The show took place at the Fira de Barcelona (basically, a convention center) on the city's busy Placa de Espana. Venetian-style towers mark the entrance to the show grounds.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
Montjuic, a huge park and site of the 1992 Olympics, stands above the Fira. The domed building at the top of the hill is the Palau Nacional, which houses the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
Cavernous Hall 8 was just one of the buildings that housed the GSMA. Yet, it was probably the most crowded, since it had most of the major manufacturer's booths. The natural light is a nice touch.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
Sony Ericsson's booth had a massive wall of TVs.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
The W908, which debuted at the 2008 GSMA World Congress, was on display in several designs and colors.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
The Samsung booth sat in the middle of Hall 8. Besides plastering its booth with photos of its new phones, the company posted advertisements all over town.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
Nokia's constantly crowded booth was a big draw.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
A long gallery held examples of Nokia's new handsets and cell phone speakers.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
LG's booth housed its new Arena phone and several other high-end models.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
The LG GD900 concept phone offers a transparent keypad.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
Naturally, the RIM BlackBerry booth held its Storm touch-screen phone.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
A highlight of GSMA is seeing the fancy phones, like the ZTE Pure, that will never make it to the United States. The only bad thing is that they're often secured in glass cases.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
Speaking of phones that will never land Stateside, the NTT DoCoMo booth had a gallery of quirky Japanese handsets.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
You could catch the full line of HTC smartphones at booth.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
T-Mobile had its own pavilion with a terrace, bar, and lounge.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks
T-Mobile's phone gallery had several models that were announced in Barcelona. From left to right are the RIM BlackBerry Bold 900, The Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, the LG K900, the Sony Ericsson W995 and variants of the Samsung Beat DJ and Samsung Beat Disc.
Caption byKent German
/ Photo by Kent German\CNET Networks