Mobile World Congress point to new opportunities mobile marketing

Technology: Thurs 19th February 2009

With lower attendance than last year, and few surprises, the MWC was considered a low key affair this year.

The big word at MWC was 'Smartphones' with many manufacturers playing 'follow the leader'. The leading being Apple's iphone. New models and new partnerships were announced mostly in the area of touch screen, multi function phones.

Sony Ericson announced its multi entertainment platform, Vodaphone is launching a Google Android phone, Skype is integrating their system with Nokia, HTC are launching a new smartphone and Chinese manufacturer, Huawei are entering the market.
The Telegraph reported that 'Each of their devices is now less like a mobile phone and more a mobile computer' and realising this shift, computer manufacturers Dell and Acer are looking to launch their own models of smartphones.

With more and cheaper smartphones the market share is bound to increase and the emphasis for mobile marketing will change significantly. Yahoo also declared that they will increase their mobile offering, and this points toward a growth in advertising led mobile usage.

Although predictions are that SMS marketing will increase in the next few years, mobile marketing will become less focussed on texting. Smartphones can easily handle rich media such as video and audio, but it is most likely that advertisers will follow consumer demand and develop their through mobile apps.

Article Links
Highlights from Mobile World Congress 2009
Mobile World Congress: your next mobile will be smarter and greener