MWC (Mobile World Congress) is only a couple of weeks away and the world’s top mobile phone manufacturers, apart from Apple, will descend upon Barcelona to show off their latest handsets. Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sony, HTC, Acer and Asus will all be on hand to show what they have planned for 2012 and beyond. Here’s what we think you might be seeing at MWC 2012.

Nvidia

While we’ve already seen the Tegra quad-core processor in the new Asus tablet we’d bet our house that Nvidia & Co will be on hand at MWC to confirmed more Tegra 3 mobile devices. Adding even more fuel the fire they’ve already sent out a press release teasing “quad-core firsts” during Mobile World Congress.

We’ve known about quad-core smartphones since CES, but anything on show was displayed behind glass – so it’s going to be exciting to get some proper face-time with the new handsets. It’s been reported that HTC and LG are both planning to unveil Tegra 3-powered devices, which are expected to feature 4.7-inch displays with 720p resolutions.

Windows 8 & Windows Phone

Microsoft revealed recently that it plans to launch the consumer preview version of Window 8 on February 29 – to coincide with their event at MWC. It’s does seem odd that Microsoft will be discussing Windows 8 at a mobile phone trade show, but it could mean Microsoft to will unveil more details on how Windows 8 will work alongside their Mobile phone operating system.

Not only will Windows Phone 8 share the same Metro style user interface as Windows 8 for tablets and PCs, but developers can reuse the same code for both operating systems. It’s not clear if Microsoft plans to discuss its Windows Phone 8 plans, but a Windows 8 Consumer Preview launch at Mobile World Congress makes it look that way.

Samsung

Its been confirmed by Samsung that the follow-up to their Galaxy S2 wouldn’t be making an appearance at this year’s MWC, but even more bizarre is the news that Samsung won’t be making a major press announcements at the 2012 show. Samsung should still have a new product or two to launch at MWC, as promised, however the usual big set-piece event is now off the table.

Their US PR team said: ”Samsung confirmed that they are not hosting a press conference at Mobile World Congress, but Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012.

“The successor to the Galaxy S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.

“Samsung stays committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world.”

Sony

The leaked shot above show the entire family of Xperia phones, but there’s also a couple of family members we haven’t seen before. According the Xperia Blog the new handsets include the rumoured Xperia Nypon and the phone in the middle of the bottom row, is thought to be the recently-announced Xperia S. We’ve had several emails about Sony’s plans at MWC, so we’re betting they’ll be bringing a host of new phones to MWC under the Xperia brand.

Blackberry

Ailing smartphone maker, Blackberry, should be at MWC with their new operating system. Once called BBX, its now been dubbed Blackberry 10 and has yet to released on any smartphone.

According to a RIM rep the company will be at MWC to show off the new operating system as well its current Blackberry 7 – which comes with new NFC and BBM capabilities. Unfortunately, it appears there still won’t be a device running BlackBerry 10 until later this year.

New reports from BGR blog are suggesting that Blackberry has cancelled the BlackBerry Colt, as well the Milan. Meaning RIM only has the BlackBerry 10 smartphone. First unveiled in London, the handset comes with dual-core 1.5Ghz, 1GB of Ram, 16GB of onboard storage and front and rear facing cameras. RIM focusing on a single device could be a good thing, but we’ve heard it won’t be ready until the third quarter of this year, which might just be too late – let’s hope they have something more concrete at MWC.

HTC

HTC has already confirmed their plans with a press conference set to take place the day before the show officially kicks off. They’re expected to show of the HTC Edge , which could also be the world’s first quad-core phone. There’s also talk of the Quattro tablet, also quad-core thanks to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor, as well as the Ville, another Android Ice Cream Sandwich superphone, and the Primo, a more mid-range device.

We also wonder if we’ll hear of the European version of the Titan II Windows Phone we saw at CES, with its ginormous 16-megapixel camera. Let’s hope so.

MWC takes place from February 27 to March 3.

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Nokia will be using NFC technology for various purposes including simplifying user experience. It is also rumored that Nokia may opt for wireless charging for its handsets. Though, wireless charging facility is available in many phones, but the technology never got mass approval. Nokia is also looking to minimize the use of connection ports.

Nokia will also be making some cosmetic changes to Lumia phones. The company will be removing the plastic cover for the micro USB port. IN an interview with The Guardian, Nokia’s design chief Marko Ahtisaari said, “If you can take away a moving part and make it more beautiful in the placement of the components, we’ll do it, so that’s something where we can certainly keep improving.”

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According to Bloomberg, the Finnish handset manufacturer may have finally found the recipe for success in its Lumia phones. Bloomberg consulted 22 industry analysts for generating these figures. Fund managing company Storebrand Asset Management said, “If Nokia is able to have a strong launch and surpass at least 1 million and keep that type of momentum, this would help put them in a credible position that is crucial to winning back investors.”

Despite the ostensible good performance, Nokia is not ready to provide any forecast about Nokia Lumia sales numbers. If anything, Nokia is trying to keep the hype low and not everyone is impressed with Nokia’s performance. equity research firm, Jefferies International said, “There weren’t a lot of the hero handsets out there — HTC were struggling, RIM didn’t have a show-me device, Sony Ericsson and Motorola weren’t really stepping into the mix, so there was probably enough space for Nokia to be able to point to fourth-quarter numbers they were happy with.”

Nokia has been reporting constant decline in the sales numbers for Symbian smartphones since last two quarters. It’s market share is also slipping.

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Smartphones are also gaining lead over feature phones. During 2011, handset manufacturers had started promoting smartphones over dumb phones. Samsung is clearly leading the pack, with HTC and not far behind. Even, hard-up companies like Nokia and RIM are also doing well in emerging countries in Asia and Africa. Companies like Apple are also now giving their attention to developing markets. Apple is now distributing its phones in various South American markets including Brazil.

Smartphones now have a strong foothold in the North American market. North American market showed 14 percent year on year growth for 2011. Kevin Burden, vice president and practice director of mobile devices with ABI Research said, “North America may only represent 15% of feature and smartphone units shipped globally, but due to the high proportion of high-end smartphone sales, it constitutes 40% of total smartphones sold by value.”

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We’re back with our second installment of our top tech predictions for CES 2012. In this part we will be looking at computing, tablets and mobiles. We’ll cover everything from what Microsoft has planned for Windows 8, Intel-powered Ultrabooks and everything you should expect when it comes to mobile phones and tablets.

Home Computing 

Xbox 720 aside Microsoft is expected to the have more details on its new Windows 8 operating system at CES. Steve Ballmer is expected to give an opening keynote speech where he is expected to show off the tablet-friendly OS.

So far the tech world has only seen a developer preview of the new OS, with a beta expected to the ready for February – so it’s expected that Ballmer & Co will take to the stage for the last time and announce the exact date of the beta. So keep your eye’s peeled.

Other computer related news expected from Microsoft is their decision to start supporting ARM processors with Windows 8. We’re not whether they will support both desktops and tablet architecture with Arm. But, it could be that we’ll see some Windows tablets in the future with ARM processors and more traditional desktops and laptops sticking to tried and tested Intel power plants.

Intel

Intel Chief Paul Otellini is set to deliver one of the keynotes at CES, and is expected to show off some new Ivy Bridge hardware, which should be in the form of Ultrabooks, although Ivy Bridge, the follow-up to Sandy bridge, isn’t expected until later 2012.

Graphics cards-wise AMD is likely to be on hand at CES to show off their new Southern Island, 28nm graphics card, which are expect to hit retail stores by Q1 2012. Nvidia is also expected to show off their 28nm cards too, but it’s not know whether the Kepler architecture cards will be shown on the show floor or behind closed doors.

One of the main draws for many at CES will be: Ultrabooks. This is because Intel is throwing a lot of money at the manufacturers to make a line of laptops that will reinvigorate the ailing laptop market. Over the last 3 years we’ve seen an explosion of Netbooks, then Tablets and Intel now hopes the consumers will jump on board their ultra-thin Intel-powered laptops. They are essentially MacBook Air’s, but, running Windows. From what we’ve seen of Ultrabook they do make Windows laptops cool, but with a hefty price tag and increased competition from tablets they might be too expensive for hard-up consumers to stomach.

Mobile Technology

The Mobile industry tends to make its announcements at the MWC in Barcelona, but with such a competitive marketplace many companies are likely to steal a march and get some of their announcements out before the rest of the competition. Tablets will also be big business at CES, with many manufacturers making the switch from dual-core Tegra chipsets to the new Tegra quad-core chipsets.

HTC

HTC has yet to give a UK release for their Jetstream tablet – so we’re not expecting that tablet but something entirely new – known as the HTC Quattro. It’s the usual 10-inch tablet that we’ve seen so many times over the last 12 months. For us, it’s not the hardware that is keeping Google from competing with Apple, but the fragmentation of the Android OS – especially the app marketplace – which is way off the quality and reliability of Apple’s own app store.

HTC will no doubt have several mobiles on the show floor at CES, but, they tend to make their products for different markets – so many of the new handset may well be US-only for the time being. But you should expect details on the HTC Edge, HTC Ville and possibly some quad-core phones too.

Acer

Acer is expected  to show off a new tablet, which will hopefully be a bit more exciting than the rather drab Iconica A500. This time around they’re hoping that the A700 might grab some positive headlines – especially as it’s thought to come with a 1080p resolution screen.

Samsung

Samsung is expected to show off the follow-up to the Galaxy S2, it’s been the at the centre of plenty rumour-mongering – so it’s highly likely that they could unveil it at CES and once again grab a decent head start over Apple and the iPhone. It’s expected to be dramatically different from the previous version as Samsung wants to move it away from the iPhone and avoid any further legal action.

LG 

LG is expected to show off a new Android 4.0 mobile called the Optimus U1, which could be worth keep an eye out for, especially if they managed to get it out to retailers with Ice Cream Sandwich in toe before the competition.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson might use CES to the finally officially unveil the Xperia Arc HD, which has been the subject of many leaks recently. It’s expected to come with a 4.3-inch LCD display, with an impressive 1280×720 resolution, a matte finish and for the first time the Arc will have the power to match its looks. The current Arc only has a single core, which by todays standards is like a pocket calculator.

Sony will want to make a splash at CES, they are in the process of buying the mobile company outright, so a good showing at the show would allay any fears from nervous shareholders and investors.

Nokia

Nokia is expected to unveil its next Windows Phone at a Window Phone-themed press conference, there’s no word on whether the reported Lumia 900 will make it to the UK, but the phone is expected to come with a 4.3-inch AMOLED screen, better battery life and their fantastic Carl Zeiss 8 megapixel camera.

We’ll be reporting all the latest news from CES – so stay tuned from the 9-13 of January.

CES 2012: Gaj-it’s Top Tech Predictions Part 2 is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Nokia announced that it would be transporting Nokia Belle UI to older Nokia phones as well. The company issued a statement saying, “The all new Nokia Belle (previously Symbian Belle) user interface will soon be available for download to some existing smartphones and begin shipping with a selection of smartphones that are already on the market.”

The Finnish company is planning to expand Nokia Belle’s reach to Nokia C7, Nokia C6, Nokia E6, Nokia E7 and Nokia N8 by early 2012. In fact, these phone’s OS is likely to get updated by February, 2012. Among the main features of Nokia Belle is six home screens. Current OS Nokia Anna supports three home screens. It will also let you toggle widgets and change profiles.

It is not clear whether, Nokia Belle moniker is being used as software update name or if it is completely replacing Nokia Symbian. Either way, the update will bring features like increased real estate to older Nokia phones, so users have no reason to complain.

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According to Bloomberg, Nokia insists that it is not selling its smartphone business. Doug Dawson, Nokia spokesperson, said: “We put these rumors to rest a long time ago.” Nokia recently launched two Windows Phone handsets under Lumia name which are trying to re-invigorate  Nokia’s with some massive marketing campaigns.

Recently Nokia officials claimed that Apple is losing favor among the younger generation claiming that iPhone is not fashionable enough for the younger generation. The company also said that Android is too complicated and that the OS does not provide adequate security to its users.

Nokia is consistently losing ground in Europe and USA, while it is doing well in lower price phone markets such as Africa and Asia.

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Deutsche Bank has claimed that the company is all set to cross 2 million units sales mark during the fourth quarter of year. The claim comes on the heels of some negative assertions made by Pacific Crest and Bernstein Research. While Bernstein research analyst blasted the phone for being expensive, Pacific Crest chose to slash its sales forecast from 2 Million units to mere 500,000. The phone was also criticized for not being innovative enough.

US, which is the biggest smartphone market in the world on revenue basis, is expected to pose big challenge to Nokia. Historically speaking, Nokia had never been able to ace the US market. The Finnish company yet has to finalize its plans for the American market, but it is rumored that Lumia and a couple of new Nokia handsets would be available in the US market in 2012.

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The report also brought a good news for otherwise struggling Finnish company, Nokia. The ailing company has the distinction of being the most popular smartphone brand in China, with cool 28 percent share. The report suggests that the companies are using various marketing techniques for increasing their volume in the market. Telecom operators are offering hefty subsidies for upper-end phones, while the local Chinese manufacturers are flooding the market with low price smartphones. As a result, Chinese smartphone has something for everyone.

Though, by revenue, the US still remains the top market, suggesting that the Chinese market is heavily dependent on cheaper, low price phones. After Nokia, Samsung is the only major brand with substantial market share. Remaining market is captured by sundry brands. Samsung claims 17.6 percent market share in the country.

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Nokia’s fall from grace over the last 5 year’s has been quite spectacular, before the world of iPhone’s and Android’s Nokia was the king of mobile phones. But, as with many large companies, they took their eye off the ball and Apple stole a march on them with the advent of the smartphone. Now, it’s time for Nokia’s last roll of the dice: the Nokia Lumia 800, which is the first handset to come from of their new partnership with Windows Phone 7.

The phone

From the offset the Lumia looks strikingly similar to a phone we’ve seen before, that’s right it’s the N9, but, re-tooled to work on Windows Phone. Shown off for the first time Nokia World 2011, first impressions are, well, a little mixed, it’s obviously not being billed as high-end smartphone, it’s not going to worry the iPhone’s and Galaxy S’ of this world. But that actually might be its ace up the sleeve – Nokia are aiming it at the middle-of-the-road smartphone users. Someone, who doesn’t want to re-mortgage to have the latest smartphone.

So what do you get for your money? Well from the looks of it quite a chunky phone, it’s not the thinnest and won’t win any prizes for being a style icon, but it does have a young, funky feel to it. The handset comes with industry standard 3.7-inch OLED screen, the same tech found in the Galaxy S2. The screen stretches impressively to the edges of the phone and the polycarbonate shell does give the phone a premium feel when held in your hand.

From the face of it Nokia has spent a lot of time on the look and feel of it, and its pleasing to see the phone hasn’t been dictated to by the accountants at Nokia. The battery is similar to the iPhone so can’t be remove and slots for your microSIM and charging port are all hidden away using top-mounted flaps. It might not be the simplest system, but does mean the design is un-spoilt and keeps its sleek design curves.

Apps and functionality

We’ll be reviewing the new Mango update this week, so look out for that, but for the Lumia Nokia has put its own little spin on the Microsft OS with some new apps that you’re not going to see on anything other Windows phone. You will find Nokia Drive, which is Nokia’s first free turn-by-turn navigation software. It’s simple, effective and a nice app to have if you don’t already have a sat-nav. You’ll be able to the select your destination and then be guided by voice directions.

Next up, is Nokia Music which is similar to Last FM, rather than Spotify, you’ll be able access new music without having to login, it’s a simple list of songs Nokia thinks you enjoy and they’re grouped together by genre, overtime once the phone knows what sort of music you like it becomes more accurate with its suggestions.

The service was obviously still in beta, so we’ll have to wait until the full review for a proper hands-on. But we do like the notion of being able to store songs offline when you’re out of signal. There’s also an option to download songs from the MP3 store and these appear to range from 79p to 99p, which seems fairly reasonable.

Other out-of-the-box apps include a new ESPN application, which at the time of writing didn’t actually work, but it promises new levels of interaction when it comes to following your favourite teams and sports.

Camera & storage

One of the shining lights of recent Nokia handsets has been the quality of cameras, and this is the case again for the Lumia 800. It’s a high-end 8 megapixel camera, which boasts both dual LED Flash and Carl Zeiss optics – combine that with the super-sharp OLED screen and you’ve got a camera that can compete with the best of the rest.

We’re glad report that phone has a quick shutter speed, which is even more impressive because the phone isn’t running a dual-core processor. It takes around a second to take consecutive shots which is impressive for any camera phone. The phone also shows you how to get the best pictures using features like autofocus, which is perfect for those of you who always suffering from out of focus grainy pictures.

Any pictures you do take with the phone will be replicated pixel perfect with the fantastic OLED screen which produces exceptional blacks and can even be viewed in direct sunlight – something a iPhone really suffers with. While the display on offer doesn’t reach the heights of Samsung Galaxy S2′s Super AMOLED Plus quality, it’s still more than good enough for watching movies and the like on the go.

And with such great multimedia power and features, the Lumia 800 also packs plenty of storage for you enjoy your music, photos and videos on the move. As well as 16GB of internal storage, you also get 25GB of free SkyDrive storage for you to upload and access your files from the cloud.

And when it’s time to stop playing and get down to work, the Lumia 800 even packs full Microsoft Office compatibility. With Windows Phone 7.5’s great Office Hub, you can create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files with ease, letting you stay productive no matter where your travels may take you.

For the social network users, the Lumia 800 integrates social networking features better than most phones we’ve used. Letting you easily access Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, among others, from a range of places in the Windows Phone 7.5 OS, it’s never been so easy to keep in contact with your friends.

Our verdict

It hard to not feel that Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft is the last roll of the dice for the Finnish company. Whether this is true remains to be seen, but the Lumia 800 is the best phone that the company has made in a very long time – throw in a cheap price tag and you’ve got a Smartphone that has the ability to capture the cheaper end of the smartphone market. But, Microsoft is far from being the market leader and would the same phone running on Android perform better? Almost certainly, but by tying the future to the success of Microsoft Windows Phone is a brave move and could go either way.

Overall there are a lot of positives to take from the Lumia; a stylised look, amazing camera, impressive screen and it won’t cost a fortune. If this is just a taster what we can expect from Nokia and Microsoft it could be a match made in heaven that benefits both Microsoft and Nokia.

The Lumia 800 will appear on UK shelves on 16 November, a Nokia spokesperson said on Monday. According to the smartphone’s pre-order page, the operator Three will be offering it at a SIM-free price of £399.

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