Day 1 of Mobile World Congress 2010 has come to a close. Here's the first of our daily round-ups of the event, which today includes the official unveiling of Windows Mobile 7 and a smattering of new Sony Ericsson handsets in the Xperia range.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro gets the full QWERTY treatment
Great for texters and tweeters, with 720p video recording to boot.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini credit-card sized smartphone revealed
Super-slick, and only bested by the X10 Mini pro and Samsung Wave for "wow" factor today

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini pro packs in a tiny QWERTY slider
One of the smallest QWERTY sliders we've ever seen

First bada handset revealed as the Samsung Wave
And mighty impressive it's Super AMOLED screen is too

Nokia and Intel team up for new MeeGo mobile OS
Open source OS is set to replace Maemo and Moblin

Microsoft press conference reveals WinMo 7
A drastic shake up for the PC giants mobile platform, and all the better for it

LG and Dolby bring 5.1 surround to smartphones
Lots of potential for making home cinema a more portable affair

Acer Liquid e smartphone announced
Sadly still running the Snapdragon processor at an underclocked 768MHz

Click here for more Tech Digest coverage from MWC 2010

Intel’s keynote speech briefly looked at Santa Rosa, as well as what they’re working on and are hoping to bring to market in the next couple of years. Here's the highlights.

Reliability: Working with HP and Microsoft, Intel have improved reliability, and even addressed the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. If you’re faced with a situation where you’ve got the blue screen, and so your OS isn’t working, coupled with the fact that there’s no physical network connection, your IT support are still able to remotely access your computer. They can debug and restart, as long as there’s WiFi.

Connections: 802.11n is used, which allows you to stream up to 4 high definition videos to 4 separate computers at 200 mbps. That’s 5 or 6 times the performance of 802.11g. This is aimed at helping out in that famous ‘wireless home’.

WiMAX: Only 16 countries have over 5% broadband penetration and 141 countries have less than 1% penetration. WiMAX should address this, since it’s cheap and can be used over great distances. In a year or two, WiMAX will be included in all Intel chips, as well as 802.11 a/b/g/n which is currently available.

Mscape. HP are pretty chuffed with themselves that they’ve come up with this. It’s in Beta at the moment, but the idea is you can use any Windows Mobile PDA with GPS, to collect relevant information about your surroundings. So, depending on where you are, you can play games, listen to music or watch videos, all of which are relevant to where you are. It’s already been tested at the Tower of London, where people could play games relating to the site (presumably involving beheading royalty). HP is going to provide a toolkit which can not only be used by professional developers, but also consumers, so you can create your own experiences.

It’s based along similar lines to Google World, where you can read other people’s notes. Flickr do a location based search, where you can look at what other people have been taking around the world. And now, HP think they’ve cracked converging all this media. You can check it out at www.mscapers.com where you can download mediascapes HP and third parties have created, as well as create your own.

So, I’m here, I’m awake and I’m ready to hear all about the HP goodies that we’re about to be told about. The key note is due to start in a second, but in the meantime, here’s what the press releases are telling us:
• There are going to be 13 different notebooks launched over the next two days.
• There’s one big consumer notebook launch
• There’s one big business notebook launch
• Mscape’s going to be a focus.
• HP wants to get in on the video on your mobile act, and they’ve developed three programs they’re going to sell on to operators to make the whole thing simple.
Now the keynote has started, and as per, there’s graphics a-go-go, and in the first 30 seconds, we’ve been told that HP is the largest technology brand in the world. Go them!
The vice president has just told us a long story about how the way to a man’s heart is through the stomach. He apparently believes that the way to a man’s wallet is through the heart, which leads me to believe the only logical conclusion is that perhaps HP are going to start giving away Pot Noodles with their laptops.

Finally, apologies for the lack of pictures. For some bizarre reason, they're not releasing them til the end of the day, despite announcing products this morning.

I'm in Shanghai at the HP 'Making Connections' Summit (also the World Capital of Quite Convincing Fake Designer Goods). It's all due to kick off on Wednesday, but there have been a few rumours doing the rounds this week on just what they're going to announce. I muse over such things in the hotel room.

[Susi Weaser]

We know the specs, we know the hype, but what's it like seeing the Prada phone in the flesh? I took a very brief look at it, which it is now my pleasure to share with you. Overall impressions are that this is not the phone I thought it was - it's better. Designer partnerships have a habit of being a bit gimmicky in the mobile phone world, but Prada seem to have really been involved from the beginning, rather than sticking their logo on at the end. And there really is no sign of a keypad - it's touchscreen in the truest sense of the word. Yes, it's true, I'm a little bit in love.

Still both yapping on about this new 'Turning The Pages' program that the Library can use with Vista, we're 'treated' to a short film about da Vinci, his manuscripts, and what several key historians think of the involvement with Microsoft. She announces a competition hosted by the Library, which will give away several copies of the 'Turning the Pages' program to schools in the UK, worth over £10,000 each.

Cynthia Crossley approaches the stage, the director of the UK Windows Client Business Group. Apparently Microsoft have spent years gathering feedback from beta testers, adapting the operating system many times, always taking onboard the tips from users. According to Cynthia, one in three homes in Britain own a computer, and they want to connect all these people, allowing people to get connected, and literally 'wow' them.

Yawn. It's 10.15, they're running late, and still playing Razorlight. Still, I guess that's better than an Apple presentation, where they would no doubt blast your poor, defenseless ears with U2 and The Gorillaz. While I've got a few minutes to spare, I'll fill you in on who else will be speaking today. After The Feeling leave the stage, there will be a 15 minute demonstration of Vista, and Microsoft Office System. Admittedly I'm far more excited about checking out Vista some more, but the thrill of this being the first time since 1995 where an OS and Office package have been released together is pretty groovy. Once Vista has been shown off some more, bandied about like a trophy wife, there'll be a demonstration of partner applications created by Easyjet, Franklin Covey, BetFair, IMG, Universal Music, ITN, and the British Library.

Ooh! It's begun! Several TV screens are blaring loud noise and images of Vista being used, juxtaposed with images of kids playing football, monks in Asia walking around a river, business men making phone calls, and families using the new IPTV system, which Gates will no doubt mention...

Here I am, yet again waiting in a queue to see the great Bill Gates. For the second time in less than a month, I'm privileged enough to attend a keynote speech made by the founder of Microsoft, possibly The Most Amazing Man In The World. Stop quivering there, Apple fanboys, I used to be amongst the hordes of bespectacled (black square frames, natch) Steve Jobs worshippers, only I soon came to my senses. Thank goodness for that.

The time is now 9.50am, and we've been ushered into the auditorium of the conference centre at the British Library. There're probably only 80 seats here at most, a far cry from Gates' speech at Las Vegas' Venetian hotel earlier this month, which had close to a thousand people in attendance.

I now have a schedule for the day - in 5 minutes Gordon Frazer, the managing director of Microsoft UK, will take to the stage, and introduce ol' Bill. Gates, that is. He will speak for 20 minutes about the digital reunification of the Leonardo da Vinci Codices, whatever that may have to do with Vista! After that, the slightly crap-tastic band The Feeling will come on, and blather about the wonders of this new OS, no doubt secretly planning what to spend their high guest appearance fee on. Bet it's not going to be Vista, more like more pairs of skinny jeans and Converse.

Stay tuned, as the keynotes speech is about to begin...

We've been blogging and shooting videos for what feels like weeks, so we thought it time to give you a rundown of the Top 10 CES 2007 vids so far. Drumroll please...

1. Is it a robot? Is it a hamster? Is it both? Really, it's anything you want it to be.

2. More robots, this time Star Wars-themed. R2D2 will do anything media for you, but he really doesn't want to see that Paris Hilton video again. Please.

Not only a preview of Shadowrun, a new game coming out on Xbox Live, but an illustration of how you can play forthcoming XBox games on both the Xbox 360, but a PC running Vista, courtesy of Kat.

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

Leaving issues of licence fees and huge wages for A-list celebrities gracing the BBC, it's fair to say that they're a fairly innovative bunch.

DG Mark Thompson wants to expand on their current new media offerings by setting up a department called BBC Vision that will bring together the top production names of comedy, soaps, drama, entertainment, documentaries, and kids' TV (that's pretty much everything then) to look at ways of allowing audiences to access the shows any way the want.

Thompson said he wanted the BBC to be "the most creative organisation in the world, delivering content that our audiences will simply love".

IP-based control systems for your home haven't really happened in a big way yet. Perhaps because most installers understandably see anything to do with the PC as a bit flakey, preferring dedicated control systems from the likes of Crestron and Lutron. But that might be about to change with several companies showing IP control systems at the CEDIA show that at least seemed to work (always a good start).

From iDomus there's the Harmony Media Center Extension. Expanding the existing capabilities of Harmony's Home Automation Server software, it now gives you control over the heating, lighting, security automated curtains and blinds. The enhanced product also incorporates built-in CCTV, IP camera and webcam/video source support.

At this year's CEDIA show, journalists were given an impressive demonstration of Crestron's new entry-level home entertainment system, the Adagio. Although much cheaper than previous Crestron control offerings, the Adagio system provides bags of useful features.

Perhaps most useful of all is iPod control. Using a  Crestron touch screen panel and an iPod docking/recharging station it's possible to recreate the exact interface of the iPod on the display. This means that you can plug your iPod into your home entertainment system located, say, in the equipment  cupboard and control it (through the wired system) in the living room. Simply press the 'virtual' buttons on the screen just as you would on the iPod itself.

Also, unlike previous Crestron products, the Adagio is much more than a control system. It's a fully functioning home entertainment set-up comprising the AADS six room audio distribution system, the AAS Audio Server (compatible with Windows Media Player and iTunes), the AAE audio expander and AES entertainment system. For more information go to Crestron's website.

Music servers from companies like Imerge and Audio Request - which are a bit like giant iPods really - have been around for some time. But video servers, which let you store your entire DVD collection, are now starting to become popular, at least for those with a few quid splashing about.

Displayed at CES was a new server from Kaleidescape which now combines audio and video functionality. What's particularly neat is that you can store all of your CD or DVD covers as images on your TV screen and simply click on them when you want to play them. The downside is that the system is still quite expensive, costing around £17,000.

A more affordable, but less advanced and even less attractive, solution comes from Xperinet. Expected to retail from around £7000, the entry level Xperinet Polaris has a 1.5 Terabyte storage capacity and can store up to 300 DVDs or 3,300 CDs. Alternatively there's a model with 2.4 Terabyte capacity which can store up to 480 DVDs or 5,300 DVDs and retails for just under £11,000.

As you can imagine you get to do quite a few screen grabs in this business and here at Propellerhead we mostly use the standard Windows Print Screen utility (PrtScn to capture full screen or Alt + PrtScn to capture active window). There are plenty of good commercial and shareware offerings but they all have their strange little ways and in the end the Windows capture options are good for 99 percent of jobs. However, we've been quite smitten with a freeware utility, or rather the free 'lite' version of a program called Screenhunter.

There was a time when those arty-farty designer types in flowery shirts wouldn't have anything to do with technology, thinking it might spoil their superbly crafted interiors. Oh how times have changed.

At the absolutely packed Grand Designs Live Show (it's amazing what Channel 4 branding can do to boost show numbers) there was more interest in homes with properly integrated tech than ever before. As well as stands showing Biometric finger print readers, mirrored TV screens, home control systems based around Windows Media Center and radiators shaped like Madonna's boobies (OK not really tech but we like them), there was also this House of the Future...Today from CEDIA.

And while none of it is particularly news to technical folk like us, it shows what can be achieved without spoiling your grand design home. Check out the video footage by clicking on the link below.

Smart home at Grand Designs

Once again CES has a special section which focuses on the year's best gadgets for girls. You can read about the products they have chosen as the best for the ladies at our sister blog Shiny Shiny.

1. Don't know about you, but I am sure it isn't just the girls who like the look of these HiVi Swan S200A speakers.

The New Year's hangover has been and gone and Christmas is but a fading memory which means it is must be time for the traditional first week of January jaunt to Las Vegas for the CES show. The world's largest gadget-fest CES is the place where as many 150,000 industry bods crane their necks to take a look at the hottest new goodies from the biggest names in electronics. So over the next few days we'll be reporting live from the show keeping you up to speed on the big launches from the major players as well as ferreting out the weird and wacky stuff that makes CES such a blast.

Here's the timetable

Wednesday morning - you can find out which gadgets have won the coveted CES Innovations awards

Thursday morning - we'll have the low down from the previous day's press conferences.

Friday morning - we'll be reporting live from the show.

So what's going to be big news at the Berlin gadget-fest IFA? Here are a few things our man will be checking out.

Samsung - Expect Samsung's stand to be dominated by products that feature integrated digital TV tuners. Everything from media and DVD players through to camcorders will sport tuners that work with the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) system, a variant of the DAB digital radio format that has already been very successful in Britain. You may have a wait before you see anything on those screens for while Germany will have a range of DMB channels, including one offering World Cup football next summer, it probably won't be until 2007 before a similar service arrives in the UK.

Humax - Those very clever Koreans Humax have lined up a 40in high-def ready LCD TV that incorporates a pair of Freeview digital TV tuners and a 40GB hard disk video recorder.

Hitachi - Expect to see a European outing for Hitachi's DVD recorder with built in terabyte hard disk. The chances of it ever arriving in the UK though are pretty slim.