CTIA Day 1 recap: Landslide of announcements

CTIA Wireless is one of the largest mobile electronics shows throughout the year and it started fulfilling our hopes for new and more powerful handsets right from the get-go. It all began with a slightly changed schedule after T-Mobile decided to cancel many of its events due to the recent news about its acquisition by AT&T. But actually the carrier was the first to unveil a number of new devices.

T-Mobile

Big Magenta officially confirmed the LG's T-Mobile G2x, a rebranded LG Optimus 2X, with a powerful dual-core processor. The close relationship between the carrier and LG, showed up once more with the reborn T-Mobile Sidekick 4G for the exciting price of just $99 on a two-year unlimited contract and the T-Mobile G-Slate, which also got a price tag of $529 with a 2-year agreement. Nothing surprising, you might think, and you'll be right, if it wasn't for the Wireless Charging Dock unveiled by LG, which will make you feel like you're living in the future now when it's released. Finally, the carrier added the Nokia Astound to its portfolio and with a $79.99 Symbian^3-powered handset with free navigation you can't really go wrong, can you?

The HTC EVO 3D

Sprint

But all eyes were on Sprint, which has kept a low profile so far this year, only to make a splash with the next generation of its successful EVO phones – the HTC EVO 3D (hands-on here) brings a 4.3-inch 3D-capable screen and a dual-camera setup for three dimensional video capture. This powerhouse supports the carrier's 4G network, and has the latest of Snapdragon chipsets – a 1.2GHz third generation silicon. But Sprint's main man had to bring a tablet to the table and it was the 7-inch HTC EVO View 4G, also known as the HTC Flyer. Check out our hands on video of its nifty stylus and almost pocketable small body to get an idea of what's to come. Sprint wasn't done with the refresh of its portfolio and it also introduced the Google Nexus S 4G. But nothing compares to a live coverage of these fascinating events, so make sure to take a look at how it all felt like here.

Samsung

Next on the list, but probably first in importance is the groundbreaking announcement by Samsung. The Koreans went back to the drawing board with their Galaxy Tab 10.1 and completely redesigned it. But they didn't stop here as a new 8.9-inch tablet creatively named the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will also hit shelves with similar guts, but a smaller screen. The result? Nothing less than the slimmest tablet on planet Earth, with an 8.6mm of thickness. We're seriously starting to consider using tablets instead of knives. Okay, maybe not so seriously as Samsung, which summarized the redesign in one simple phrase: "Samsung will not be outdone." To feel their determination and all the excitement, check out our live coverage of the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event here. We rushed to get some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the renewed Galaxy Tab 10.1 after the event, but you'll have to see their slim figure for yourself to actually believe it.

AT&T

The LG Thrill 4G

That behemoth of a carrier didn't wait long to reply to Sprint's 3D offering. Soon after it, the LG Thrill 4G, which is basically an AT&T-branded LG Optimus 3D, made us wonder which one is better. Make up your mind after you see the comparison between the two and a hands-on look at the latter. The recently announced HTC HD7s is the largest Windows Phone 7 handset on AT&T. We took a look at it and a hands-on video is coming up shortly, but since it mimics T-Mobile's HTC HD7 why don't you peek in our in-depth review to find out more? Finally, AT&T added one more tablet to its portfolio – the Acer Iconia Tab A501. Its brushed aluminum back gives it a premium feel and it has the dual-core power and Honeycomb brains to be an interesting proposition.

Day 2: What will it bring?

The first day of CTIA Wireless 2011 brought a lot of new announcements, but we hope to see some more today, so stay tuned to our web feeds, Facebook or Twitter accounts, to be the first in the know.