The mega stands are being dismantled, and Mobile marketers are making a beeline for Barcelona airport. But this year’s Mobile World Congress will live long in the memory. It’s delivered some absolutely corking new phones, not to mention blown away what every self-respecting mobile fanatic thought about Windows Mobile.
But aside from the Big M having a makeover on a scale unseen since the last series of 10 Years Younger, what else did we learn from our sojourn in Spain? Jump in now and we’ll tell all.
Android’s got plenty more in the locker
Android was everywhere at Mobile World Congress. But Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s promise to put “Mobile First” points to the open source OS becoming leaner, meaner and even more stunningly advanced. Google Goggles Translate is the first step, but expect plenty of next-gen goodies to come from the Big G’s labs in the not-too-distant future.
Symbian is still playing catch up
We were desperate to see the spanking new version of Symbian which has been touted online for months. Alas, us and countless other mobile mad geeks were disappointed when Nokia didn’t come to the party. It leaves the creaking S60 as far behind the pack as a wheezing fun runner in a marathon. Nokia must surely rock up with something soon, or Symbian is on its way out.
While Nokia’s focus is entirely on MeeGo
Perhaps, though, that’s what Nokia wants. The Maemo-replacing MeeGo sounds mighty impressive and promises to push the Finns into areas unknown, with new smart-books and rejigged smartphones on the cards. While it denied it was putting Symbian to one side, MeeGo’s fresh new look and Chrome OS-baiting specs suggest it’s going to be Nok’s number one priority in 2010.
Microsoft’s back at the mobile races
Ah, Windows Phone 7 Series. Mobile World Congress’s biggest story and a comeback even Lazarus would be proud of. The complete reworking of Windows Mobile is refreshing and remarkable and causes all sorts of issues for Symbian, Android and the iPhone. Let’s just hope it can get it locked and loaded onto a slew of new phones before the year’s out.
The iPhone has a lot to learn
Android 2.1, Windows Phone 7 Series and MeeGo. All will give Cupertino plenty to chew on in the coming months. Social networking integration, proper app competition and threats to its mobile gaming top spot mean the iPhone 4G will have to be something truly special in order to be the fashionista phone of choice when it lands, reportedly in June.
Motorola’s well and truly back on form
The Motorola Motoroi really does look the business and finally shows that a year on from their MWC nightmare, Moto is back at the mobile top table. It’s been a real slog, but it seems the staggering growth of Android has helped bring this once massive mobile maker back from the brink of extinction.
Sony Ericsson still has something to offer
After myriad software niggles and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10’s epic delay, the Japanese-Swedish outfit had a lot to prove at Mobile World Congress. It didn’t disappoint, touting new slimmed down efforts like the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini which prove it can still innovate with the best of them.
The megapixel wars are over…for now
Last year’s phoney camera phone war is over. After the dawn of 12-megapixel models like the Sony Ericsson Satio and Samsung Pixon 12, the big boys have realised that snappers need more than just megapixels to make them tick. This year the emphasis was clearly on operating systems and sleek hardware. But as soon as optical zooms are good to go on mobile phones, expect the camphone battle to get back to its oneupmanship-based best.
Slimming down is the new bulking up
Sure we saw plenty of widescreen wonders at this year’s show, the Toshiba TG02 in particular. But it seems offering pared down versions of your hottest handsets is where it’s at right now. The HTC HD Mini and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini point to more blowers which offer full-on features in a dinky package.
Smart-books are looking increasingly important
The HP Compaq Airlife 100, running on Android, and Qualcomm’s FLO TV working on Chrome OS, point to a time when always on smart-books are the go-to gadget for workaholics on the move. Lightweight and low powered, they can surely pick up where old-school, low-specced netbooks left off.
