Post by Andrew Ford, Consumer Marketing Director
The annual Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona is an excellent way to see what the key players in the mobile market are planning and prioritising. The who’s who of the mobile world were present at this year’s MWC; Samsung had an enormous stand that was dedicated to showing how the android tablets and smarthphones could enhance consumer lifestyles. Artists were on hand to draw caricatures of attendees, showcasing how easy the Samsung devices can be turned into creative tools that can be used for work or fun. HTC were also at MWC. The Taiwanese company continue to innovate and their recent tie-up with Dr Beat headphones meant that they focused on the musical aspect of mobile content. I did have a go at their top of the range HTC phone with the beat headphones and all I can say is wow, the sound was excellent!
After trying these, I do wonder whether HTC will gain more market share and whether they will become a challenge for the Apple iPhone in the not so distant future. Ebay and Paypal were also at the event. Both had sizeable stands, aiming to encourage m-commerce, particularly within women’s fashion. The entertainment was provided by a very talented football juggler, who could quite easily have given FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi a run for his money. The aim here was clear Ebay and Paypal wanted to illustrate the dexterity of such shopping on the move. And of course Google’s Android was omnipresent, particularly with their App Zone. The energy around the featured App Developers was quite something, and illustrates the confidence of the Android ecosystem to continue to drive enhanced consumer experience.
All these experiences, whether to do with graphics, music or payment are emphasising lifestyle freedom for consumers. And it struck me that all these open consumer lifestyle advantages require security at every turn. The Security Forum, which included Norton’s Mobile VP Dave Cole, Senior Analyst Ian Fogg and Deutsche Telekom’s Head of Security, underlined this with a unanimous verdict that safe and secure content is needed at every level to permit such freedom and for users to get the most from mobile. To tie in with this message, Norton has also launched www.mobilesecurity.com. The aim of the site is to help consumers understand the need for mobile security, as the lifestyle benefits will continue to get better and better.
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