The phones of Mobile World Congress 2013

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Mobile World Congress 2013

Mobile World Congress is only a day old, but the show has already brought us a bucketful of new mobile phones.

Android smartphones prevail again, but we also saw some new Windows Mobile devices and (gasp!) even a couple of basic candy bar handsets. One doesn't even have a camera.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

LG Optimus G Pro

The Optimus G Pro is another attempt by LG to build a hybrid smartphone and tablet (or a "phablet", if you will). It has a 5.5-inch full HD IPS screen with a 1920x1080-pixel resolution and 440 pixels per inch. Fortunately, it has 16:9 aspect ratio, which is more standard on mobile phones than the 4:3 ratio on LG's earlier Intuition.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Nokia Lumia 720

Of all the new devices that Nokia introduced at the show, the Nokia Lumia 720 is the most high end. It has the familiar Lumia unibody design, but it adds a microSD card slot that you can use with cards up to 64GB. Also, it's capable of wireless charging, has 8GB of internal memory and a 6.7-megapixel camera with an f/1.9 aperture and an LED flash.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Alcatel One Touch Fire

The Alcatel One Touch Fire is one of the first smartphones to run Firefox OS, a new software that aims to light a fire under Android. That alone gives it some street-cred, even if the other features aren't quite as noteworthy. It has a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm processor, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a microSD card slot.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Acer Liquid E1

The Acer Liquid E1 has mid-range features and a relatively-low resolution 4.5-inch display, but it also brings Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and powerful external speakers.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Huawei Ascend P2

Huawei continues its quest for the high-end market with its new Ascend P2. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and features a 4.7-inch 720p HD display with a 315-pixel density, a 85-degree viewing angle, 500-nits brightness and Gorilla Glass 2. Inside, you'll find a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Alcatel One Touch Scribe Easy

Equipped with Jelly Bean, Alcatel's One Touch Scribe Easy has a cool magnetic cover and a stylus you can use to transcribe handwriting into text in several custom apps. The size is a little awkward, and the specs won't surprise you, but it won't take a big bite out of your wallet, either.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

LG Optimus F5

Part of LG's new mid-range F series, the Optimus F5 has a 4.3-inch display, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 8GB of onboard storage and Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

LG Optimus F7

The higher-end Optimus F7, which rocks a 4.7-inch IPS display, features a wide and slim physical home button, bracketed by the standard capacitive back and menu buttons. It runs on a midlevel 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and a 2540mAh battery.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

ZTE Grand Memo

Another big phone or small tablet (depending on how you see it), the ZTE Grand Memo has a huge 5.7-inch display with Android 4.1.2, a 13-megapixel camera, a 1-megapixel front-facing camera and a 1.5GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Geeksphone Peak

With premium hardware, a 4.3-inch display and a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, the Geeksphone Peak is the best way so far to experience Mozilla's browser-based operating system. Other features include a proximity sensor and accelerometer, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front camera, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of flash memory, microSD and micro-USB ports, and a GPS receiver.

(Credit: Rich Trenholm/CNET)

Alcatel One Touch Idol X

By phone standards, the 5-inch One Touch Idol X is enormous, yet a few design tricks make it seem smaller than it really is. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the rear cover is coated in a colourful rubbery material and you can choose between two versions of the phone. One has an 8-megapixel camera and a microSD card slot, the other is a dual-SIM model with a 13-megapixel camera and no memory-card slot.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Nokia Lumia 520

More mid-range than the Lumia 720, Nokia's Lumia 520 has a 5-megapixel camera, which can record 720p HD video, and 8GB of storage. There's no flash, and Nokia bypassed wireless charging, presumably to help keep costs down.

(Credit: Rich Trenholm/CNET)

Samsung Galaxy Xcover

So why the strange name? Well it's because Samsung's Galaxy Xcover is really a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini in a rugged shell. It's IP67-certified, which means that it's dust-proof and waterproof up to a metre for 30 minutes. It'll survive a dunking in your drink or the bathroom, and it'll survive you washing it afterward. Inside, it has a chunky dual-core 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The display is a 4-inch touchscreen with 800x480 pixels.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

ZTE Open

Another new phone running the Firefox OS, the ZTE Open is faster than Alcatel's handset, but at this stage, it's not powerful enough to rival most smartphones. The screen has a mere 480x320-pixel resolution, for example, and the camera is a 3.2-megapixel job.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Alcatel One Touch Snap

The Alcatel One Touch Snap sports a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek processor, a large 4.5-inch screen, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory. All this drives the phone's Android 4.2 Jelly Bean software along at a snappy clip.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Alcatel One Touch Snap LTE

The One Touch Snap LTE is similar to its sibling, but it supports LTE, has a slightly larger 1.4GHz Snapdragon dual-core processor and its profile is just a bit thicker (4.65 inches).

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

Samsung Galaxy Grand

With a design that sort of resembles the Galaxy S3, the Samsung Galaxy Grand has a 5-inch LCD display with rounded corners and a wide home button. Features include Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2, 8GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Acer Liquid Z2

Though the single-core processor and the 3-megapixel camera make it largely an entry-level device, the Acer Liquid Z2 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has a dual SIM card slot.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Alcatel One Touch Star

Though positioned as an entry-level phone, the One Touch Star has a bright and vibrant 4-inch AMOLED display. It runs Jelly Bean, has some great editing apps for its 5-megapixel camera and you can get it in a variety of colours.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

LG range

LG also introduced more devices for its previously established L series. Though all of the handsets run on Android Jelly Bean, they offer varying designs and features. The L7 II (left) is the most high-end of the bunch. It has a 4.2-inch display with an 8-megapixel camera and a 1GHz dual-core processor. The L5 II (middle) brings a 4-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1GHz single-core processor; and the L3 II (right) sports a 3.2-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1GHz processor.

(Credit: Rich Trenholm/CNET)

Samsung Galaxy Fame

Though it carriers the Galaxy name, Samsung Galaxy Fame won't count as a premium device. Indeed, with its low-resolution 480x320-pixel screen, 1GHz processor and 5-megapixel camera, it won't take a big bite out of your wallet.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Nokia 301

Nokia takes us back to classic designs with the candy bar 301. The 2.4-inch QVGA display, which isn't a touchscreen, has a 320x240-pixel resolution. There's a 3.2-megapixel camera (no flash), which includes panorama mode and burst mode with up to five shots in a sequence. You'll only find 256MB of internal storage, but you can save media on up to 32GB of external storage.

(Credit: Rich Trenholm/CNET)

Samsung Galaxy Young

About as basic as they come, the Samsung Galaxy Young is a single-core phone with a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM, a low-resolution 480x320-pixel display and a 3-megapixel shooter. So you can see why they call it "young".

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Nokia 105

Intentionally created for the entry-level mobile phone markets in China, Indonesia, India and Nigeria, the Nokia 105 focuses on calls, long battery life and only a few little extras. It has a tiny 1.5-inch display and no camera, but you do get a flashlight, an FM radio, alarms and a reminder app.

Via CNET.com