The open source platform that got attention: the LiMo Foundation's Linux-based stack. LG Electronics, Panasonic and Samsung all mobile handsets using it.

Windows Mobile resurgent?

By contrast, Microsoft's proprietary Windows Mobile was the platform of choice for a number of high-profile smartphones unveiled at the show, and Microsoft announced a significant upgrade: with a new look to the UI, and the inclusion of IE Mobile 6, its first full-fledged Web browser for the mobile OS. (Check out our of the new look.)

LG Electronics plans to make Windows Mobile (now rebranded to just "Windows") its primary operating system. The company plans to boost its volume of available Windows by 10-fold this year, and has 26 new models on tap for 2012 alone.

At MWC, LG announced the , with LG's 3-D S-Class UI, due out in mid 2009 with the current Windows Mobile 6.1, and an updated version in the second half of the year, with the just-announced Windows Mobile 6.5.