Rumors have been floating since the big Windows Phone 7 Series announcement at Mobile World Congress that Microsoft would be offering a "Starter Edition" of Windows Mobile 6 aimed at least partially at emerging markets (see the original announcement by Bsquare). Up to this point all information on Starter Edition has been coming from "sources familiar with the matter." But Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet was able to coax a Microsoft mobile spokesperson into answering some questions.

Some quick details about Windows Phone 6 Starter edition:

• Will be offered in multi-language versions
• Versions with and without Microsoft Office Mobile will be offered. (Office Mobile 2010 will be made available to OEMs when it ships.)
• Supports 2G (GSM), 2.5G (CDMA2000 xRTT, EDGE, GPRS), CDMA (Rev A, EV-DO Revision A), and TD-SCDMA radios. Engadget postulates that the conspicuous absence of HSDPA 3G is an attempt to encourage adoption of Windows Phone 7 Series devices internationally where 3G networks are substantial enough.

What are your thoughts on Starter Edition? [via ZDNet]

We're back from Mobile World Congress 2010 battered but excited for the upcoming year in smartphones. We had coverage from the show at all six sites. If the above isn't enough to whet your appetite for Mobile World Congress news, we've helpfully collated a list of all our coverage up to this point after the break. There are still a few more posts to come as we empty our memory cards and ponder what we held in out hands out in Barcelona - so stay tuned!

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We are outie-5000 from Mobile World Congress, folks. There are a couple straggler posts we'll catch up on, but in the meantime listen in for our thoughts on some BlackBerry news, yeah, but also HTC's big announcements. Listen in!

• Download it directly with this link
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• Subscribe directly to the Podcast feed with your favorite Podcatcher here
• Listen to it here with the flash player above.

You can find the first SPE MWC Podcast here and the second SPE MWC Podcast here. The second  podcast is where we talk up Windows Phone 7 Series, so if you missed it, check it out.

Acer has announced two new Windows Phones that will be running Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

The Acer Neotouch P300 is a sliding-keyboard designed Windows Phone that will sport a 3.2" WQVGA touch screen.  The Acer NeoTouch P400 is a "black slab" Windows Phone that is powered by the Qualcomm 7227 600mhz processor.

The P300 is listed as being available in March of 2010 while the P400 is expected to hit the market in May of 2010. Both will likely hit the European market first, with the potential of eventually finding the U.S. market.

Dieter and Phil hope to get some hands-on time with these two Windows Phones but in the meantime, for more on the available specs and pictures of these Acer phones, ease on past the break.

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For you fans of SPB Mobile Shell out there, we're pleased to report that good things are coming in Version 5.0. They're not quite ready for you yet, but they're coming this year. The 3D animations are as smooth as butter, and the video doesn't do justice to how nice it looks on a screen as large as the HTC HD2. Peep the video after the break.

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Toshiba still has some of the biggest and most elusive (at least in the U.S.) phones around. Case in point: The TG02. This 4.1-inch monster sports the 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB of ROM/256MB of RAM and SPB Mobile Shell running atop Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

Nothing too crazy about that (and we couldn't get them to answer on the whole "waterproof" thing we saw in early leaks. But this is one of the lightest phones you'll ever see -- especially for something with a 4.1-inch screen. It's crazy light. If you were to drop it, it'd probably just float back to Earth. It's that light. It's also pretty darn snappy, thanks to, well, Snapdragon. See for yourself after the break.

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We had a much more quiet look at Windows Phone 7 Series today at Mobile World Congress, and it really brings the upcoming Microsoft operating system into a new light. (See our previous hands-on.) Yes, it still looks like it's based on the Zune software, but it's really so much more. And we heard a few of you still calling it a Zune phone, and we're calling you out as soon as we get back.

Check out our latest hands-on from Barcelona after the break.

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We actually got to handle the Toshiba K01 a lot more than you'll get to see in this hands-on, and it's an interesting little (erm, huge, actually) phone. It has a 4.1-inch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor and a full four-row QWERTY keyboard. But darned if it's not light as a feather and pretty speedy to boot, even in its unfinshed, "No, you can't video it it yet" form.

Like the TG01 and its follow-up, the TG02, it's unlikely we'll see it in the United States. But we've got you covered with more after the break.

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We've shared the announcement news on the HTC HD Mini and we've shared some hands on time with the new Windows Phone.  HTC now has the HD Mini listed on their UK website detailing the full specs on the phone.  Along with the specs already listed in the announcement, the HD Mini will have GPS, Wifi, Proximity, Light, and G Sensors. 

The specifications also indicate social networking capability with Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.  There is also an interesting feature listed that automatically lowers the ringer volume when you pick the phone up and increases it when the phone is in a case, pocket, purse, etc.  Keep in mind that these are the European specs and if this phone lands in the U.S. it may vary slightly. 

Ease on past the break to see the promotional video that HTC is offering on the HD Mini.

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We've known for some time now that the HD2 is headed to T-Mobile. Today at the 2010 Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile announced the creation of a comprehensive mobile entertainment experience for the HTC Windows Phone. The Entertainment Package will be pre-loaded on the T-Mobile HD2 that will include:

• Barnes & Noble eReader
• Blockbuster on Demand (Blockbuster’s first-ever video download application on a smartphone)
• MobiTV
• Paramount Pictures "Transformers" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
• Gogo Inflight Internet Services (six month trial for inflight wifi services on over 2,500 daily U.S. flights)

The Paramount Pictures movies are reportedly loaded on a pre-installed 16gb microSD card. The Entertainment package is designed to highlight the multimedia features of the HD2.

“T-Mobile is committed to offering innovative solutions to connect, inspire and entertain our customers through the power of mobile technology,” said George Harrison, vice president, marketing product innovation, T-Mobile USA. “By combining leading innovation in the world of entertainment with the large screen and processing power of the HTC HD2, we’ve created a unique and powerful mobile entertainment experience.”

The T-Mobile HD2 is expected in stores this Spring.

Read: Businesswire.com