Mobile World Congress :: Redefining Mobile in Barcelona?

In 2006, Barcelona held for the first time the Mobile Congress. At that edition the CEOs from VODAFONE, TELEFÓNICA, MOTOROLA, NOKIA and MICROSOFT were the keynote speakers. Those companies reflected to some extent the mobile industry value chain in 2006, accounting for an aggregated market value capitalization of more than $600B. Only six years later, that market capitalization has decreased to $500B.

The handset manufacturers, NOKIA and MOTOROLA, account for the decrease of $100B, while MICROSOFT and the telcos have similar valuations than six years ago. There is no doubt, that those figures reflect the deep transformation and the redefinition of the mobile industry value chain, with two new players in the scene: APPLE and GOOGLE with a combined valuation of $672B. Next week, it will take place the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona under the leitmotiv “REDEFNING MOBILE”. What shall we expect for the next six years?

About Javier Zamora

Javier Zamora is currently senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, and his M.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. He holds also a PDG from IESE.

4 thoughts on “Mobile World Congress :: Redefining Mobile in Barcelona?

  1. Wow…I didn’t know that MWC started back in 2006. Nokia is emerging as a big player along with Microsoft. I can see that the decreased market capitalization value will definitely go up in next 5 year

  2. Mobile marketing is going to be more about engagement (closing transaction, local promotion, price comparison, payment) rather than the traditional collecting of eyeballs

  3. Interesting information about the mobile phone makers. It seems the manufacturers that adapted to mobile browsing and mobile applications faster have been the winners. What’s your take on how mobile marketing will evolve?

  4. Windows Phone – The Future of Phones

    There are many people interested in smart phones who do not want to buy Apple iPhones, but up until now, there haven’t been a whole lot of options that can compare. However, Microsoft seems poised to give the smart phone market their best shot. News has been brewing from a variety of sources about what is now being touted as the Mango (some called it Tango), as a major competitor to the high-end market. The mid-market price point is making a lot of people excited, because instead of going out the gate with a high-priced option, the company is going with a middle of the road price option that will directly compete with Droid and iPhone and knock them down a few pegs.

    The stripped-down phone has been named Tango in recent posts, and most are enjoying the play on words that comes along with an operating system that will be native to the device, Mango. Tango Mango is something that Microsoft officials are keeping tight-lipped about.

    What people are talking about most often is not so much the name, although there are plenty of pundits that enjoy making fun of the company’s naming conventions. Technology buffs are looking at the recent release of the names of the manufacturers that are working closely with Microsoft. Nokia and Samsung are prepping to hose the phones and will hope to combine the software they are developing with a stripped-down phone version that will have plenty of features, including mobile computer networking, with a more intuitive design.

    The learning curve that many people have to go through when it comes to getting into the smart phone world is vast, which is why Microsoft is choosing to go with a bit more simplistic approach. While most devices that are being pushed by large companies try to mimic the abilities of Apple, the Windows phone is not trying to be another carbon copy, they are truly trying to innovate. Innovations might seem few and far between with phone technology, especially since most people believe that there is nothing new under the sun in regards to the latest and greatest in communication devices. However, leave it to Bill Gates and company to try and shake things up with all new media implications. http://freeapps-pocketpc.com/

    In a recent showcase, the windows phone and Nokia model “Apollo” was presented as a stand-alone option that will have voice to speech recognition, text to speech, and so much more. You’ll see a fully integrated and intuitive design that is set to be released early 2012 at the very soonest, with many technology bloggers giving it a Mid-2012 time frame.

    To clear up some confusion, the Windows Phones Mango, Tango 1, Tango 2, and Apollo are all being released sooner than later, and the phone’s OS will be interesting to see. Some videos have leaked to showcase the interesting functionality of the phone, which very well maybe the one true iPhone killer that some fans of Microsoft have been waiting on for some time now. It will be interesting to see if that is in fact what will occur, even though it seems like a tall task.

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