Biggest Telecom Show Spurs Smart Tech
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
The Mobile World Congress for 2010 opened Monday in Barcelona with more than 1,300 companies in attendance showcasing their latest products and technologies.
However, the world's biggest handset maker Nokia and even Apple did not participate in the global event.
But the absence of those companies is giving chances for South Korea's most powerful handset maker Samsung Electronics and telecom carriers such as SK Telecom and KT Corp. to further showcase their edge in technology.
Samsung Electronics, which trails the Finnish phone manufacturer in the sector, has released its first phone equipped with its own mobile operating system called Bada.
Shin Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung's telecom unit, said the "Wave" will pave the way for the industry to advance the "smartphone era." He said the company will commit to making the era available to everyone across the globe.
Representatives said the phone is equipped with mobile digital natural image or mDNIe technology, giving users the chance to enjoy movie clips with a clearer image.
Besides the "much anticipated" announcement, Samsung has also presented some of its own mobile application services such as LBS at its Samsung Apps' booth, the company said in a statement.
Samsung is the only major South Korea-based handset firm to show its presence at the annual mobile telecommunication show. Its local rivals LG Electronics and Pantech decided not to go to Barcelona.
Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom is aiming to boost its telecommunication technologies by showing off mobile in vehicle (MIV), 3D switching, smart payment and ZigBee USIM technologies, it said in a separate statement, Monday.
Company representatives say SK Telecom has introduced mobile 3D TV technology for the first time in the telecom industry at the show and its brand-new "3D switching" technology is also drawing keen attention from the participants.
"Another interesting point is that SK Telecom's latest USIM technology, which enables users to store multimedia contents and mobile applications, presented the industry's standard," a company spokeswoman Cindy Kang said.
Google Winner
As expected, the show has become the main battle field for phone makers for leadership in the smartphone sector.
With Samsung, Sony-Ericsson has exhibited five new smartphones, all of them equipped with the Google-backed Android operating system. Its X-Peria 10 has enhanced data storage capacity.
The maker of BlackBerry, Research In Motion (RIM) is exhibiting its own smartphone device.
With the release of the company's own branded Nexus One phone, Google is both a supplier and a competitor at the Barcelona show. Taiwan's HTC is Google's preferred ally for the moment, having built the Nexus One.
"Handset makers are competing for Android phones. Even though Samsung unveiled its first phone with its own operating system, that's just an announcement. All eyes in terms of businesses are on how to make Android phones appeal to consumers," an industry expert told The Korea Times.
Critics say the ongoing show lacks the buzz as there aren't going to be massive announcements.
"I've heard that that the show is too peaceful, though it is the world's biggest annual telecommunication exhibition," the official said, as most of the participants are just announcing small updates to their software-related features.