Despite Apple's absence, iPhone is talk of Mobile World Congress

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
(Mobile World Congress) Apple is not officially present at this week's Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain, yet carriers are talking about the iPhone and rivals are introducing what they hope to pitch as "iPhone killers."



On Monday, Microsoft is widely expected to unveil Windows Mobile 7, its latest mobile operating system that looks to compete with the iPhone. Others have already introduced new phones or products that aim to compete with the iPhone and its App Store.



Apple is the second-largest smartphone maker in the U.S., with 25 percent of the market, and the third-largest in the world. The handset is present at this week's Mobile World Congress, with the iPhone 3GS as part of the official display for German carrier Deutsche Telekom, owner of wireless carrier T-Mobile in the U.S.



A T-Mobile spokesman told The New York Times that T-Mobile U.S. would "definitely be interested" in the iPhone if Apple were to ever offer it on multiple carriers. The handset is currently exclusive to AT&T.



The Times noted Apple's unofficial presence and importance at this week's trade show, despite the fact that the Cupertino, Calif., company is not an exhibitor. A spokeswoman for the GSM Association, the organizer of the annual event, said Apple would be welcomed if they decided to exhibit at a future event.



"Secretive and focused, Apple rarely ventures beyond its own well-staged promotions," the report said. "The company has sent executives to the Barcelona show, but has never taken center stage."



AT&T, Sony, LG partner for own app store



Hoping to take on Apple's wildly successful App Store, the GSM Association announced Monday that 24 telecom operators have formed an alliance to build an open platform for applications. Support for the venture has come from LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, according to Reuters.



Other partners listed include AT&T, China Mobile, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone. Combined the wireless providers listed are responsible for more than three billion customers worldwide.



The alliance reportedly seeks "to unite members' developer communities and create a single, harmonized point of entry to make it easy for developers to join."



With more than three billion downloads to date, Apple's blockbuster App Store has been a major selling point for the company's iPhone. At last months' iPad unveiling, the company revealed that there are more than 140,000 applications available on the App Store.



'Life changing' Samsung Wave takes aim at iPhone



The first handset running the Samsung Bada platform, the Samsung Wave, was introduce before the Mobile World Congress Monday. Featuring a 3.3-inch anti-smudge AMOLED screen, 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, and 720p video playback, the handset is expected to arrive in April.



First introduced last fall, Samsung Bada is built on top of Linux and sports an open SDK. Unlike Symbian or Google Android, the platform is exclusive to Samsung phones.



According to The Daily Telegraph, Bada will ship with an iTunes-style app store that will offer games, maps, e-books and other applications.



The Samsung Wave was introduced Monday as an iPhone rival. Photo courtesy Reuters



No price was announced, but the Samsung Wave is expected to undercut Apple's iPhone 3GS, which starts at $199. The Wave will be backed by a £6 million advertising campaign from Samsung.



"We're delighted and extremely excited about the launch of Samsung Wave -- the first handset to run on the Samsung Bada platform and the first to feature a stunning Super AMOLED screen," said Mark Mitchinson, vice president Samsung Mobile UK said. He added that the handset's Social Hub "offers a life changing user experience."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 50
    Zzzzz . . . Just saw some "leaked" WinMo screenshots on Neowin.



    Looks like something Apple chewed up and spat out two years ago.



    MS development strategy:







    As for the rest . . . we've seen it all before.
  • Reply 2 of 50
    wingswings Posts: 261member
    "Hoping to take on Apple's wildly successful App Store, the GSM Association announced Monday that 24 telecom operators have formed an alliance to build an open platform for applications."



    "Open", as in open to anything? ANYTHING? Including all that nasty stuff that people spend hours on in getting off their PC?
  • Reply 3 of 50
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    I love MWC. There's always so many interesting things going on.
  • Reply 4 of 50
    Samsung's hardware might be great, but their HDTV software is certainly pretty lame. Whenever I try to use some of the software features on my 6 month old TV, I just keep thinking (from a software pov) that Steve Jobs would never have let this out the door.
  • Reply 5 of 50
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    Another phone with OLED. I hope Apple step up the mark for the next iPhone, LCD just doesn't cut the mustard any more.
  • Reply 6 of 50
    ajmasajmas Posts: 597member
    Quadra: let's just hope Apple doesn't get smug about their current position. They did that at the end of the 80s and Microsoft moved right passed them. It wasn't until MacOS X did Apple regain lost ground.
  • Reply 7 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    Another phone with OLED. I hope Apple step up the mark for the next iPhone, LCD just doesn't cut the mustard any more.



    If you go and look at the rumoured prototypes for the next iPhone you'll see the screen is a slightly different size. This to me says different ppi and potentially OLED display.
  • Reply 8 of 50
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    When is any consumer electronics device "life changing"? Medical electronics, sure, but I don't know if it can apply to CE.
  • Reply 9 of 50
    igeniusigenius Posts: 1,240member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    When is any consumer electronics device "life changing"?



    The Mac changed the entire course of human history. So did the iPod.
  • Reply 10 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    When is any consumer electronics device "life changing"? Medical electronics, sure, but I don't know if it can apply to CE.



    When you had no life to begin with.
  • Reply 11 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iGenius View Post


    The Mac changed the entire course of human history. So did the iPod.



    I Love Apple products....but I don't drink the koolaid.
  • Reply 12 of 50
    crankycranky Posts: 163member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple is not officially present at this week's Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain, yet carriers are talking about the iPhone and rivals are introducing what they hope to pitch as "iPhone killers."



    Yeah, like that's gonna happen.
  • Reply 13 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iGenius View Post


    The Mac changed the entire course of human history. So did the iPod.



    It CHANGED THE UNIVERSE! No no no, it changed the MULTIVERSE!



    If there's ever gonna be a third world war, blame the iPod. Seriously.
  • Reply 14 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    Zzzzz . . . Just saw some "leaked" WinMo screenshots on Neowin.



    Looks like something Apple chewed up and spat out two years ago.



    MS development strategy:







    As for the rest . . . we've seen it all before.



    Doesn't seem like sites like Gizmodo and Engadget share your thoughts. Engadget has a hands-on preview and Gizmodo have videos and an article on it, both being updated live. And they both are impressed by what was shown of Windows Phone 7 Series (not WinMo anymore, buddy). A lot of other news outlets are similarily reporting being impressed too.



    Sadly, a static image on Neowin doesn't do it justice (but when has that ever stopped you from passing judgement?). My ZHD is pretty much a preview of WP7, and I have to say that it's just more "fun" to use than Apple's OS. It may not have as many apps, but as we all know from Android, that can change quickly.



    The biggest ace in the sleeve for MS? XBox Live support. Of course we'll have to see how it plays out in the long-run, but it's an infrastructure that Apple only dreams they could have. If major XBox games get ported over, along will come the millions of gamers who already own XBox 360s. You'll laugh, I'm sure, but just remember this: XBox was a "pet project" for MS years ago, and look how it's turned out now.



    Like ajmas said, if Apple had your mentality, they'll find themselves becoming eclipsed by Android and WP7 in the long-run. Is it too late? Or will it climb the same success ladder Android did? We'll see what happens once WP7 is released during the holidays and the year after.



    You may laugh now, but if it turns out that WP7 becomes a hit and MS passes up the iPhone in the future, then you'll get to realize that Ballmer just passed you in the fast lane .
  • Reply 15 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AsianBob View Post


    Doesn't seem like sites like Gizmodo and Engadget share your thoughts. Engadget has a hands-on preview and Gizmodo have videos and an article on it, both being updated live. And they both are impressed by what was shown of Windows Phone 7 Series (not WinMo anymore, buddy). A lot of other news outlets are similarily reporting being impressed too.



    Sadly, a static image on Neowin doesn't do it justice (but when has that ever stopped you from passing judgement?). My ZHD is pretty much a preview of WP7, and I have to say that it's just more "fun" to use than Apple's OS. It may not have as many apps, but as we all know from Android, that can change quickly.



    The biggest ace in the sleeve for MS? XBox Live support. Of course we'll have to see how it plays out in the long-run, but it's an infrastructure that Apple only dreams they could have. If major XBox games get ported over, along will come the millions of gamers who already own XBox 360s. You'll laugh, I'm sure, but just remember this: XBox was a "pet project" for MS years ago, and look how it's turned out now.



    Like ajmas said, if Apple had your mentality, they'll find themselves becoming eclipsed by Android and WP7 in the long-run. Is it too late? Or will it climb the same success ladder Android did? We'll see what happens once WP7 is released during the holidays and the year after.



    So let me get this right, AB; YOU"RE passing judgment based on what Gizmodo & Engadget say?



    Does Android have as many apps as Apple's App store? No. Then why do you say that the situation can change quickly. Any examples of Microsoft doing anything quickly? Their mobile platform is flatlining, and this is their last ditch effort to pull the plane out of a nosedive.



    And XBox Live support? Again, your point is all about 'the future,' or to quote you: "we'll have to see how it plays out in the long run"



    Yeah, the XBox live infrastructure is bigger than the app store infrastructure, right, Bob?



    You, like MS, have nothing.
  • Reply 16 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iGenius View Post


    The Mac changed the entire course of human history. So did the iPod.



    The iPod was a huge stretch actually, but the original Macintosh did change our society.
  • Reply 17 of 50
    MS looks to be about a year behind Apple.



    Even with Google's best shot Android is still a convoluted mess - none of the Android phones being iPhone "killers" by a long-shot.



    The worst news of all for the competition: Apple will be releasing a new iPhone.



    If this is the best MS could do after almost three years of witnessing everything Apple has done, Steve and Co. have nothing to worry about.
  • Reply 18 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JakeBarnes View Post


    So let me get this right, AB; YOU"RE passing judgment based on what Gizmodo & Engadget say?



    Does Android have as many apps as Apple's App store? No. Then why do you say that the situation can change quickly. Any examples of Microsoft doing anything quickly? Their mobile platform is flatlining, and this is their last ditch effort to pull the plane out of a nosedive.



    And XBox Live support? Again, your point is all about 'the future,' or to quote you: "we'll have to see how it plays out in the long run"



    Yeah, the XBox live infrastructure is bigger than the app store infrastructure, right, Bob?



    You, like MS, have nothing.



    I'm passing judgement on what I've seen from the videos and pictures off of multiple sites, not a single, static image of what the main screen looks like. I go to Engadget and Gizmodo because they post the information the quickest of all the sites I look at. If I'm not mistaken, at least one of them has a slight bias towards Apple products, and the fact that both of them are giving praise to what WP7 is, speaks for itself. I just find that bit interesting in itself.



    No, it doesn't have 160,000 (is that the number now?) apps, but a short while ago, it didn't have 16,000 either. After the release of the Droid, development has skyrocketed. But let me ask you this. At what point does the number of apps not matter anymore? How many of those 160,000 are apps that no one's heard of and are rarely downloaded, but are still counted? Or outdated duplicates of the same functional app (yes, I just pulled that card)? The way I see it, that number has become more bragging rights than anything else at this point.



    From what is being shown, the XBox Live infrastructure on WP7 is just a version of XBox Live that you have on the console that you can take on the go. Access to all the same information, talk to all the friends you have on XBL, get game requets... From the gamer's perspective, that's a lot more than what the App Store offers.



    The reason I say "in the future" and "in the long run" is because that's all anyone can say at this point. We know what the iPhone is. We've seen what MS plans to offer. I agree that this can all be smoke too and WP7 will flop. But it's a drastic change in everything and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt at this point.



    As for the example of MS doing anything quickly, I point to Windows 7. Vista sucked for the vast majority of people, but in relatively short time (for an OS), MS overhauled Vista and fixed the vast majority of complaints in Windows 7. Sure you'll all see it as Vista SP2, but it was still a quick turn-around.
  • Reply 19 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AsianBob View Post


    Doesn't seem like sites like Gizmodo and Engadget share your thoughts. Engadget has a hands-on preview and Gizmodo have videos and an article on it, both being updated live. And they both are impressed by what was shown of Windows Phone 7 Series (not WinMo anymore, buddy). A lot of other news outlets are similarily reporting being impressed too.



    Wow. It has gone from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone OS 7! Kinda like iPhone OS 4.0, but WINDOWS!



    Now THAT's going to change EVERYTHING!



    And I couldn't care less about what Gizmodo or Engadget say. Gizmodo has spewed whines and nonsense since the beginning of their existence, and Engadget's inability to identify the iPad as a TRUE lifestyle-changing device just because they can't play Farmville is disturbing.



    Quote:

    Sadly, a static image on Neowin doesn't do it justice (but when has that ever stopped you from passing judgement?). My ZHD is pretty much a preview of WP7, and I have to say that it's just more "fun" to use than Apple's OS. It may not have as many apps, but as we all know from Android, that can change quickly.



    When has a static image stopped YOU from passing judgment? "Lol, just a big iPod Touch, FAIL!". "Let's completely ignore that Apple redesigned all of its built-in apps to look a helluva like their OS X counterparts, sometimes even better! Let's also ignore the massive possibilities for 3rd party apps, completely forgetting how the bigger screen and much more powerful SoC A4 can create desktop-like applications that are more beautiful and intuitive thanks to iPhone's GUI" \



    WHAT, I ask, is the difference between navigating an iPod Touch and a Zune HD? Besides, of course, that M$ is so freaking smart that the word "marketplace" is cut out of the screen? Apple haters talk about how they don't need iPhone's pretty menus, and then when M$ shows up with something ten times more exaggerated they suddenly change their minds and say how M$ has "more beautiful and intuitive UIs". Just like they did with OS X/Vista.



    Sorry, but who in their right mind would ever use Android as an example for 3rd party apps? Their market is a mess, and believe it or not, it has relatively even MORE fart apps than the App store! Even the "serious" stuff is greatly inferior to App Store's own "serious" apps.



    Quote:

    The biggest ace in the sleeve for MS? XBox Live support. Of course we'll have to see how it plays out in the long-run, but it's an infrastructure that Apple only dreams they could have. If major XBox games get ported over, along will come the millions of gamers who already own XBox 360s. You'll laugh, I'm sure, but just remember this: XBox was a "pet project" for MS years ago, and look how it's turned out now.



    Yes, after their spend millions on buying developers and costumers from Sony and suffering major losses because of it, even without mentioning the 50% defective unit rate, NOW it isn't a pet project. How incredible!



    Hey, I have news for you: Apple created a huge market for iPhone games WITHOUT having a dedicated gaming platform to give them a starting push, like M$'s trying to do.



    Quote:

    Like ajmas said, if Apple had your mentality, they'll find themselves becoming eclipsed by Android and WP7 in the long-run. Is it too late? Or will it climb the same success ladder Android did? We'll see what happens once WP7 is released during the holidays and the year after.



    WHAT success ladder? Nexus One, the supposed-to-be Super Duper iPhone Killer, is the best Android phone and was a complete failure at launch. 80,000 units in the first month. God, I wish Apple had THAT success...

    Released during the holidays? By then, Apple will have far surpassed everything M$ possibly has to offer (which isn't that difficult, since most of the "new features" in WP7 will probably be attempts to catch up with iPhone OS) with iPhone OS 4.0, and Microsoft will try to figure how to copy it in WP8.... Which will arrive two years later...



    Quote:

    You may laugh now, but if it turns out that WP7 becomes a hit and MS passes up the iPhone in the future, then you'll get to realize that Ballmer just passed you in the fast lane .



    Ballmer?

    Passed Apple?

    That's some wishful thinking alright



    Good luck with your "great hit". You are going to need all of the luck in the world.
  • Reply 20 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AsianBob View Post


    I'm passing judgement on what I've seen from the videos and pictures off of multiple sites, not a single, static image of what the main screen looks like. I go to Engadget and Gizmodo because they post the information the quickest of all the sites I look at. If I'm not mistaken, at least one of them has a slight bias towards Apple products, and the fact that both of them are giving praise to what WP7 is, speaks for itself. I just find that bit interesting in itself.



    Sorry, both of them are anti-apple: Engadget has lost faith in Apple because their can't play Farmville on an iPad. So that praise means nothing.



    Quote:

    After the release of the Droid, development has skyrocketed.



    Source, please?



    Quote:

    From what is being shown, the XBox Live infrastructure on WP7 is just a version of XBox Live that you have on the console that you can take on the go. Access to all the same information, talk to all the friends you have on XBL, get game requets... From the gamer's perspective, that's a lot more than what the App Store offers.



    Like I said, Apple didn't need to tie iPhone to a console to make it a successful gaming platform. Nothing is stopping developers from doing the same on the iPhone.



    Quote:

    The reason I say "in the future" and "in the long run" is because that's all anyone can say at this point. We know what the iPhone is. We've seen what MS plans to offer. I agree that this can all be smoke too and WP7 will flop. But it's a drastic change in everything and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt at this point.



    Oooh, so you know what Apple is going to release on iPhone OS 4.0? Which will debut like, in three months?



    Microsoft is always trying to catch up with Apple's last year release.



    Quote:

    As for the example of MS doing anything quickly, I point to Windows 7. Vista sucked for the vast majority of people, but in relatively short time (for an OS), MS overhauled Vista and fixed the vast majority of complaints in Windows 7. Sure you'll all see it as Vista SP2, but it was still a quick turn-around.



    I use Windows 7.

    I'd say it is the same thing as Vista.

    Just with more OS X rip-offs.

    And less annoying bugs.

    But it is still Windows.
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