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NEC jumps the gun, debuts its MWC smartphone lineup ahead of Barcelona

2012 may prove to be a very good year for NEC, which has launched two smartphones and a tablet in the past month alone. Having not missed a beat, the Japanese firm has gone ahead and revealed its lineup for Mobile World Congress a full week ahead of the show in Barcelona. Rather than actual shipping models, you can think of each of these as prototypes for the carriers, where the only fixed specification is the screen size. Most interesting among the bunch is without a doubt the "Best Cloud UX Device," which offers two 4.3-inch displays that open and close like a book -- a hell of a lot better than Kyocera's attempt, if you ask us. Also among the mix will be a 5-inch "Large Screen in One Hand" model, along with another 4.3-inch "Stylish" unit. Unlike previous products, the latest trio fully embrace the design philosophy of Ice Cream Sandwich and eschew the dedicated navigation buttons from bygone days.