm the sort of skeptic who needs to see for himself in order to really believe.

Since seeing Pre in person, several friends of mine have asked me the same Million Dollar Question: Is it better than iPhone? "Better" is really subjective when it comes to evaluating a smartphone, mainly because every user has unique wants and needs in a mobile device.

That said, my answer is a reserved Yes: Pre in its current state really is better than iPhone when it comes to core services like messaging, notifications, and integrated local/Web search. Thing is, Pre hasn't launched yet and everyone I know is betting the farm that Apple's sitting on a hot new iPhone ready to be unveiled right around the time that Pre hits the streets. So Apple could be poised to deflate Palm's balloon just as it readies for a glorious launch.

Never mind the speculation for now, though. The fact of the moment, so to speak, is that Palm's Pre is a mightily impressive device - the WebOS in particular is an excellent example of form meeting function. Imagine iPhone's eye candy, only sweeter, with smooth animations, eye-pleasing graphics, and multi-touch gestures including one to literally flick apps and conversations off of the screen when you're done with them.

Now imagine that eye candy merged with the kinds of mobile services and functionality that tech geeks and mainstream users alike can appreciate: True multitasking, wireless syncing of calendars and contacts across multiple accounts, integrated search across local content (like your address book) and online data (like Google and Wikipedia).

That gives you a basic picture of Pre: Honestly, it's that good. I have concerns about the tiny QWERTY buttons and vertically sliding form factor, and of course everyone's wondering if Sprint can give Pre the kind of US launch and support that Palm so dearly needs (and, it would seem, deserves). But the "Wow!" far outweighs the "Hmm..." when it comes to my take on this pre-production Pre.

Palm is hard at work on getting an SDK into developers' hands and ensuring that consumers will have the widest range of options possible when it comes to extending Pre's capabilities with user-installed software. And they're confident that the WebOS will make developing for Pre much, much easier than developing for iPhone. So we'll just have to see what emerges in the way of Pre/WebOS apps in the coming months.

Meantime, buckle up and get ready for a fun ride. 2009 is shaping up to be the year that Web-connected smartphones get easy to use and out into the hands of the masses, and not just the hardcore phone geeks.

VIDEO: HTC Magic Google Android Phone Hands-On

2/17/2009 9:25:00 AM

Live from the HTC/Vodafone launch event, Noah gets a hands-on demo of the new HTC Magic. The second Google Android phone is slimmer than G1, and has no physical keyboard. It's a Vodafone exclusive for now, and is running the new "Cupcake" build of the Android OS.

VIDEO: HTC Magic Android Phone Demo Video - PhoneDog @ MWC 09

2/17/2009 6:20:00 AM

VIDEO: Samsung Omnia HD - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/16/2009 6:50:00 PM

Seeing is believing - the AMOLED display on the Omnia HD is sick. Crazy good. And it supports 720p HD video playback - check out the demo.

VIDEO: Nokia E55 Hands-On @ MWC 2009 Barcelona

2/16/2009 6:45:00 PM

Nokia launched two new smartphones at MWC. The first is the E55, a 9.9mm thin S60 phone with a compact QWERTY board, long battery life, and low price.

VIDEO: Nokia N97 Hands-On @ MWC 2009 Barcelona

2/16/2009 6:35:00 PM

It won't ship until late May or so, but Noah got some time with Nokia's new flaghship, the N97, at MWC in Barcelona. Touchscreen, QWERTY, and 32GB of internal storage? Yup. Check it out.

VIDEO: LG Arena KM900 - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/16/2009 5:35:00 PM

LG's new flagship multimedia phone is the KM900 "Arena." Arena rocks the new S-Class 3D user interface, and features a 5MP camera, full touchscreen, HSDPA/WiFi, and all kinds of goodies. Noah checks it out at MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

VIDEO: Palm Pre Live Demo: Synergy Calendar and Contacts Sync

2/16/2009 2:25:00 PM

Part of our multi-part demo of Palm Pre in action at MWC 2009 in Barcelona. Noah came away impressed, trust us.

VIDEO: HTC Touch Pro2: Hands-on @ MWC 2009

2/16/2009 9:30:00 AM

This thing is hot. HTC's Touch Pro2 is bigger, brighter, and badder than the original. And the QWERTY is to die for. Check it out, hands-on from Barcelona.

VIDEO: HTC Touch Diamond2: Hands-on @ MWC 2009

2/16/2009 9:15:00 AM

Gone is the faceted "diamond" back, but the HTC Touch Diamond2 gets some upgrades over the original. 5MP camera, bigger display, and a revamped TouchFlo 3D interface that digs deeper into Windows Mobile than before. Sounds good, right? Noah gets hands-on with the new diamond.

VIDEO: Samsung Ultra Touch S8300 - Hands-On

2/16/2009 8:05:00 AM

Forget Touch - this is ULTRA Touch. Noah gets hands on with Samsung's newest slider. The Ultra Touch S8300 features a gorgeous AMOLED touchscreen, 8MP camera, and updated TouchWiz UI.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Nokia N97 to ship in June

2/16/2009 7:40:00 AM

Nokia launched a few new phones today, and also let a tasty bit of news come out about its true darling, the N97. Nokia's new flagship device - apparently known to some in the company as "The Facebook Phone" - will hit stores this June. No word on price, which is probably a good thing considering how much Nokia brass talked about the global recession during their press conference this morning.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Nokia launches E55 and E75 smartphones and Ovi Store

2/16/2009 7:30:00 AM

Nokia just launched two smartphones and a bunch of services at their MWC 2009 press conference here in Barcelona.

As expected, Nokia took the wraps off of the E75 horizontal slider. An S60 device, the E75 features a dialing keypad on the front and a slide-down full QWERTY thumboard. The E75 will ship with Nokia Messaging pre-installed and also adopts the E71's Work/Home dual mode system for separating office and personal Email, calendars, and other data. The device will ship next month for 365 Euros unsubsidized, and can be pre-ordered today online.

Nokia also launched the E55, a compact sibling to the popular E71 smartphone. Also an S60 phone, the E55 sports a SureType-style compact QWERTY board and is thinner and lighter than the E71. Nokia claims a full one month of standby time for the device, which will be available this summer for 265 Euros unsubsidized.

And then there's the Ovi Store, which is part of the "Hey, it's 2009, let's all launch app stores!" movement that's sweeping the land. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: HTC Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 are Pure Sexy

2/16/2009 7:10:00 AM

Okay, seriously, the new HTC Touch Pro2 is the sexiest piece of technology I've seen in awhile. It's probably too big for me to carry around day-to-day, but hardcore professionals who want to stay connected likely won't mind the bulk. But really, who cares? This thing oozes sex, class, and style (did I just write that about a phone?) and the keyboard is insanely comfortable to type on. And the screen? Just barely smaller than the Touch HD's display, Touch Pro2's screen is gorgeous to look at.

Touch Diamond2 ain't bad, either. Sleeker and more grown-up looking than the original, the Diamond2 actually forgoes the faceted back panel that gave the original its name. Apparently HTC's designers think facets are "so 2008," so they gave the new Diamond a smooth metal back. Works for me. There's also a 5MP camera with flash back there, so you've got no reason to complain.

Both phones feature an upgraded version of TouchFlo 3D that adds all sorts of nifty features that more deeply integrate with Windows Mobile - so you don't have to deal with WinMo all that often. But don't just take my word for it: check out the hands-on videos.

Meantime, here are some specs for you to drool over:

Touch Diamond2
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7200A™, 528 MHz
OS: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Memory: 512 MB ROM, 288 MB RAM
Memory Expansion: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Dimensions: 4.25 X 2.09 X 0.54 inches (HxWxT)
Weight: 4.15 ounces (with battery)
Display: 3.2 inch TFT-LCD WVGA (480x800) touchscreen
Camera: 5 megapixel autofocus camera
Battery: 1100mAh LiIon

Touch Pro2
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7200A™, 528 MHz
OS: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Memory: 512 MB ROM, 288 MB RAM
Memory Expansion: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Dimensions: 4.57 X 2.33 X 0.68 inches (HxWxT)
Weight: 6.17 ounces (with battery)
Display: 3.6 inch TFT-LCD WVGA (480x800) touchscreen
Camera: 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera
Battery: 1500mAh LiIon

ARTICLE: MWC 2009 Part One: Samsung Memoir Launch

2/16/2009 2:25:00 AM

First off, a quick shout out to the Romanian bartender at Siddartha, one of about a million little bars within a stones' throw of my hotel here in Barcelona's Gothic District. I was feeling a bit like a sullen teacher after Samsung's Memoir media event last night when I didn't get to tag along with the supermodel (more on that in a second), but a phone call home to my family in the States and a trip out into the night in search of food brought my spirits back up. As did the lovely bartender who fixed me a mean Mojito and chatted with me about her journey from Eastern Europe to Spain and a romance with "a bad guy, if you know what I mean" (that's bad as in good, judging from the glint in her eye) as I nursed my drink. Nothing like the company of a kind stranger to make you feel at home when you're halfway across the world.

But enough about that ... back to the supermodel. Samsung brought in Helena Christensen to help them launch the T-Mobile bound Memoir T929 last night. Helena's not only a model with legs for days (seriously), but she's also quite the photographer. So Sammy gave her a Memoir to play around with for a few weeks, and they had several of her photos taken with the 8 megapixel cameraphone printed out and on display at last night's soiree.

The photos were quite good - Helena's got an eye for arty images - and the model turned out to be very cool as well. Sure, I was a bit starstruck when I got to have my photo taken with her (Samsung, I'm waiting for that picture!), but she really was super nice when chatting with me about her love of cameraphones and photography in general, her home in New York's West Village, and life as an international fashion icon.

Hence my sadness when Helena, her manager (also a really nice guy, btw), and her Samsung escorts headed out for a quiet, out of the way dinner after the event ... my brush with stardom was a fun one, and it was over. And poor me (yeah, right!) I had to face the Barcelona night on my own.

As for the phone itself, Memoir will be available to T-Mobile USA customers on February 25th for $249 after rebate with a two-year contract. That's a pretty steep price, and frankly I think T-Mo should have knocked down at least another fifty bucks. Memoir has features coming out of its gills - 8MP camera with Xenon flash and 30fps video capture, full touchscreen with Samsung's TouchWiz UI, 3G data with a full HTML Web browser - but that's still a hefty price tag for a non-smartphone, especially in a down economy.

And megapixels aren't everything. The T-Mobile Behold, Samsung's 5 Megapixel TouchWiz cameraphone, left a little to be desired in terms of actual image quality. Our own Dr. Photo recently put Behold head-to-head with the less-hyped Motorola ZN5 (another 5MP cameraphone on T-Mo) in a photo shootout, and the MOTO emerged as the clear winner. Behold's images were fuzzy with slightly dulled colors as compared to the Motorola - as were images taken with the 5MP Samsung Omnia, for that matter.

Hopefully Samsung's upped the quality of the camera optics in Memoir, and it looks like they have judging from the photos on display at the party last night. But we'll have to reserve judgement until the device hits the streets ... or at least until I get a review sample to test out myself and hand over to the good Doctor for a professional photo workout.

VIDEO: MWC 2009: Samsung Memoir T929 hands-on

2/15/2009 1:05:00 PM

Noah gets his hands all over the T-Mobile Samsung Memoir, an 8 megapixel cameraphone with a full touchscreen and 3G connectivity. Marvel at the Xenon flash, be amazed by the 720x480 video capture, and astound yourself to the TouchWiz UI and full HTML Web browser. Live from Barcelona, Baby.

VIDEO: Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M20 - Hands-On

2/15/2009 10:50:00 AM

Live from Barcelona, Noah gets a demo of the Nuvifone M20, Garmin-Asus' navigation-focused Winodws Mobile smartphone.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Samsung Shows Omnia HD, Ultra Touch, and Beat DJ on Billboard

2/15/2009 3:30:00 AM

Wandering the streets of Barcelona last night I spied this giant Samsung billboard advertising three new phones that should be unveiled this week: Omnia HD, Ultra Touch, and Beat. I've heard tell of all three devices before (Beat DJ is that new touchscreen music store developed in conjunction with high-end audio gear maker Bang and Olufsen) and managed to get a bit of juice on the Ultra Touch (Ultra Tocco), in particular.

The Ultra Touch S8300 is a 12.7mm slim touchscreen slider phone with an 8MP camera. The camera optics and flash are housed on the back of the device and are concealed when the phone is "slid shut," so to speak. Someone who's used the device said that its most eye-catching feature is its 2.8" AMOLED display, which is "amazingly bright" and shows "colors that just pop ... really pop." The display is capable of showing16 million colors at 400x240 pixels, and has full haptic touch feedback and will run Samsung's TouchWiz interface.

Speaking of TouchWiz, Sammy's newborn UI gets a much-needed update this week, as well. TouchWiz's first upgrade brings Web-ready widgets (like an RSS reader) to the system, and will be accompanied by an online widget store and development kit for widget programmers.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: ¡Hola! from Barcelona

2/15/2009 2:55:00 AM

Greetings from one of the coolest cities on Earth: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. After about 20 hours of travel across nine time zones (SFO to JFK to BCN), I arrived early Saturday morning local time and soaked in all I could while struggling to keep myself awake for long enough to acclimate to the time change. Barcelona's widely known for being the real city that never sleeps (sorry, NYC), but I barely made it past 9pm last night before finally succumbing to sweet, sweet sleep.

But that doesn't mean I didn't take in some sights, sounds, and pre-MWC gossip yesterday. I wandered the narrow cobblestone streets and gazing in awe at the beautiful buildings that somehow maintain their rich European history while housing thoroughly modern shops, cafes, and tapas bars (and yes, I found myself some fried little fish, chorizo, and a glass of Rioja along the way), and somehow found myself on a street packed full of mobile phone shops. Yes, kids, it was a cell phone geek's dream come true.

For all of you reading this from the United States, what they say about mobile phone culture in Europe is true: even the tiniest, dingiest phone stores here in Barcelona are packed full of handsets that make us Americans drool with envy. The Vodafone shop (akin to your local AT&T or Verizon store) offers high-end gear like the Nokia N95 & 5800, SE Xperia X1, and LG Viewty alongside the BlackBerry Bold and Storm, while indepedent stores were packed to the gills with these devices and other treats like the Nokia N96, SE C905, and virtually every LG and Samsung phone I'd ever heard of.

Even better, virtually all of the phones are offered unlocked. While we in the States are used to signing up for two year contracts in order to get a semi-reasonable deal on a new handset, buying unlocked devices contract-free is more the order of the day here in Europe. While subsidized phones are available with a contractual agreement, Europeans are used to paying up front for unlocked devices and using them with whatever service provider and rate plan they like.

As such, I was tempted to fork over 295 Euros (about $380) last night to pick up a Nokia XpressMusic 5800 just because I could. But luckily I remembered - even in my jet-lagged, dazzled by Barcelona frame of mind - that I was just a day or so from entering the world's biggest mobile phone playground: MWC 2009. Soon I'll be up to my ears in all of the newest, highest-tech phones in the world, so why pay for the cow when you can get the milk for free, right?

So I handed the 5800 back to the shop owner with an American-accented "Gracias," and found my way back to my hotel where I managed to upload some photos to Facebook before drifting off to sleep at long last. I've added a few of them to this article so you can see what I dreamt about in my hotel room last night.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Barcelona Preview Part 3 - Palm, Garmin, and more

2/12/2009 2:10:00 PM

MWC 2009: A Preview of Barcelona's Mobile Phone Fiesta

I'm getting that pre-travel adrenaline rush as I prepare to spend 13 or so hours on a plane tomorrow en route from San Franciso, CA USA to Barcelona, Spain to hit up this year's Mobile World Congress show. MWC begins on Monday, but pre-show press events start Sunday afternoon, and I'll be in Barcelona starting Saturday morning local time, so I can recover from the trip and get my bearings in preparation for covering the world's largest and most important mobile industry event.

Of course when I say "get my bearings" I mean check out some of Gaudi's architecture and find myself some killer tapas and a glass or two of a Catalan wine on Saturday night.

Getting back to business, I'm expecting to see a bevy of new mobile phones at MWC from nearly every major player in the mobile space ... except, of course, Apple. While the show focuses on European and international releases, and not US-carrier branded phones, hot international devices are finding their way to US shores faster and faster these days. So anything we see next week from HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia and the other big players may be launched in a North American-friendly version sooner than later.

Here's a quick rundown of what I'll be looking out for in Barcelona starting on Sunday:

Palm: Palm's Pre was the darling of CES, and I'm hoping to get some hands-on time in Barcelona with Palm and Sprint's hope for salvation. Word is we may see a GSM version of the new smartphone at MWC, though such a device most certainly wouldn't include US-capable 3G banding.

Garmin-Asus: Garmin has joined forces with PC maker Asus to launch their long-awaited Nuvifone ... and it's apparently a line of phones, not just one. I'll be getting a first-look at the range of navigation-focused devices in a private briefing on Sunday, though some photos and specs have already hit the Web.

Other: Look for Modu's long-delayed modular phone concept to be shown off in its final production form (or so I'm being told). We should also see some new smartphones from Acer and Asus, and I'm hopeful for at least one surprise new Android device to be on display, though likely not from Australian upstart Kogan, whose Agora Pro phone was scrapped/delayed at the 11th hour just last month.

Beyond devices, I'm sure we'll see lots of demos of "4G" WiMax and LTE technology, plenty of Android and other smartphone OS apps, and lots of "solutions" for sending multimedia and social networking updates around mobile networks.

Whatever I see at MWC, you'll see it too right here on PhoneDog. Get yourself ready by subscribing to our iTunes feed and YouTube channel to keep up with all of my video reports from the show.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Barcelona Preview Part 2 - LG, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson

2/12/2009 2:05:00 PM

LG: LG's new flagship multimedia phone, the KM900 "Arena" has already hit the Web in photos and videos showing off its fancy new "Cube" user interface. I'm expecting a few more goodies from LG at Monday's press conference, as they've made it clear that they're trying to buck the global recession by pushing forward with a robust product line for 2009. Meantime we're all waiting for that Dare successor, the "Versa" VX9600, to hit Verizon here in the States.

Nokia: Nokia's new E75 horizontal-slider Symbian smartphone was outed by Expansys last week, and two new touchscreen phones were just leaked in an N97 video: the ultra-high end "Ivalo" and the mid-range "Madeline" N97-look alike. I'm looking for those along with the E63, a lower-cost version of the E71 smartphone that was just launched here in the US. Hopefully Nokia will surprise us with another new device or two at Monday's press conference, but even if they don't I'm still looking forward to getting my paws on the XpressMusic 5800 and N97 touchscreen phones at long last.

Sony Ericsson: SE's in a world of hurt right now but their press conference invite promises "canapes and drinks," so I'm holding out hope for something cool from the one-time giant of the mobile world. The rumor mill's offered up some juice on an 8MP Walkman/Cyber-Shot hybrid along with the C903, C901, W705 and W395, so we'll just have to see what SE's got on tap for Sunday night's event.

Whatever I see at MWC, you'll see it too right here on PhoneDog. Get yourself ready by subscribing to our iTunes feed and YouTube channel to keep up with all of my video reports from the show.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009: Barcelona Preview Part 1 - HTC and Samsung

2/12/2009 2:00:00 PM

I'm getting that pre-travel adrenaline rush as I prepare to spend 13 or so hours on a plane tomorrow en route from San Franciso, CA USA to Barcelona, Spain to hit up this year's Mobile World Congress show. MWC begins on Monday, but pre-show press events start Sunday afternoon, and I'll be in Barcelona starting Saturday morning local time, so I can recover from the trip and get my bearings in preparation for covering the world's largest and most important mobile industry event.

Of course when I say "get my bearings" I mean check out some of Gaudi's architecture and find myself some killer tapas and a glass or two of a Catalan wine on Saturday night.

Getting back to business, I'm expecting to see a bevy of new mobile phones at MWC from nearly every major player in the mobile space ... except, of course, Apple. While the show focuses on European and international releases, and not US-carrier branded phones, hot international devices are finding their way to US shores faster and faster these days. So anything we see next week from HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia and the other big players may be launched in a North American-friendly version sooner than later.

Here's a quick rundown of what I'll be looking out for in Barcelona starting on Sunday:

HTC: The Taiwanese smartphone giant's 2009 product roadmap was recently leaked - or so we think - on the Web. HTC's throwing a press conference on Monday morning, and I'm expecting to see new Windows Mobile devices with sleeker styling and more media-friendly features. I'm also holding out hope for a new Android-powered phone, though that's a big of a longshot. Look for whatever HTC unveils to include some phones soon to be launched by Sprint and the other three major US carriers.

Samsung: Samsung's already pre-announced a handful of new WIndows Mobile and Symbian devices, and I know they've got a few more tricks up their sleeve for next week, as well. While the company recently announced that their first Android-powered phone won't be ready until later this year, we should see a new build of the TouchWiz operating system shown off on multiple new touchscreen phones in Barcelona along with some high-spec cameraphones and another music phone developed with Bang & Olufsen. Sammy's also said to be launching their new Symbian app store at the show. And, oh yeah, that T-Mobile bound 8 megapixel cameraphone, the "Memoir," may be on hand, as well.