Now that MWC is over, here's a look back at the biggest revelations that came out of the congress, and a look forward to some of the slick new devices we got our hands on during their MWC debuts. Also, in addition to the big announcements from Samsung and HTC, there was plenty of other tablet news to go around.






HTC Lets the Flyer Fly
One of the top stories at MWC had to be HTC's entrance into the tablet race with the announcement of the HTC flyer. The 7-inch device should be an interesting competitor from the company that terms itself "quietly brilliant" (with agreement from many smartphone users). Tablet PC Review had some hands-on time with the Flyer, and our European correspondent said that he "came away very impressed as HTC presented a polished and exceptional device."

HTC also let on that it had larger plans when CEO Peter Chou hinted that the company was working on the form factors for a larger tablet.


Samsung Brings the Big Guns with the Galaxy Tab 10.1
Samsung's MWC announcement of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn't so exciting because of the three inches the tablet line has grown since the Galaxy Tab, but rather because the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be one of several new brand name tablets featuring the highly anticipated Honeycomb Android 3.0 OS.

Tablet PC Review found out during a hands-on with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that, unfortunately, Android 3.0 was not very polished on the device. We also found the high screen resolution notable, and the lack of any buttons disconcerting.



A G-Slate by Any Other Name ?
Debuting at CES as the G-Slate, LG's tablet offering showed up at MWC newly renamed for the European market. Tablet PC Review had hands-on time with what is now known as the Optimus Pad, and we were sad to discover that, similarly to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, its Android 3.0 OS was unfinished. The display seemed average, although LG said that some glasses would have us seeing things differently (the Optimus Pad can run 3D films if users have the appropriate eyewear).



Xoom Making a Slow Crawl to Europe
While Americans can possibly enjoy the first Android 3.0 tablet in a week Motorola took the European MWC as a prime time to let the continent down. It turns out that the Xoom won't hit Europe until Q2, making our friends across the Atlantic wait a bit longer for that first sweet taste of Honeycomb.



ViewSonic Debuts Its Dual-Boot Device
ViewSonic continued its ViewPad line with the ViewPad 10 Pro, which will have the unique ability to boot into either Android 2.2 or Windows 7, depending on the user's preference. And if it in any way makes up for the late arrival of the Xoom, it's more than likely that Europe will have access to the ViewPad 10 Pro long before America (although release dates have yet to be announced).



Intel Lets Media Play with MeeGo UI
Intel's MeeGo for tablets debuted last June at Computex, and the UI was re-unveiled at MWC, unfortunately buffeted by news MeeGo partner Nokia was turning to Windows Phone 7. Intel let the media interact with the interface this time around, and while extensive work has been done on the coding and other underlying technical aspects, the jury says that MeeGo for tablets in its current iteration has a long road to travel before being user-ready.


Barcelona Meets Qualcomm's Next Snapdragon Mobile Chipset Family
MWC attendees received a glimpse at the future hardware that will power the tablets and smartphones of tomorrow. Qualcomm's new Snapdragon chipset features the single-core MSM8930, the dual-core MSM8960, and the quad-core APQ8064. Samples of the dual-core chip will be available during Q2 of this year, while the single- and quad-cores won't be around until 2012.




Nvidia Counters with Its Quad-Core Tegra Chip
Not to be outdone, Nvidia announced its own quad-core chip at MWC, which is codenamed "Project Kal-El". While details like power consumption and pricing did not factor into Nvidia's demonstration, the Project Kal-El Tegra chip smoothly ran video at a 1440p resolution on a screen that was 2560 x 1600 pixels. Nvidia also released a roadmap that planned for a new Tegra release each year through 2014.




Huawei Demos Seven-Incher Based on Old Standards
Huawei showed off its IDEOS S7 Slim tablet at MWC, a new tablet with old specs. The IDEOS S7 will feature Android OS 2.2 and an 800 x 400 screen resolution. The price should be right, though, as speculation points to a $300 price tag.


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