As one tweeter mentioned the other day, it is less than 100 days til Mobile World Congress, which means talk of the MWC’s Apps Planet 2012 is building with apps news, launches and events for the independent apps developer and mobile business owner. Apps Planet is one of the highlights for many of our guests staying in our Barcelona apartments for Mobile World Congress.
Business groups have shared with us that they really appreciate the extra space an apartment offers their work delegation when here for events like MWC 2012. Sharing an apartment bonds your team, builds strength amongst colleagues and helps them work together throughout the event while sharing a comfortable apartment space. This also lets you debrief each night, strategize for the following day, and develop new tools on the fly close to the congress venue and with access to all the conveniences of home (kitchen, full bathroom, wifi, TV and DVD).
There are always a few announcement bombshells at Mobile World Congress and we have begun to hear news of what is in store for the Congress overall and for events at Apps Planet 2012 in particular. Here’s the latest predictions from our industry contacts and Barcelona news sources.
1. Layar will be a standout feature throughout mobile app discussions
Netherlands-based mobile location programming standard, Layar, continues to grow from strength to strength and is fast becoming the most widely recognized location tool for developing new products. Ronald de Groot from One Shoe Mobile shared with us how Layar was used in a recent mobile app they developed, and this sums up the sort of discussion we expect to hear more of at MWC 2012: “For the biggest postal services in the Netherlands we built a mobile website, iPhone and Android app, introduced DMM (Direct Mobile Marketing) with personalized QR-codes and developed Layar to find the nearest postal offices and mailboxes. This was one of the first six Layars worldwide. Because of all these mobile services and the features inside it, we were last year nominated for the Mobile Integration Award.”
Our Apps Planet 2012 prediction: More developer conferences will include discussion of how to use layar technology in building location-based apps.
2. QuadCore tablet launches
There has been an excitable buzz on internet and twitter streams in recent days about the possible launches by major device makers for Quad Core tablets and smartphones at GSMA Mobile World Congress. HTC is expected to unveil a Quad Core Tablet while the rumor mill has already started regarding whether Samsung will launch the Lumia 900 in 2012, aiming to repeat the excitement they generated when they showed off the SII this year.
Our Apps Planet 2012 prediction: Developer conferences will specifically explain how to build apps for larger tablet screens.
3. The (unofficial) Fringe Festival will steal at least some of the show
Every big industry event deserves a fringe festival and the unofficial Mobile World Congress Fringe Festival looks like it has the potential to upstage the main event at least once throughout the three day event. In part this we expect this because it offers a new angle for journalists who have been covering MWC year after year, but mostly because the fringe is being organized by industry networking guru, Helen Keegan. The creator of the successful Barcelona Swedish beers events, this technokitten is expected to bring the same style, vibrancy, and out-of-the-box quirkiness to her latest endeavour and offer up a great side show to the main event.
Our Apps Planet prediction: Participants at Apps Planet will be talking about what they did at the MWC Fringe Festival last night.
4. Currently registered exhibitors will start fielding calls from savvy apps developers and independent businesses
With the GSMA Mobile World Congress website now listing exhibitors that have registered for next February’s event, apps developers who are planning to come to Barcelona to build networks and seek new industry contacts will start to make contact and introduce themselves. On our Apps Planet events page and in our Barcelona business trips for events guide. We strongly encourage independent apps developers to read our advice on how to network in advance – see our previous blog posts about Mobile World Congress and the Apps Planet 2012 page on our Enjoy Barcelona website for more industry recommendations to make the most of attending.
Our Apps Planet prediction: Apps developers who take the initiative now and start preparing their networking meetings will have the best success and growth trajectory throughout 2012.
It is not too late to book some quality, affordable and convenient business group and individual Mobile World Congress accommodation. Contact us for special discounts and deals or consult our Barcelona apartments pages.
What are your predictions for Mobile World Congress and Apps Planet in particular? Share them in the comments below.