Mobile phone industry leaders present latest trends in Barcelona

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A visitor of the Mobile World Congress 2008. Photo: EFE

The world leaders in the mobile phone industry are gathering in the Spanish city of Barcelona for the 3GSM World Congress, which promises to unveil the latest in telecommunications technology.

Flashy new mobile (cell) phones, faster networks and more entertainment geared for the small screen are all taking centre stage.

The four-day event is expected to draw more than 50,000 industry officials from major phone makers like Finland's Nokia Corp. and U.S. company Motorola Inc. as well as Samsung and LG.

While more than 50,000 industry officials from major cell phone makers, telecoms companies and high-technology firms stake out their next move at the world's largest communications conference in Barcelona, the winners ultimately will be decided by consumers.

Many of the latest phone designs are multimedia gadgets combining the functions of a cell phone, media player and wireless web browser and sometimes a satnav like Apple's iPhone and HTC touch screen, which were both launched late 2007.

As the Internet migrates to the cell (mobile) phone, some of the biggest players will be companies like Yahoo! Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp.They are looking to expand into the 3 billion cell (mobile) phones worldwide, roughly three times the number of computers.

Windows Live Mobile

Microsoft, which entered the mobile phone arena only a handful of years ago, wants to be one of the major players as the Web spills onto the mobile.

The trend has forged some alliances that would have seemed unlikely a few years ago, including Nokia's inclusion of some Microsoft technology such as Windows Media Player on its handsets.

Robbie Bach, is Microsoft's President of its Entertainment and Devices Division. He says that Microsoft brings a lot of know-how to the mobile phone industry.

On Monday Microsoft launched a new version of its Windows Live Mobile Developer Programme, which will allow developers to create mobile versions of its popular Windows Live services.

Nokia unveiled its latest handset the N96, which is expected in shops by September 2008. An upgrade of the N95 the new device has a larger screen and upgraded global positioning satellite mapping programme. The phone is expected to retail at 550 Euros ($800 US Dollars) in Europe. The handset can store 40 hours of video or 12,000 songs.