Next week is the start of the Mobile World Congress. You'll no doubt have seen many sites talking about it - put simply, it's the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry. Held in Barcelona, you should expect big announcements, revelations, new products, new software and new beginnings. If a company working in the mobile industry has something to show off or announce, it'll probably happen next week.

Coolsmartphone has long followed the event and this year, if the rumours are right, we should see a massive announcement from Microsoft. Other companies will also be hosting press conferences and the major mobile networks, phone makers and developers will have stands across Fira de Barcelona.

This year, starting Sunday, we'll be live from the event. Both myself and colleague Dan Carter will be on site, with pictures uploaded instantly, Tweets, live blogging, instant reports, videos and, if possible, live video too. If you're exhibiting at Mobile World Congress and would like to talk to us, please get in touch.

All the latest news and information will be here on coolsmartphone.com, so do keep checking back for updates.

Link - Mobile World Congress

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A new material could allow phones to have more pressure-sensitive screens. It would allow tricks like faster scrolling depending on how much pressure is applied on the screen. The technology originally comes from Peratech in Yorkshire, who make the "Quantum Tunnelling Composite". The BBC states that...

"Besides control for scrolling, the pressure-sensitivity could lead to a "third dimension" in touchscreens. For instance, instead of many "2-D" pages of applications, they could be grouped by type on a single page - using the press of a finger to dive into each type and select the desired app."

Interestingly a company called Nissha and Samsung have both licensed to technology for us in mobile devices.

Links - BBC News - Press Release

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Devicewire have been busy. They've just dropped the prices on stacks of HTC kit. The HTC Touch2 (reviewed here) was £275.99 but now it's only £199.95. The HTC Touch Pro2 was £444.99, now it's down to £354.94.

Other handsets are down in price too. The HTC Snap (reviewed here) was £275.99, now £219.95. The excellent HTC Hero (reviewed here) was £357.99, but now they're doing it for just £314.95. The HTC Touch Diamond2 (reviewed here) was £321.99, but this is only £274.95.

All handsets are direct from HTC and unlocked, so you can benefit from direct updates via the HTC Support site. Delivery on all devices has dropped from £7.95 to only £6.95 - sent via Royal Mail Special Delivery before 1PM. Feel free to give them a call on 0800 198 0000 completely free too!

Link - devicewire.com

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Late last year we all got to see the leaked HTC roadmap and, at the very top of that list was the HTC Legend. It should be arriving next month and the specs include a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2" HVGA AMOLED screen, 600Mhz CPU and optical mouse. Many are already calling this the "Hero 2" and now engadget.com have got actual pictures of the phone.

The rear of the phone is brushed aluminium affair with a new chunky logo and flash. Inside the HTC Sense GUI sits atop the Android OS, although we're not sure at this stage which version of Android it'll be running. One thing is for certain - the chin is back.

Link - engadget.com

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Are you visiting us to get the latest on new phones? Thirsty for more? Well, have you ever stopped to think about just how much work goes into the manufacturing of mobile phones? It's quite a task, but HTC have it down to a fine art and, in a series of web videos documenting the Nexus One, you get to see inside the HTC factory. It reveals what feels like a a miniture car assembly plant, complete with robot arms and hi-tech machines whirring away to make the very latest handsets.

This latest video shows the manufacturing process, but there's also a rigorous testing phase where phones are prodded, dropped, sat on and generally punished to simulate a whole lifetime of ownership. Look at it bending! That's just wrong..

Click on to view all four.

Links - Inside the HTC factory - Phone Testing

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On Saturday we spotted the HTC HD2 in the "Help and Support" section of the Orange website. However, we've had confirmation from Orange that there are still no plans to range this handset (as per their announcement last year).

Orange have actually put this page on-line just to help those customers who have chosen to buy the HD2 through other channels and use it on Orange. That's jolly nice of them isn't it?

Link - Earlier story

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Last week saw the launch of the Motorola DEVOUR. It's another Android device from Moto and the MotoBLUR interface helps you connect with your favourite social networks. TV ads for the phone are now appearing too, with this one showing up in the middle of the Superbowl (apparently it's like rugby, but with more padding).

Megan Fox stars. She's using her DEVOUR in the bath, which isn't always a good idea to start with. She then shows what might happen if she took a photo and sent it to her friends.

This, of course, is serious journalism and we simply had to cover it.

Link - Motorola DEVOUR TV Ad

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PocketNow.com have got hold of some more information and photos of what is being called the 'HTC Incredible' which is a new Android 2.1 device expected to be announced at Mobile World Congress this month.

The HTC Incredible is just one of a wide range of new devices leaked in a document which has been all over the internet for a few months now with the HTC Bravo getting most of the attention as a Nexus One alternative for a lot of people.

Link: PocketNow.com

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The guys over at PPCGeeks have come across some very interesting information on Windows Mobile 7 which appears to be making an apperance at this years Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which kicks off just over a week away.

The list is not a confirmed list but some other sites have tonight said it is pretty much spot on and includes a few interesting developments such as no flash support at the start but it does have social network integration as well as XBox Integration for your Gamertag

What has to be the biggest let down for most people is the lack of Multi-Tasking, instead apps will 'pause' and have push notifications which sounds pretty much along the same lines as some other large company who makes a mobile phone and computer OS....now what were they called again?  ;)

Update - A similar article has popped up on mobiletechworld.com

Link: PPCGeeks.com

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The HTC Bravo has received a surge of interest since we first found out that it was about to appear on Orange. Many of you have been told the same by Orange customer service, and Nick Butcher has even stepped up with this PDF. The fact sheet was sent to him by Orange and appears to show the phone only having 320MB of memory.

A few other things are a little weird, like the Copyright notification reading 2008 and the actual image itself is pinched from a website (note the watermarks). However, we've seen little indiscretions on internal paperwork before and the email source info definitely stacks up, so we feel that this is legit infor.

Set to arrive in March, this is effectively the same specs as the Nexus One but with the added HTC Sense interface. The weeks just can't pass quickly enough!

Link - Orange HTC Bravo PDF - Earlier story
Credit - Nick Butcher

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The recently announced Sony Ericsson Aspen can now viewed in a YouTube video from zavackiy. Despite the touch-screen it appears to be mainly keyboard driven and this video shows off the all-new Windows Mobile 6.5.3 along with the music app and Sony Ericsson customizations.

The "Iconic Black" and "White Silver" versions are shown here and, despite all the added WinMo 6.5.3 finger-friendly functionality (try saying that quick), there still appears to be a stylus. We don't speak the lingo, so we've no real idea whether the reviewer likes it, but you can see it compared to several other handsets and get a good look at the phone plus the UI.

Links - mobile-review.com - Video - Earlier story
Via - engadget.com

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ROM Updates. They're fun aren't they ? Well, no. Not always. Unless you backup you'll lose most of your stuff - all those apps, the layout of your homescreen, your text messages and possibly your emails, contacts and other stuff too. Bad times.

Tom's App Review Show today takes a look at some of the backup apps available for Android including Astro and "MyBackup" from the Android market. Of course, if you've got any Windows Mobile recommendations we'll be happy to hear about them too.

Link - The App Review Show - Episode 7

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