Tracy and Matt

HTC's press conference has just started at MWC in Barcelona and I can tell you that they are to announce three new handsets, two Android 2.1 handsets and a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 handset.

They are the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire and the HTC HD Mini.

We'll cover each device in it's own post that will shortly follow this one but in summary:

The HTC Legend looks like an updated version of the HTC Hero and has an all aluminium construction. Android 2.1 powered also has the latest version of HTC's Sense UI. It will have a 3.2" HVGA display, 600Mhz CPU, optical trackpad and 5 megapixel camera and flash. This device also introduces the concept of 'Hidden Power' which we'll talk about in detail in a later post.

The HTC Desire is the device that we previously knew as the HTC Bravo (which at the same time pretty much proves that the HTC Bravo on Orange images were fake!) In essence the Desire will be virtually the same in terms of hardware specification as the Nexus One. The key changes being the optical trackpad, a few physical buttons and no active noise cancellation. As with the Legend HTC have included their latest version of Sense UI and have also added their own browser complete with Flash Lite 4.0

The HTC HD Mini, codenamed HTC Photo, will be the only Windows Mobile device HTC are going to announce at MWC and will be WinMo 6.5.3. A 3.2" HVGA capacitive touchscreen that supports multitouch. Like the Legend it'll have the same 600MHz 7227 CPU and the Windows Mobile version of Sense UI. I was pretty close with my predictions of the HD Mini last week! :)

James and I got a chance to play with these handset last week and I can tell you they are pretty cool, I really like what HTC have done with Sense and I cant wait to get my hands on these for a proper review!

Check out the individual device posts that follow for each one in greater detail. We should have some official press releases later too.

Posted by: Matt

Acer have definitely been busy at MWC today and have announced 4 new handsets. Two Windows Mobile and two Android 2.1 powered handsets.

They are: Acer neoTouch P300 and P400, beTouch E400 and beTouch E110.

The first handsets will be available from March this year with the other two going in sale by May 2010. Full press releases available below:

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Microsoft are just about to start their press conference this afternoon at MWC. We're pretty sure that we're going to get to see some previews of WM7 but who knows if there may be more!

I'll be updating this blog post as the conference goes on so refresh frequently for updates!

Full press release and my comments follow:

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Just as Microsoft announce Windows Phone 7 Series HTC also announce that they'll delivery Windows Phone 7 Series devices...

HTC to Deliver portfolio of Microsoft

Windows Phone 7 Series Phones

Xbox LIVE games and Zune music and video service coming to HTC phones in 2010

BARCELONA, Mobile World Congress - February 15, 2010 - HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today announced plans to bring Microsoft's next generation of Windows ® Phones, the Windows Phone 7 Series, to market later this year.  The revolutionary new software offers a fresh approach to smartphones by bringing web content and applications together to create a phone experience that is very personal, relevant and connected. With this news, HTC builds on its Windows Phone leadership and extends its commitment to offering customers the most innovative mobile phone experiences available.  
 
"Windows Phone 7 Series is a significant milestone for Microsoft, the industry and ultimately people looking to do more on their phones.  HTC is working closely with Microsoft to bring the unique HTC experience that customers love," said Peter Chou, chief executive officer of HTC Corporation.  "Microsoft has clearly listened to feedback from people and brought a new, fresh approach to the smartphone experience that is beautiful, powerful and compelling."
 
Announced today at Mobile World Congress 2010, 7 Series offers a new approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the web and applications.  For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together the Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience to the mobile phone, exclusively on 7 Series phones.  
 
"People are moving faster than ever, juggling more priorities and turning to technology to manage it all.  Windows Phone 7 Series simplifies common tasks by bringing together related content from the web, applications and services into a single view to make life easier," said Andy Lees, senior vice president of Mobile Communication Business at Microsoft. "We are pleased to work closely with HTC, a global leader in mobile phone technology and design, to bring new Windows phones to customers around the world."

Well you might think that MWC doesn't start until tomorrow but that's not going to stop Sony Ericsson! They've scheduled a press conference this evening and it's all set to start at 6PM UK time - 7PM in Spain.

We're expecting to see a number of devices officially announced. The Sony Ericsson Aspen, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. I'm sure that there will also be some comments about the GreenHeart philosophy too.

The live video steam starts at 6PM (or probably a little before) and you can find the video embedded after the jump below. I'll also be monitoring the event and will post any press releases etc. that Sony Ericsson send me, I'm pretty sure there will be something official about the handsets.

James also has a one-to-one meeting with someone from Sony Ericsson tomorrow so please let us know if you would like him to ask any specific questions!

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On Thursday last week Matt mentioned that he had heard rumours of the HTC HD Mini and wondered if we'd see it launched by HTC at MWC. Now it would seem that there are a shed load more rumours about the device we expect to be the HD Mini and we expect that it may well be the device we knew as codenamed HTC Photon.

We first 'saw' the HTC Photon in the HTC 2010 roadmap leak back in December last year. In fact it was one of the few Windows Mobile handsets to be mentioned on the roadmap.

Check out the spec of the HTC Photon and possibly the HD Mini after the jump:

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Well we're all pretty certain that Microsoft will be making some announcements about Window Mobile 7, or Windows Phone 7 as it should be called now, at MWC early next week. The guys from Engadget have managed to dig up something interesting. Outside Microsoft's hotel, Hotel Catalonia, you'll find a large banner with the words Windows Phone and an area just underneath covered with a big white sticker.

Using their digital camera and some Photoshop magic they've managed to reveal what's sitting under that sticker it is '7 Series' making it officially Windows Phone 7 Series then!

Personally I don't think we'll see to much of the new OS, maybe some fairly teasing screen shots and a lot of talk about features but it's my guess that there's still some to go before we see WM7, my money is on Q4 2010.

James will be at the Microsoft press conference on Monday so we'll be sure to send you the news as we get it!

Posted by: Matt

We've noticed that general industry news seems to be slowing over the past week or so and we started to wonder why. However, the reason could be that Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2010 starts in a little over a week and there's a good chance that many of the hardware and software vendors are hanging on to their news to announce later at the event in Barcelona.

Some of the manufacturers are having pre-MWC events, the first of which we shall attend next week, while others are having post-MWC parties that we'll also be at the week after.

James will be in Barcelona for the main event and has already been booked up by some of our big name friends for meetings and press conferences, to say that he's excited may be an understatement!

So if there's something that you would like our roving reporter to go and find out about at MWC, if you are at the event or of you are an exhibitor at the event then drop us a line and we'll do our best to sort something out.

As for me, I'll still be stuck here in not-so-sunny London picking up the news and press releases and posting from a dark room while James lives it up in Spain!

Posted by: Matt

Contrary to popular belief we have been informed that Windows Mobile 7, the much anticipated OS release for windows mobile, will not be on the agenda at MWC this year. This can only suggest that it has been delayed even further than we thought.

James will be attending this years MWC and I'm sure he will be keeping us up to date on the goings on and what IS on the agenda.

Posted by: John McKenzie

There have obviously been a lot of rumours about Windows Mobile over the past month or so with stories about WM7 and WM6.6 being rumoured to be announced at MWC later this month. Personally I think we'll hear about Windows Mobile 7 at MWC but I'm not sure we'll see much of it.

Last month at CES one handset appeared quietly at the end sporting a new update to 6.5: 6.5.3

This morning I woke to an email from Sony Ericsson announcing their new Aspen handset. So there's a little about the Greenheart concept but what really caught my eye is further down the spec sheet: Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.5.3 so that pretty much confirms it then!

Have a quick look at the press release below, we'll obviously be trying to get our hands on one too!

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