What to expect from MWC 2010?

New year, new Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The paradise for mobile media – the place, where almost all companies gather and introduce the devices and services that will bother us throughout the months ahead. This year a slight withdrawal seems to occur, with the largest cell phone manufacturer, Nokia, known to skip showing models at the event itself, and maybe LG will also follow its steps. Still, we expect to see some very interesting stuff there. We’ll be at the show for the fifth consecutive year, so stay tuned for high-quality coverage and our impressions of all the intriguing models that will get introduced.

Some manufacturers have announced (without much details) their latest phones in the week before the MWC 2010. However, we have enough cool stuff to look forward to that’s not yet unveiled, so it will be quite exciting to see these handsets live at the event and have the chance to play with them.

Nokia:

As we already mentioned, Nokia won’t be showcasing phones at the MWC. This however doesn’t mean the company won’t have its own booth somewhere in Barcelona, where the media will be able to check its latest creations. We expect from the Finns to announce their mysterious Cseries, which will probably consist of low- to mid-end phones. Additionally, some rumors point that a successor to the N97, the Nokia N98 might show up. Maybe we’ll finally see a 12MP camera phone too – Nokia N87 Vasco and N8 (these could be one and the same device).

Nokia N98 – News
Nokia N8 – News
Nokia N87 Vasco – News
Nokia Cseries – C3, C5, C6 – News

Samsung:

Samsung proved to be probably the largest manufacturer of touchscreen phones so we expect it to unveil many such models at MWC 2010. It would be quite interesting to see the introduction of the first phone with Super AMOLED display, as well as the debut of the first bada phone. The latter is said to happen a day before the very start of the event, on February 14.

Super AMOLED phone – News
bada phone – News
Samsung Galaxy 2 – News



LG:

The other Korean giant has already announced some interesting products in the week before the show. Still, there are some details about them that are still missing. Besides, we might also see some quite impressive devices like the 4.8-inch tablet-phone, the LG GW990, and the device that’s codenamed Apollo, which (according to the rumors) will run Windows Mobile 7 and will be equipped with a 1.3GHz processor and 1GB RAM.

LG Apollo – News
LG ARENA MAX – News
LG GW990 Specifications | News
LG Mini GD880 Specifications | News
LG GT540 Specifications | First Impressions
LG KM570 – News
LG GT350 Specifications | News
LG Cookie Plus GS500 Specifications | News
LG Clubby KM555 Specifications | News
LG GD350 – News



Motorola:

A year ago Motorola was considered a dying manufacturer. Suddenly, the old giant returned to prove it’s alive and well, thanks to its Android phone, which are among the best on the market. We expect to see a few new phones with the same OS at the MWC 2010. We’ll might also see the Motorola SHADOW, which is rumored to be the Nexus Two.

Motorola SHADOW – News
Motorola Sholes Tablet Specifications
Motorola MOTOSPLIT – News
Motorola Opus One Specifications | News
Motorola DEVOUR Specifications | News



Sony Ericsson:

Sony Ericsson suffered from significant problems with its sales last year, and some of its phones missed their initial released dates, or had issues. Some interesting models are expected to come out in the following months that should bring the company back to life. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is one of the most anticipated Android phones, while we might even get to meet its little variant at the MWC, codenamed Robyn. The Symbian-based Vivaz managed to impress us, but how will the Kanna perform? The GreenHeart line gets stronger and stronger, as it now features an eco smartphone in the form of the Sony Ericsson Aspen.

Sony Ericsson Kanna U8i Specifications | News
Sony Ericsson Robyn Specifications | News
Sony Ericsson Aspen Specifications | News



HTC:

HTC, home of some of the most impressive Windows Mobile and Android phones in the recent years. What we would like to see here is the first WM7 smartphone, codenamed the HTC Obsession, as well as the Sense UI powered HTC Bravo. The successor to the HTC Hero should make an appearance at this year’s MWC, by the name of HTC Legend. There is also a good amount of smartphones that are reportedly scheduled for H1 launch, so we guess there’s a chance for us to see them.

HTC Obsession – News
HTC Bravo Specifications | News
HTC Legend Specifications | News
HTC Supersonic – News



Microsoft:

Is the long anticipation of Windows Mobile 7 coming to an end? There are some serious signals for that, and if the new operating system emerges, it might be accompanied by interesting handsets that will use it. For now, speculations about such devices feature the LG Apollo and HTC Obsession, as well as the Zune phone, which should be made by Microsoft (or at least with tight cooperation with the company).

Windows Mobile 7 – News
Zune phone – News



Garmin-Asus:

The joint venture continues to out new phones that rely mainly on premium navigation capabilities. The nuvifone A50 (Android) and M10 (Windows Mobile 6.5.3) are already announced, but we are looking forward to meeting them in person and checking how far they have gotten with the integration of location-based services.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 Specifications | News
Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 Specifications | News





Toshiba:

There are some rumors, going the new device by Toshiba will be a waterproof Windows Mobile smartphone. This sounds intriguing, by we hope the TG02 will indeed be somewhat more innovative that the TG01, which slightly disappointed us, despite its powerful hardware.

Toshiba TG02 – News


Emblaze Else:

The manufacturer promises to change the rules of the game with its intuitive interface, which will debut with the First Else phone. We are dying to play with the thing, because it really seems very promising (and blue).

First Else – News




Acer:

With its Android phone, the Liquid A1, Acer attracted a lot of attention. At MWC we expect to see two smartphones – Acer E110 (Android) and P300 (Windows Mobile), details about which are also lacking right now.



Alcatel:

A rumor has it this forgotten manufacturer will demonstrate an affordable Android phone, the Alcatel OT-980, which very much resembles the Palm Pre, when it comes to design. We are not into the idea of combining Android and a resistive screen, but this one might turn out just right, who knows?

Alcatel OT-980 – News

Sagem:

Sagem and Puma are collaborating for the development of the so called PUMA PHONE. It may sport a solar panel and GPS, as well as applications that should help you organize your work-out sessions. We may need to rush for it, in order to present you our first impressions of the PUMA PHONE.

Opera Software:

Opera will demo a version of Opera Mini for the iPhone. We still don‘t know how the developer plans to distribute this app, but it will still be interesting to check it out.

Opera Mini for the iPhone – News