The Mobile World Congress (MWC) took place in Barcelona, Spain from February 25-28, seeing some of the world’s leading experts and executives in mobile communication coming together to discuss future innovations.
Having set a record of more than 72,000 visitors from over 200 countries, organisers learned 50 per cent of the attendees held C-level positions and included more than 4,300 chief executives.
The four-day annual event allowed delegates to participate in approximately 40 conference sessions, engaging in thought-provoking and visionary keynote presentations.
“Mobile is one of the most vibrant and dynamic industries in the world, and the innovation that is powering the sector was clearly evident throughout Mobile World Congress, in the exhibition, the conference, programmes such as App Planet and mPowered Brands and new event initiatives such as the NFC Experience”, said John Hoffman, chief executive of GSMA.
Amongst companies that launched new devices at the conference was Huawei, which has overtaken BlackBerry to become the world’s third largest smartphone maker.
HumanIPO reported earlier this week Huawei has unveiled the Ascend P2, claimed to be able to download films within minutes.
Nokia also launched their most affordable handset to date, the Nokia 105. The phone is valued at a starting price of €15 (US$20).
The Ubuntu Touch operating system was unveiled, while the Firefox OS Mozilla smartphone was revealed with Etisalat among the 17 operators set to carry it on their networks. ZTE and Alcatel also launched devices.
Samsung did not reveal any new products, but confirmed they will launch the Galaxy S4 smartphone in New York on March 14.
The new LG Optimus G Pro is said to have fully upgraded itself from its predecessor with features such as a giant 400-ppi 5.5-inch display, 13 megapixel camera and a dual camera mode where both front and rear camera record at once.
The HTC One, also termed the “premium device” was also launched at MWC, with features such as a 4.7-inch, 4468-ppi Gorilla Glass 2 display.
In accordance to a preliminary independent economic analysis, this year’s MWC will have contributed more than 320 million euros to the local economy, increasing by 19 million euros from 2012’s event.
