The well known Mobile World Congress who recently changed its name to MWC Barcelona, is held every year and it is dedicated entirely to the mobile communications industry. Usually the congress happens in February or early March and it is mostly attended by network equipment providers and device manufacturers from different countries and markets being one of the largest exhibitions for the mobile industry. The congress incorporates leadership conferences and more than 100,000 people attend the congress annually and the numbers are increasing every year due to the large number of mobile phone manufacturers who usually take advantage of this to reveal new devices and launches. The congress was originally inaugurated in 1987, 33 years ago to be exact and since then it has grown significantly to the event we know today. Here is everything you need to know about the MWC.
History of the Mobile World Congress
The event has been held in many different parts of the world. For example, in 1990 it took place in Rome and then moved to other cities such as Nice, Lisbon, Berlin and Madrid, finally landing in Cannes in 1996 where it was produced for 10 consecutive years. In 2006 it was announced that the congress would be held in Barcelona until 2023, this is why the organizers decided to change the name to MWC Barcelona. The tradeshow has been organized by the GSM Association, an industry organization that represents the interest of mobile network operators.
Technologies presented at the Congress
Artificial intelligence has been improved since the main American universities created in the 50’s a computer science program to play chess against a human. Moreover, in the last few years the mobile world has had several improvements such as Siri, a virtual assistant launched by Apple that answers questions and performs actions using Artificial Intelligence. It was launched in 2010 and later acquired by Apple. Today Siri is one of the most used features for Mac users and other operating systems have launched their own virtual assistant.
Ways of playing are changing
With the AI, a lot of games become more real while playing, for example some games as The Walking Dead, Iron Man or even Star Wars include VR so the player is really “in the game” and moves as if he really was the main character, not only with his fingers, but with his whole body.
Another industry that deals with entertainment and is also challenging the ways of playing is the casino games industry. Some online casinos companies try to improve the way of playing casino games online, with immersive 3D roulette games for example, the player tastes a totally new experience and feels as if he was in a real casino. Companies like VSO develop systems to offer both great experience and ways to earn money playing slots for real online wherever the player wants as it is available on mobiles. They also developed poker or roulette tables with live dealer so the game becomes more and more interesting, as the subject can see all the other players playing at the same table as if he was in a physical casino.
Themes by year
Each year, the Mobile World Congress has a theme or a trend in which the event is centered. For example; in in 2015 it was all about virtual reality. In 2014 the main subject was the Internet of Things and in 2013 the congress centered on wearables. The idea behind this is to gather as much attention as possible and of course to launch new products and features that are related to the trend. Companies work all year long to bring the very best to the more than 100k participants each year who excitedly wait for the new trend to be announced and enjoy a full week of surprises and presentations to make the most out of this annual event.
The Glomo Awards
Each year, the Mobile World Congress rewards the most innovative companies through the Glomo Mobile Awards also known as the Glomo Awards. Some people have compared this award with the Oscars because they also award different awards for each category. For instance, the Connected Life Awards, Best Mobile Services, Social & Economic Development, Best Mobile Handsets & Devices are just a few of those. And of course there are also nominees for each category and this makes the awards much more exciting and anticipated.
The Mobile World Congress has a lot of merit since it was launched more than 30 years ago and it continues to be the most important conference of its kind.
