Mobile World Congress (MWC) only officially kicks off today, but already there has been a minor deluge of tablet and phone announcements.
Samsung took the wraps off a new flagship handset — the Galaxy S II — which comes equipped with a mammoth 4.3in Super AMOLED touchscreen and runs 'Gingerbread' (Android 2.3). The new Android phone, which has a dual-core 1GHz processor, offers a number of enterprise-friendly collaboration and security features. According to Samsung, it's the "world's thinnest smartphone".
Samsung is also releasing a new Android-based tablet: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It will run Android 3.0 (aka 'Honeycomb'), and will launch on Vodafone in Australia.
Sony Ericsson has unveiled the Xperia Play: A gaming-focussed Android smartphone. Although it doesn't have PlayStation branding, it does bear the console's iconic cross, square, triangle and circle buttons, as well as other game-friendly controls, including dual touchpads and shoulder buttons. It will ship with a range of games developed for the original PlayStation.
LG will showcase a number of products at MWC, including the LG Optimus 3D: Like the Nintendo 3DS, it is equipped with a glasses-free 3D display. It will also ship with a camera capable of shooting 3D video and stills. Also on offer from LG are an 8.9in Android-based tablet — the LG Optimus Pad — and the Optimus 2X and Optimus Black Android smartphones.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop used his keynote at MWC to speak about his company's new partnership with Microsoft. The first Nokia handsets running Windows Phone 7 may be released this year.