Mobile World Congress 2011: The Hottest Devices So Far

The extravaganza of phones and tablets that is Mobile World Congress is in full swing, with LG, Samsung, and Sony showing off their latest mobile gadgets. Sure, that’s only three companies, but they each brought enough new gear to fill a slideshow. Let’s take a closer look.

A dual-core processor and a 4.3-inch display make for a powerful Android 2.2 phone, but the Optimus 3D also comes with some gimmicks: The display supports glasses-free 3D 720p video, and you can use dual 5-megapixel cameras to record your own 3D material. Too bad the 3D effect can be a little strange-looking.

Technically, LG’s Optimus Pad was already announced as the T-Mobile G-Slate for U.S. consumers, but folks outside the United States will be getting an 8.9-inch Android Honeycomb tablet to call their own. It has an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and a stereoscopic 3D video recorder, continuing LG’s fascination with the third dimension.

After months of leaks and rumors, Sony Ericsson finally pushed its Xperia Play gaming phone into the spotlight. It has a 1GHz processor and Adreno GPU, a 4-inch display, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a front-facing VGA camera, but the main attraction is a set of gaming buttons and touchpads that slide out from where you’d normally find a physical keyboard. Verizon will carry the Xperia Play this spring.

The Xperia Neo’s picture-taking prowess–with an 8.1-megapixel camera and Sony’s Exmor R image processing–gets top billing. The Neo, which runs Android 2.3, also has a 1GHz processor, a 3.7-inch display, and a front-facing camera.

It’s the Xperia Neo with a physical keyboard. ‘Nuff said.

Samsung is following up on the success of its original Galaxy S smartphones with the appropriately named Galaxy S II. This phone, with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, is larger than its predecessor. It also has a dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a front-facing camera, and a near-field communications chip for whatever Google is cooking up. And everything runs on Android 2.3 with Samsung’s iPhone-like TouchWiz interface.

Like the Galaxy Player that Samsung showed off at CES, the Galaxy Wi-Fi 5.0 is a portable media player and gaming device that’s meant to rival the iPod Touch–but with a 5-inch display, it practically slips into tablet territory. According to Engadget, specs for the Android 2.2 device include a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, an 800-by-480-resolution screen, and a 5-megapixel camera.

After getting a head start in the tablet game with the 7-inch Galaxy Tab, Samsung is upsizing with Android Honeycomb and a 10.1-inch, 1280-by-800-resolution display. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 also packs an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Weighing 1.32 pounds, it’s lighter than both the Motorola Xoom and Apple’s iPad. Samsung has issued no statement on pricing or availability, though.