The giant 3GSM World Congress is meeting this week in Barcelona, with 60,000+ in attendance to smooze and learn about mobile phones. The overview article in ZDNet here says that an important Congress topic is improved Internet browsing on mobile phones. The education sector should be in this mix to be sure our kids are able to access learning and knowledge through the computers in their pockets. ZDNet says:
Because the show is based in Europe and draws a significant number of attendees and exhibitors from Asia, where mobile technology is typically more advanced than in North America, it often provides a sneak peak at technology and trends that will soon make it to the U.S. market.
Analysts attending this year’s event say there will be several themes dominating the show floor and discussions throughout the congress. “I don’t think that there will be any single theme this year,” said Matt Hatton, a senior analyst for Yankee Group. “But there will be a lot of talk around taking the mobile Internet to the next level, making it a richer experience, and figuring out how to make money from it.”
Mobilizing Web 2.0
A watered-down version of the mobile Internet is no longer acceptable to subscribers, Hatton said. And as a result, operators are trying to figure out ways to make surfing the Net on a handset resemble surfing the Web on a PC as closely as possible. One operator focusing on this issue, U.K.-based Vodafone Group, announced last week as a preview to 3GSM that it has struck deals with social-networking site MySpace and video-sharing site YouTube to add those applications to its handsets.
