Barcelona blog: Mobile Pie

by SWS on 17-Feb-09 09:54

An impressive and slightly overwhelming first day at the Mobile World Congress - all the big names were there and showing off new devices, desperately trying to create the sort of stir that the iPhone has made in recent years.

Out of the big players, Nokia impressed, in particular with the N97, which uses customisable widgets on the home screen, which give quick access to the device's applications - a trend expected to be seen over a wide range of handsets in the next few years. Also displayed was the N86 8MP, which could have one of the most impressive cameras on the market, claiming to be comparable to high-quality digital cameras.

However the impact of the iPhone on other manufacturers was most notable with the announcement of Nokia's Ovi Store, to open in early May, which will allow content providers to distribute games and applications to Nokia users, and also suggest applications to the user via its 'recommendation engine' and location awareness.

The Ericsson stand was enjoyable, with a range of future gazing prototypes that were like something from Minority Report, but according to the representative, complete fantasy. It is nice to know someone is trying to imagine the devices we will use in 20 years time!

The other big manufacturers all had their new devices on display but there was nothing that really stood out that was creating a buzz at the arena.

On the application side -  of the cooler things we saw was LifeVibes MixDJ FX by NXP Software. This product turns a handset into a mixing desk, by taking ordinary tracks from your phone and gives you a whole range of controls over it such as scratching, sampling and cross-fading. It was great fun to try and would be a hit at any party!

Disappointingly, we haven't seen much emphasis on gaming yet, which is what we are primarily interested in - so will be on the hunt for that tomorrow!

Tagged:barcelona, mobile world congress, mobile pie

Please login or register to comment