Mobile World Congress 2014 -Summary & Conclusions

BARCELONA- Yes, it has been almost a month now since the end of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona so this post rationalizes a great deal on my thoughts about the event. As an exhibitor at the show this year, it takes that long to digest all the information and business leads!

As this is a short post, I will provide bit-sized thoughts only:

BEST DEVICE: No doubt, the device that impressed me the most was the LG Flex mobile phone with an ergonomic curved screen that maintains a great resolution and is an indication of things to come. We will eventually all want our tech to blend in unobtrusively with our environment and life, and being able to curve displays so as to fit our "round" world makes a great deal of sense to me. I hope we see more of this type of device and screen tech soon...

KEY TREND: This is not so much news, but more of a confirmation. It is here. "Connected everywhere" is no longer just a marketing slogan, but the presence of a whole range of companies that are not actually "mobile" is proof that connectivity is coming to a "thing" near you very soon (and this thing may include your iRoomba vacuum cleaner). This year, car manufacturers and connected cars on display have mushroomed at the show. This makes sense- the more expensive the "thing", the more justified is the investment in connectivity. Hacker attacks on Smart Fridges aside, this trend will continue and the MWC is likely to horizontally integrate more with a wide range of industries and products that will have nothing to do with the traditional mobile phone.

PRODUCT LAUNCHES: I was disappointed by Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S5 for two key reasons. One -we are at a Mobile show so please do not restrict access to your new device exclusively for the press. 74,000 other visitors wanted to get their grubby mitts on the device and couldn't. Annoying at best. Second- I'm not against natural evolutions of devices and agree that it is not necessary to re-invent the wheel at every product launch. However, do not make such a big song-and-dance over a product launch when in reality there are only gradual enhancements in the new product. This is just a way to raise expectations and then disappoint. And copying Apple is not an excuse to repeat this error.

Mobile World Congress 2014 Agenda: MWC14 Expectations and Preview

BARCELONA- A record-breaking 72,000 visitors are expected at the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona according to the GSMA. So many visitors, in fact, that the show will be spread out over both the original Fira expo area AND the new Fira site (also known as Fira2) in the Hospitalet neighbourhood.

This won’t be the only change for this year under the theme of “Creating What’s Next”-in fact, the GSMA has announced a series of new events, themes and activities. One of them is mPowered Industries programme designed to gauge the interest in mobile of different industries.

Several key figures (including John Matonis and Rich Riley) will be attending the show and giving talks on current trending topics, from bitcoins, to mobile media, mHealth and mobile advertising.

Even though the usual raft of product announcements will still dominate the news and are set to capture the attention of the public, the 2014 promises to broaden the appeal of the show way beyond hardware. The play by the GSMA is to bring into play key industries and key content owners that are expected to drive demand for mobility services in the next decade.

More coverage on the MWC14 in subsequent blog posts and on my Twitter stream (handle:ricferr_mobile).

Mobile World Congress 2013 -Agenda of Side Events

BARCELONA -There is a staggering number of side events at the Mobile World Congress this year, and you can expect as much life outside the congress walls as within.

Some events I have signed up for to date are:

1. Innovation on the Fringe (part of the Mobile Fringe Festival) where startups will be demo-ing their wares in a fast pitch environment

2. Mobile Sunday Barcelona taking place at the Moritz Brewhouse, now in its 3rd edition and promising to be a great pre-event hangout for a very mixed crowd of delegates

3. TechCrunch Mobile Meetup on Wednesday 27th at the Telefonica Auditorium should feature a select group of local and international mobile startups

4. WipJam Party also on Wednesday at La Fianna Bar (expect this one to be heaving and definitely the place to be to connect with savvy developers)

5. MLove Party on Thursday 28th at Ocaña in Plaza Real (great venue, so promises to be a great party)

I'll keep this blog post up-to-date with news and links up until the MWC dates.