Mobile World Congress has been a roller coaster ride so far this year. The week kicked off with a bang on Sunday with both Sony and HTC unveiling their latest and greatest smartphones, and the HTC One X was definitely the star of the show. Things were up and down on Monday and Tuesday however, and the show actually got pretty slow for a while there. Our time in Barcelona isn’t up just yet, however, and Microsoft chose today to unveil the latest version of its next-generation operating system, Windows 8. The technology giant released a preview version of Windows 8 last September, but we’re sure plenty has changed over the past five months. And beyond checking out all the new features Microsoft has undoubtedly baked into its new OS, we might finally get a better idea of when devices carrying the platform will finally launch. Microsoft’s Windows 8 press conference is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern / 6:00 a.m. Pacific (3:00 p.m. local time in Barcelona), so hit the break for our live coverage of the event!
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8:49AM:Hey folks. We're in line #2 here at Microsoft's Windows 8 Consumer Preview event. Let's see what they've got for us!
8:52AM:Upbeat music, lots of folks waiting around, and free breadsticks. Great.
8:54AM:This 4-on-the-floor drumbeat is driving us a little crazy...let's go, Microsoft!
9:01AM:Annnnd we're in. Microsof has a bevy of devices on display, all running....Windows 8!
9:03AM:As anticipated, we've got TVs, tablets, desktops, laptops, and more, all in a line
9:07AM:Ok...fake afro-beat music is a bit better but still suspect. We're 7 minutes behind schedule. * mins behind schedule and we're calling it fashionably late:)...
9:12AM:As a side note, this Catalonian sun is not helping keep any of our fellow blogger's and press folk's BO at bay...this room does not smell great.
9:14AM:We're beginning to think that the devices themselves might begin presenting...we haven't seen a single representative from Microsoft go anywhere near the stage yet. Wonder what's keeping em!
9:16AM:Of note, while we wait, there are a total of 13 different devices on stage, all of varying size and shape. Mostly tablets, with one of the largest TVs we've ever seen sitting behind it.
9:18AM:"The show will begin shortly" says the announcer...
9:20AM:lights down...er, lights yellowed...seems like it's finally go time
9:21AM:Lot's of thank you's now going on stage, thank you's to press, devs, etc...you're welcome!
9:22AM:Steven Synofsky hitting the stage now
9:23AM:Looks like we'll have immediate downloads of the beta software available following the release, fyo
9:23AM:"Windows 7 most successful Windows of all time"
9:24AM:Talking now about the compromises necessary with today's stratified mobile vs tablet vs desktop world, speaking to how complicated and unnatural the trade-offs are
