Mobile World Congress 2013 was the 8th time the major mobile industry event was held in Barcelona, gathering over 72,000 visitors and 1,700 companies. The summary highlights developments in devices such as new Samsung, Nokia, and LG phones and tablets. It also discusses operating systems including Windows Phone, Firefox OS, Tizen, and Ubuntu mobile OS. Trends in enterprise mobility like mobile device management and security were prominent. Developments in retail mobile payments using NFC and mobile point-of-sale solutions were also covered.

1. Mobile World Congress 2013
A report from the floor
Insights from MWC 2013, the worlds biggest mobile
event – coverage of the latest mobile devices and
operating systems as well as trends in mobile retail,
mobile payments and enterprise mobility.

2. 2
Introduction
This edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) was the 8th time the event has been organized in
Barcelona and gathered more than 72,000 visitors and 1,700 companies across 94,000 square meters of
exhibition space.
For those attending, MWC is always a busy time of year – full of back-to-back meetings, late night dinners
and non-stop networking. On the floor it’s a constant buzz of talking, listening, smiling, searching for
WI-FI, socializing, catch-ups, demonstrations and endless queues for bad sandwiches.
And although there was no sight of any Apple or Google stand, they were represented by devices in
more or less every booth – the mobile sector is exploding and for those of you could did not attend, we’ve
collected the latest and greatest for you!

3. 3
Devices
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0
As usual Samsung is killing the competition in terms of
popularity and this year they didn’t even need any big device
announcements (the Galaxy S4 is launching 15 March at
their own location NY instead). In any case, the family of
new Android devices with 7 and 8-inch screen tablets (and
phablets) look more and more promising and although this is
not an iPad killer it is most definitely a great alternative.
Nokia
On Monday Nokia introduced the Nokia Lumia 520, the
Nokia Lumia 720, the Nokia 301 and the Nokia 105. The
new devices are Nokias most affordable Windows Phone 8
smartphones (Nokia 520 priced at $180 and the Nokia 720 at
around $300 (TBD)) and lowest-priced mobile phone (Nokia
301 priced at $85 and the Nokia 105 at $20).
More from Nokia here.

4. 4
Devices
Bigger screens, smaller screens and (now) no screens
For a while smartphone screens have been getting bigger and tablet screens have been getting smaller, but this week we came across the next
generation of user interface solutions with Neonode.
By applying Neonode’s long and short range proximity sensors to a mobile phone cover, or simply build it directly into a device, the mobile user
interface (UI) and device control is no longer confined to the industry standard 4-10” 2-dimensional window. Any angle or surface of a portable
device can now be multi-touch and proximity enabled – front, sides and back. This innovation provides a whole new type of extended and
augmented user experience, called Proximity Devices. The user experience is extended well beyond the device’s physical borders, and on to the
surrounding surface, allowing the user to interact with the UI in an intuitive way. Check out some demo videos here
Devices with muscle
Just as some people are put on this earth to create things, others are prone to destroy everything they touch. Those people should probably
spend some time with the Caterpillar-branded CAT B15, an aluminum-and-rubber-clad Android smartphone. Check out a demo video here.
Then there’s the Kyocera Torque, users can have an ultratough handset and still have a modern smartphone. So unlike the Kyocera Hydro that
was released this past summer, it isn’t only waterproof, but it fulfills military specs for durability, too.
Other device launches
• LG Optimus Vu II – 5-inch display and more squared than the Galaxy Note II but does it fit in the pocket?
• Sony Xperia Tablet Z – super thin and apparently survives a fast dip in water
• LG Optimus G Pro Superphone – bigger and better or just another super-techy phone?
• Asus Phonepad – a tablet you can call with
• HP launched a 7.1 Android tablet which was a bit surprising to us and less surprisingly reviews have been mixed
• For more information about devices launches, see CNET’s report here.

5. 5
OS
Multi-OS
Thanks to Windows Phone, Mozilla OS and lesser
extent Blackberry there is a big discussion about
whether there might be space for more OS even
though Android and iOS is still dominating.
Windows Phone
Lots of focus on Windows Phone 8 thanks to
a combination of Microsoft being a platinum
sponsor of the congress, Nokia launching new
WP8 devices, HTC pushing windows phone and
talks about Windows Phone vs Mozilla OS vs
Blackberry as the 3rd OS. Our experience from
all the devices we tested is that Windows Phone 8
is a very competitive OS and has a good chance
of becoming the winner.

6. 6
Mozilla Firefox OS
Mozilla has become a popular underdog supported by the launch of a low cost ZTE device and 18 operators saying they
will launch Mozilla devices in 2013. So far the reviews from media and developers have been good but is it enough? We
will continue to watch closely. Here are some articles to read up on the topic.
Tizen OS
When you thought there were enough mobile phone OS platforms, Samsung has confirmed that the first Tizen devices
will be launched with Docomo and Orange second half of 2013. Tizen was actually announced about a year ago
replacing the previous initiative called LiMo. Tizen OS is the foundation for Bada OS from v2.0 and onwards as well as
the basis for several other open source platforms. The goal is for Tizen to be interoperable with other HTML5 initiatives
such as Firefox OS.
Other OS news
In other news HP has sold WebOS to LG who will be using it for Smart TVs. Here’s what CNET has to say about it.
Finally Ubuntu presented their mobile OS Ubuntu for Phones and although we still think it’s a long way from being a
serious contender on the mobile OS stage it’s got a very slick UI based on the desktop Unity interface.

7. 7
Enterprise Mobility
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Ever thought about how a company with
10.000+ people manages all the mobile
devices and business applications
the employees carry? A big theme for
MWC 2013 is mobility management
and security services. Leading MDM
providers AirWatch and Mobile Iron both
had impressive stands Hall 3 where they
were showing off their products and
services.
During MWC AirWatch announced a
$200m Series A funding – the largest
investment in an enterprise company so
far in 2013. Read more here.
Also, congratulations to Mobile Iron for
receiving the GSMA “Best Enterprise
Mobile Service” Award.

8. 8
Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP)
In enterprise everyone (SAP, IBM, Oracle, etc) are talking about MEAP (mobile enterprise application platforms) as the must have but
for businesses. We think it’s mainly a buzzy 4 letter abbreviation for a packaged solution based on legacy platforms, web services and
HTML5 but let’s see if there is any substance.
Mobile Application Management (MAM)
Smartphones and tablets aren’t “smart” on their own. These devices provide the platform for applications that make them more valuable to
their users. And these applications are increasing points of vulnerability for businesses that let users attach their devices onto corporate
networks
Security
At MWC we met with Symantec to discuss the Symantec Sealed Program that helps enterprises accelerate a BYOD strategy and trusted
environment for your mobile workforce. With the Symantec Sealed program, developers can focus on app development, while Symantec
delivers enterprise-class security, authentication, encryption, and content controls.
Dual Personality (Home & Work)
We had the chance see a demo of a new “dual-personality” technology for Android devices known as KNOX. Built by Samsung and
named after Fort Knox, home to the US Bullion Depository, KNOX is well positioned to take over Blackberry market share while current
BB enterprises think twice about migrating to Blackberry 10.
KNOX provides two separate app environments for employees, one for personal use and the other for corporate use. By clicking on an
icon on the home screen, employees can access corporate apps for tasks like email, calendaring, and file sharing which are stored in a
cloud-based secure portal. Samsung plans to launch an enterprise trial of KNOX aboard the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, built right
into the hardware for added security. More details here.

9. 9
Retail
NFC, NFC, NFC…
GSMA, Visa, Mastercard, Samsung and quite a few other brands and operators are pushing NFC but is it ready to become a
serious enabler for payments, ticketing and other transactions? Based on what we hear from the floor the answer is still no,
but it’s great that the industry keeps pushing for innovation, standardization and simplification.
Mobile point of sale
Both PayPal and Visa launched their POS services. Interesting opportunity for retailers to equip their staff with a mobile
device, PayPal (PayPay Here) or Visa (Visa Ready) credit card readers and lets them lose. Why does retail staff have to sit
behind a cashier? Engage with the customer on the sales floor, enhance the shopping experience and embrace the Apple
Store model.

10. 10
Mobile ticketing
After several years of slow adoption, mobile ticketing is experiencing a boom. As we’ve got several projects running in
this space we spent some extra time looking evaluating different solutions.Check out Mobill in particular, for some of
the leading implementations in the world for the major transportation companies in Sweden. This may give some ideas
of what the future will look like and yes, SMS is still a very good bearer.
Über-targeted advertising
Companies are maximizing engagement success with relevance, reach and valuable analytical insights via targeted
advertising models. Yoose helps leading brands and agencies to effectively target and engage mobile consumers on
a hyper-local level.
Exploring consumer trust in apps
MEF organized a breakfast meeting on how to gain consumers’ trust in mobile apps. With high profile news reports of
fraud and invasion of privacy, the industry must demonstrate it is up to the challenge.
Some interesting numbers were:
• 70% of users have not downloaded or have erased an app because of privacy issues
• Only 37% of users of comfortable with sharing personal data

11. Cool Stuff
11
We saw robots!
Completely outside of our field but gyroscope manufacturer Maxim has come up with a
great way of showing off their not-so-exciting gyroscopes that are used in many devices. In
addition to displaying the gyroscopes in the stand they had 2 robots moving around to show
the difference in the latest imaging-stabilizing technology using gyroscopes. Geek out here.
Surround sound headphones
Qualcomm and DTS have shown off a new audio technology that is likely to make the need to
have impressive headphones a thing of the past. One of the coolest demo’s of the week was
the DTS demonstration of their software/SDK that makes mid range headphones ($40) sound
like a $10.000 audio surround sound system. Dr. Dre is not going to be happy about this.
Real size ‘Connected City’
A new theme this year was Smart Mobile City which was a huge stand built as a city street
organized by GSMA, Samsung, AT&T, and Ericsson and more. Here you can experience the
latest technology and future trends in smart homes, robots, cars, scooters, public transport,
eco food bins, energy efficiency, M2M and more. We want to live in the future!
A new theme this year was Smart Mobile City which was a huge stand built as a city street
organized by GSMA, Samsung, AT&T, and Ericsson and more. Here you can experience the
latest technology and future trends in smart homes, robots, cars, scooters, public transport,
eco food bins, energy efficiency, M2M and more.
We want to live in the future!

12. 12
More Cool Stuff
Augmented reality goggles
The product of an experiment by the R&D department at Brilliantservice, a Japan-based app development house, these
nameless goggles were on display here at Mobile World Congress in order to showcase the company’s Viking operating
system for headsets. The Viking prototype AR goggles will never come to market. Instead, Brilliantservice is looking to
partner with a hardware developer who can work with the company to design and manufacture a hadset that uses the Viking
OS.
Stunning stands
Another fascinating trend this year is the size and the sophistication of the exhibition stands. Display technology has truly
changed our experience with walls and logos constantly evolving and changing. Check out the Motorola stand in particular.
Magic!
Nokia Cinemagraph
Nokia Cinemagraph was actually launched a while ago but the technology is now available in all the top Lumia devices and
it’s incredible. Take a group photo with your friends and there is always one person looking the wrong way or with their eyes
shut. The sensor and software technology used is simply amazing – check it out.

13. Congratulations to GSMA for
a great congress!