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Bad news travels fast, so by now many US phone buyers ought to know about this country's depressing u-turn on phone unlocking. The latest policy -- which makes it illegal to unlock a phone without a carrier's permission -- looks to be set in stone for at least three years, but that isn't stopping people in high places from voicing serious reservations about it. The latest to pipe up is FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who told TechCrunch that the "ban raises competition concerns" and "innovation concerns." Genachowski said the FCC will look at whether it "can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones" but he also admitted he isn't sure what kind of authority he has over the issue. It all feels a bit late in the day, frankly, especially when the FCC appears to have largely stood aside while the unlocking policy was being hammered out.

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What you see in the shot above (and the gallery below) is a display containing almost every Lumia handset and accessory currently manufactured by Nokia -- all arranged buffet-style for your viewing pleasure. These photos, captured during a special event at MWC 2013, include the Lumia 920, 820, 720, 620 and 520, PlayUp speaker, Purity HD stereo headset and Luna Bluetooth headset (among others).

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Earlier today, Evernote pulled the trigger on version 5.2 of its iOS application. The newfangled software introduces an updated PDF viewer that adds multi-page viewing, screen rotation lock, two-page display within landscape mode and the ability to search text inside a file. Other new app features include plain text note formatting and offline Notebook support for business accounts. iPad users now have access to Snippets list viewing, Business Notebook syncing and the ability to download third-party Trunk software from within the app. If your device is running iOS 5.0 or later and you'd like to sample this smorgasbord of new features, head on over to the App Store or visit the source link below.

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We caught up with Greg Sullivan -- senior product manager of Windows Phone -- for an early morning chat during Mobile World Congress. He was kind enough to give us an update on the state of Microsoft's mobile OS, which has apparently experienced a four-fold increase in sales since version 8 launched last fall and is taking share away from Android in the UK. We discussed the delightful user experience provided by lower-end Windows Phone 8 handsets like Nokia's Lumia 620 and asked how Microsoft plans to satisfy power users at the higher-end of the spectrum who are still missing critical features such as proper notifications, quick settings and CalDAV / CardDAV support (to name a few). It's clear that the company's aware of these shortcomings and is working to remedy most of them in a future release. We also talked about the ecosystem, what Microsoft is doing to improve app quality, how it meshes with Windows 8 / RT and whether the company is looking to expand its partnership beyond existing device manufacturers. Look for our full video interview after the break.

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Common wisdom would suggest that executives talk up their existing device lines to keep customers buying until the next generation is ready. Leave it to Google CFO Patrick Pichette to think outside the box, if not necessarily for the better. He told guests at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference that the current roster, while good, doesn't "'wow' by Google standards" -- it reflects the 18-month device pipeline that fell in Google's lap when it acquired Motorola last year. As such, we won't see the full fruits of collaboration until Google has owned Motorola for long enough to put its own spin on products. While the remarks stoke the fires of anticipation for any future flagships, they may have unintentionally produced an Osborne Effect: however advanced Motorola's phones will be in the near term, customers may still have the nagging suspicion that something better is just around the corner.

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Those running the dedicated YouTube app for iOS have had TV streaming for awhile... as long as there was an Apple TV in between. Google's video division is cutting out that middleman with its newly available app update. Similar to what we've seen in the Android software, iOS device owners can at last pair directly with some TVs, the PS3 or Xbox 360 to play and queue videos, even if there's multiple iPads and iPhones jockeying for attention on the same WiFi network. If your set is left out, YouTube still offers reasons to upgrade -- there's a connection to YouTube Capture for recording, and better playback on a pokey WiFi connection. As long as you're at least curious about TV streaming beyond Apple's set-top box, it's arguably worth trying.

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HTC didn't have much to say about its Sense 5 UI coming to existing devices when it introduced it alongside its new One handset, but it's now gotten a bit more talkative. In a post on Facebook, and confirmed to us independently, HTC says that global variants of the HTC One X, One X+, One S and Butterfly will all be getting an update to the new interface "in the next few months," although specifics remain light beyond that for the time being. The company does note, however, that not all devices will support all the features offered by Sense 5, as some of those features make use of hardware specific to the new HTC One.

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It looks like China Mobile is making good on its promise to carry out TD-LTE trials this year: the carrier is launching test programs in both Guangzhou and Shenzen, according to a report from the Chinese news site Guangming Online. As it happens, this isn't technically the first time China Mobile has invited users to test its LTE network, but it is the first time people can access it via smartphones (as opposed to routers and MiFi devices).

Curiously, the trial will initially work only on the TD-LTE-capable Galaxy S III, which is strange because China Mobile just unveiled a handful of LTE handsets at MWC, and didn't even mention the GSIII at its press conference. Once you've got that phone in hand, you'll need to preload it with 4,699 yuan worth of credits and sign a two-year agreement, with 388 yuan to be deducted each month. Already signed up for 2G or 3G service with China Mobile? You can add 1,500 yuan to receive a 4G device, USIM card and 15 gigs of LTE data (free for the first three months).

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We would say it's been an absolutely epic and crazy Mobile World Congress, but we'd be lying. Instead, we'll talk to you about what we saw, felt and heard -- some of it good, and some just outright disgusting. There's a span of two weeks to cover, so it should be a healthy podcast with lots of stuff to talk about. As a disclaimer, our connection here in Barcelona isn't incredibly strong, so there is a small possibility that our bandwidth may go out on occasion. If you don't mind that chance, however, join us at 10:15AM ET!

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