Mobile World Congress: Summary of Day 1

From yesterday until Thursday, Barcelona has become the international capital of mobility technologies. With the celebration of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), it is forecast that the city will be taken over by nearly 50,000 telecommunication professionals from all over the globe.

The first day of the fair has been inundated with product announcements. Samsungfor example has presented Blue Earth, a mobile device with tactile screen and a solar panel that enables users to recharge the phone’s battery using natural sources. Continuing on the environmentally-friendly theme, the phone has been entirely manufactured using recycled plastic bottles.

Microsoft, on the other hand, took advantage of day one to launch its new operating system Windows Mobile 6.5. The main novelty of this version is the inclusion of “My marketplace”, an online shop that allows users to download applications developed with Windows Mobile in mind. The CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, also took advantage of the MWC event to assure the industry that Redmond will never follow in the footsteps of its competitor Apple and launch a “Windows Phone”.

The manufacturer Nokia has also gone into the MWC with product launches, presenting two new mobiles: the E75, which boasts a 2.4 inch screen, GPS navegator, 3.2 megapixel camera and double keyboard, and the E55, which is scarcely 9.9 millimetres thick. The vicepresident of the company, Niklas Savander, also ensured his audience that the Nokia’s Ovi Store shops will be rolled out as from next May in nine countries.

HTC also joined in the presentation rush and two devices made their debut in the MWC, the Touch Diamond 2 and the Touch Pro 2. Both mobile phones are designed with internet surfing in mind and include the system Push Internet, which assists content download.

Other new kids on the manufacturing block include the Linux telephones launched by NEC and Panasonic, the W995 Walkman by Sony Ericsson and the TG01 from Toshiba.

Presentation of the Palm Pre with webOS from NetMediaEurope on Vimeo.