by Mark Ollig
Many
of the mobile communication industries’ biggest players met recently in
Barcelona, Spain, for the 2014 MWC (Mobile World Congress).
The
MWC is produced by the GSMA (Group Special Mobile Association), located in
London.
The
GSMA “represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly
800 of the world’s operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem,” according to its Twitter page.
This
year’s MWC showcased the latest mobile products and technology for those in
Barcelona, and for a world-wide online audience, who watched its live-streaming
video, and interacted via social media.
The
people attending in Barcelona, and interacting online, exchanged ideas and
participated in social networking.
Some
1,700 exhibits and displays featuring cutting-edge technology were presented.
Introductions
of new mobile devices, by several mobile communication companies, were made.
Keynote
speakers included CEOs from Facebook, AT&T, Cisco, IBM, and others.
Approximately
72,500 people, from over 200 countries, attended this conference.
MWC
broke down the attendance percentages from each area of the globe:
Europe:
62 percent
North
America: 15 percent
Asia
Pacific: 13 percent
Middle
East: 5 percent
Latin
America: 3 percent
Africa:
2 percent
Facebook
Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg spoke about how the Internet, and everything
it has to offer, is accessible to only one-third of the world’s population.
He
said it needs to be made available to the majority of people around the world.
Zuckerberg
questioned why the other two-thirds of the world’s population do not have
Internet access.
He
mentioned how one Internet organization, which is supported by some of the
world’s leading technology and mobile service providers, is working to help
make the Internet available to those without access.
This
organization’s website is located at: http://www.internet.org.
During
this year’s MWC, Sony presented their new Xperia Z2 10.1-inch computing tablet
featuring a “Live Color LED” display. This mobile device includes a quad-core
Snapdragon 801 processor running at 2.3GHz, an Android 4.4 operating system,
3GB of RAM, high-definition screen resolution, and an 8-megapixel camera.
At
.25-inches thick, the Xperia Z2 is thinner than Apple’s iPad 2 (.35-inches), and
weighs just under a pound, as compared to 1.33 pounds for the iPad 2.
This
new tablet is waterproof; rubberized flaps cover the main ports and microSD
(Secure Digital) memory card slot.
Samsung
Electronics revealed a new item at MWC 2014.
They
presented a wrist-wearable called Gear Fit, which resembles a smart watch.
Gear
Fit tracks one’s movement, heart rate, and sleep patterns, and includes a timer
and stopwatch.
This
wearable technology also provides instant phone call, SMS (Short Message
Service – texting), and email notifications from a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
All
features are easily viewable on the Gear Fit’s curved OLED (organic
light-emitting diode) screen.
A
wearer can also listen to music using Bluetooth.
Gear
Fit has changeable wrist straps in black, orange, and mocha grey.
Did
I mention it’s waterproof, and has a digital LED time and date display?
Smart
sensor technology sewn into our clothing, which yours truly wrote about in
2012, is getting closer to becoming a reality.
French
basketball club, PABA (Pays d’Aix Basket Aspttis) exhibited smart-sensing
sportswear during the MWC.
A
French company, Cityzen Sciences, designed the micro-technology woven into the
fabric of an individual player’s basketball shirts which collects data, and
monitors their health biometrics.
A
player’s heart rate, respiration, and body heat data is delivered to a team
manager’s location via mobile broadband. This information provides individual
player information to help improve team performance, and keep aware of a
player’s current physical condition.
Cityzen
Sciences is also working on a way to recharge the smart fabric’s energy source
while it is being cleaned in the washing machine.
A
video showing a smart-sensing, digital shirt in action can be viewed at:
http://tinyurl.com/bytes-smartfabric.
The
company’s Twitter handle is: @CityzenSciences. Its website is:
http://www.cityzensciences.fr.
So,
what does the future of mobile social-networking look like for consumers and
business?
For
one thing, businesses are realizing they need more than just a website and a
social media presence to attract and retain customers.
Advanced
interactive software apps (applications), installed in our smart devices,
operate over an increasingly robust, wireless, mobile, broadband technology.
These
enhanced apps and upgraded technologies are bringing us into the next mobile
paradigm shift, called “mobile engagement.”
Mobile
engagements between a business and consumer are carried out via enhanced apps
on smartphones and tablet-like devices.
One
example of mobile engagement: a brick-and-mortar retail shop attracts folks by
alerting them to products and services through the app on their mobile devices.
Consumers
can be notified of, and respond to a particular store’s “Sales and Specials”
via their mobile device when they are nearby, or while shopping inside.
Forbes
has said mobile engagement services will become a $30 billion industry by 2018.
The
Mobile World Congress’ website is: http://www.mobileworldcongress.com.
