MIC ENGLISH

Communications - Mobile Handheld Devices

Mobile World Congress 2012 Observations: Market, Product, Technology, Application Development Trends

February 29, 2012 / Edward Lin

13 Page, Topical Report

US$1,180 (Single User License)

Abstract

With nearly 1,500 exhibitors and around 60,000 visitors, the MWC 2010 was held again in Barcelona, Spain from February 27 to March 1. This reports offers insight into the trends of MWC 2012 in respect of market, product, technology, and application developments observed by a MIC senior analyst who participated in the MWC 2012 and corresponding conference presentations.

Table of Contents
1. Market Observations: Mature Market Operators Urge Governments to Loosen Control, Seek to Enhance Social Welfare with New Services

2. Product Observations: Product Differences Diminishing; Late Comers Keen on Hardware Competition, Forerunners Focus on User Experience Enhancement

3. Technology Observations: Voice Transmission Technology, Hybrid Network Structure are Key Innovations

4. Application Observations: Demand for Mobile Payments Expanding; Mobile Cloud Services Becoming Next Hot Topic

MIC Perspective

Appendix

List of Topics

Touching on the current as well as future market development, concerns expressed by telecom operators in the mature markets at the MWC 2012 and their efforts made to improve social welfare

Products demonstrated by major vendors, such as Huawei, HTC, Nokia, Sony, and Samsung

LTE-related products and LTE-related technologies developed by vendors to enhance user experiences

Application development of mobile payment and cloud computing and the use of NFC technology

Companies and organizations analyzed or mentioned in the report include: AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, EU (European Union), Gemalto, GSMA (GSM Association), Hisilicon, HTC, Huawei, LG, MWC (Mobile World Congress), Nokia, Nvidia, Oberthur, Samsung, SK Telecom, Sony, Telecom Italia, Vodafone, ZTE

List of Figures
Figure 1 Future Developments of Global Mobile Data Volume and Mobile Connected Devices, 2007 - 2016

Figure 2 HTC's Announcement of ImageSense Technology at the MWC 2012

Figure 3 Samsung Demo Booth for Galaxy Note Series at the MWC 2012

Figure 4 SK Telecom's Hybrid Network Gateway Transmission Speed Tests

MIC Perspective

In the MWC 2012, it is observed that telecom operators have begun actively involved in 4G network construction such as LTE in the face of explosive growth in user demand for mobile broadband services. However, faced the challenges arising from huge investment funds and concerns about investment returns, telecom operators prefer joint investments and new service developments in order to expand market opportunities by increasing sources of revenue. This year, under the impact of weakened global economic situation, the efforts made by telecom operators in the social welfare were also felt in the MWC 2012.

Echoing the slogan of the MWC 2012 "Redefining Mobile," main demand for Smartphones have broken the traditional product boundaries in the communications and high-end computing (mobile phones + computer) arena. The MWC 2012 focused on the concept of concentrating on personal life. Other than Mobile Computing, the MWC also aimed to meet demands for Mobile Entertainment and Mobile Life, such that mobile phones will be equipped with high-end image processing technology to enhance image quality, the stylus to enhance the writing experience, and will be capable of connecting with a living room TV to serve as a remote control, game joystick, video and audio player hub. These have significantly changed users' Smartphone specification requirements. Without outstanding hardware specifications being revealed at the MWC, this indicates that corresponding companies have been shifting their R & D focus from the external to the internal.

As regards the mobile phone applications, the ecosystem of NFC technology-based mobile payment applications is reaching its maturity, cross-industry collaboration between terminal manufacturers, telecom operators, financial institutions was observed during the MWC. As for the development of mobile cloud services, like Deutsche Telekom CEO Olbermann said during the keynote speech at the MWC 2012 that "Everything Goes Mobile in the past, and now Everything Goes Cloud." Cloud-based mobile devices are bound to become a future trend. Business models and the role of telecom operators in respect of mobile cloud services were incorporated into the discussion during the MWC. Although no consensus was yet made during the MWC, it is foreseeable that 2012 will be a take-off year for mobile cloud services and corresponding cloud-based business models will change rapidly and diversely.

Appendix

Glossary of Terms

CDN		Content Delivery Network
CSFB		Circuit Switched Fallback
LTE		Long Term Evolution
NFC		Near Field Communication
SRVCC		Single Radio Voice Call Continuity
VoLTE		Voice over LTE

List of Companies

AT&T
China Mobile
Deutsche Telekom
EU (European Union)
Gemalto
GSMA (GSM Association)
Hisilicon
HTC		宏達電
Huawei
LG
MWC (Mobile World Congress)
Nokia
Nvidia
Oberthur
Samsung
SK Telecom
Sony
Telecom Italia
Vodafone
ZTE

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