Despite the woes created by the credit crunch, the mobile industry seems to be taking the economic downturn rather well, if this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona was any indication.

Some 47,000 visitors and exhibitors turned out to see the latest and greatest innovations, technologies, services and applications in the mobile industry.

Despite the lower attendance numbers ­ down from about 55,000 in 2008 ­ GSM Association chief executive officer Rob Conway told delegates that the mobile sector is well-positioned to accelerate economic recovery through the effective implementation of next-generation mobile access.

Conway said the rapid evolution of mobile access and services is enabling greater levels of remote working, as well as offering basic connectivity to rural communities and developing nations.

The show covered every aspect of the mobile industry, from chip makers and device manufacturers to operators and content developers. Here, Computing looks at three areas of the event most relevant to business IT.

Smartphones

The sheer number of device manufacturers launching new smartphones highlighted how the application of mobile technology is shifting toward ever greater and more varied uses. There is still a trade-off between handset size and screen quality, as well as other features such as a physical keyboard, touch-screen, capacity and connectivity.

Much of the focus was on products for consumers, who are using ever greater amounts of media and other rich content as well as communicating through social media tools via their mobile devices.

But while mobile email has become a standard function, business users are looking for devices that can help make communication easier and extend into other business processes or help manage their organisation. Emerging software includes secure access to business files, presentation applications and various collaboration tools.

Application stores

The growth in the power and flexibility of mobile devices means that users are spending a lot of time looking at what software the devices can run, rather than simply which features the handsets provide. As a result, this year’s MWC saw the launch of several web-based application stores, providing a central repository of applications, content and services for any device or user.

Although a few software providers have had online mobile application stores for some time, these have often been limited in the scope of content, as well as in payment and delivery options. Previously, those wanting something that was not pre-installed on the phone typically had to hunt it down online, pay for it via credit card, download it to a PC, and then copy it onto the mobile phone, hoping that it worked.

Apple was the first to really improve this situation with the launch of the AppStore for the iPhone. Tied into iTunes, it gave owners easy access to a wide range of free and paid-for applications and content for their iPhone, downloaded straight to the phone with compatibility guaranteed.

In Apple’s case, the strict procedures the company put in place around application development and the use of a standard handset helped with integration, but the concept was hugely popular. BlackBerry-maker RIM unveiled its BlackBerry Applications Centre last October, and the Google Android Market and Palm Software Store now serve their respective platforms.

During MWC, Nokia unveiled its Ovi Store and Microsoft announced Windows Marketplace, so applications are now available for most popular mobile operating systems.

The completion of the application store ecosystem provides an excellent opportunity for business software developers as it makes it simpler to market new services and content and provides an easy channel directly to customers.

Next-generation mobile

With the increasing use of data-heavy applications on mobile phones, the growing uptake of 3G mobile data services on laptops, and the insatiable demand for
more bandwidth, the next generation of mobile connectivity was a hot topic this year, particularly as two strong contenders, WiMax and LTE have emerged.

Although the two platforms have a lot in common technologically, they are still very different and require significant investment in terms of infrastructure and devices.
WiMax is further down the development path with many trials well underway or recently completed and some commercial rollouts already done. But many experts at MWC considered LTE to be a stronger contender and are willing to rely on existing 3G technologies until LTE matures.

Most networking firms are choosing to remain on the fence for now and are investing in developing both technologies, rather than siding with one.
While the two platforms could co-exist, the consensus seemed to be that WiMax will take off in rural areas and developing countries, where distances are usually long and little or no existing infrastructure exists. LTE is expected to thrive in more developed and telephony-dense regions.