![\"mwctc\"](\"http:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/02\/mwctc.jpg?w=100&h=70&crop=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that time of year again \u2014 mobile nerds and enthusiasts of all stripes have begun to descend upon Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, and naturally a TechCrunch contingent has set up camp in Spain to cover it all. <\/p>\n
Or, we’ll try anyway. MWC is a behemoth of a show, packed to the brim with enough phones, tablets, and apps that it’s enough to make even the more ardent mobile nerd’s heart go a-twitter. To say that we’ve got a busy week planned is quite an understatement, but here’s a brief look at some of the players that are in attendance and what (we think) they’re bringing to the table.<\/p>\n
First, there are the earlybirds \u2014 the companies that wanted to get some of their big news out ahead of the show in order to avoid drowning in a sea of press releases. HTC<\/strong> will be around as it always is for instance, but it\u2019s already made its big reveal<\/a> during a pair of simultaneous events in New York and London. Personally, I\u2019m hoping that an HTC Mini<\/a> is floating around the show floor somewhere so I can finally try and figure out why it exists.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Sony<\/strong>, who managed over the past few weeks to make some waves with its Xperia Z <\/a>and Xperia Tablet Z<\/a>. So far the company has done well to avoid raising any eyebrows in advance of its press event on Monday, but that hasn\u2019t stopped the rumor mill from churning — Sony may announce that it\u2019s bringing that Tablet Z to the UK (and hopefully beyond). <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Those of you expecting a glimpse at a brand new flagship phone from Samsung<\/strong> will probably come away disappointed this week \u2014 the Korean consumer electronics titan seems to have stopped using MWC as a launchpad for its top-tier smartphones. The big Samsung announcement expected this week is that of the Galaxy Note 8.0<\/a>, the S Pen-friendly tablet whose existence has been leaked so often<\/a> that even HTC would blush. The latest? Slashgear<\/a> obtained this image (above) taken at the Fira Gran Via earlier today, confirming that the GalNote 8.0 would indeed take the stage here in Barcelona.<\/p>\n Samsung may not be planning to show off too much in the way of high-end phone hardware, but eternal rival LG<\/strong> seems more than eager to fill in. Sure, its big ol\u2019 Optimus G Pro<\/a> may have already enjoyed its share of the spotlight, but I\u2019m looking forward to some hands-on time with it. Also on deck are LG’s mid-range Optimus F series handsets — the F5 features a 4.3-inch qHD display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, while the F7 bumps things up slightly with a 4.7-inch 720p IPS screen and 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Maybe not the most exciting things in the world, but probably a damned sight better than last year’s Optimus Vu <\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as rumors of a super-svelte Catwalk Windows Phone<\/a> continue to make the rounds, Nokia <\/strong> is seemingly gearing up to unveil a pair of new Lumias this week. A handful of recent leaks pointed to the existence of the Lumia 520 (left) and 720 (right), and now a set of leaked images from none other than EvLeaks <\/a>(who, in case you were curious, has a rather solid track record with these sorts of things) have added even more fuel to the fire. <\/p>\n Nokia\u2019s wallet-friendly device portfolio has also been pegged to grow this week with multiple new, non-Windows Phone handsets<\/a>. Apparently, it\u2019s all part of a plan to shore up the company\u2019s presence in developing markets, which jibes rather nicely with the previously-stated goal of connecting \u201cthe next billion people.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n China\u2019s ZTE<\/strong> has been awfully transparent about its plans this year \u2014 you can expect to see the company’s hefty Grand Memo<\/a> (complete with 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 5.7-inch display), as well as one of the world\u2019s first honest-to-goodness Firefox OS phones. Not exactly a shock considering that Firefox OS is being geared heavily toward making a splash in developing markets, but it’ll be neat to see what sort of hardware ZTE cooked up to match Mozilla’s web-centric OS. There’s even a spec sheet floating around now, thanks to some Engadget tipsters<\/a> who managed to get into the MWC venue a little early: <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Speaking of Chinese OEMs, Huawei<\/strong> has been keeping its cards close to its chest so far. It’s pretty obvious that the mid-range Ascend P2<\/a> and its 720p screen will be making an appearance very shortly, but the question is whether or not it’ll be alone — after all, Huawei did reveal two heavy-hitters during CES<\/a>. There\u2019s little doubt in my mind that Huawei knows how to make a good phone<\/a>, but another question to mull over is whether or not this year will be the one that sees Huawei finally fit into the mainstream. <\/p>\n Sadly, this year attendees will have to do without the frozen treats and the scores of Android pins that Google<\/strong> brought to the show last time around. While the company hasn\u2019t officially stated why it downsized its presence on the floor this year, we\u2019ve got our own theories<\/a>. In a slightly related vein, Motorola Mobility<\/strong> has never really had a big presence at MWC, so odds of a big X-Phone<\/a> announcement are pretty much nil \u2014 sorry folks, better luck at I\/O.<\/p>\n