Mobile World Congress 2012 - Day Three

Latest show news Google: “There will be an Android in every pocket” Operators call for sub-$50 smartphones in emerging markets Operators agree mobile content must pay its way Samsung aims to become top three LTE network vendor Intel gets deeper inside mobile   _____________________________________________ Google: “There will be an Android in every pocket” Google’s Eric Schmidt yesterday called for the technology community to build-out connectivity to the estimated 5 billion of the world’s population who had “never done a Google search” – while at the same time announcing plans to bring the firm’s Chrome and Android units closer together. In his third visit to Congress in as many years, Google’s executive chairman warned that a new digital divide will emerge if the opportunities and freedoms offered by the Internet were not extended to all. He claimed a new technological “middle class” is emerging that will play a decisive role in changing society. READ MORE » _____________________________________________ Operators call for sub-$50 smartphones in emerging markets The CEOs of Bharti Airtel, VimpelCom and Telefónica Latin America have called for the industry to drive down the cost of smartphones to trigger the greater use of mobile data.  Speaking during yesterday’s keynote session, Sunil Mittal, chairman and MD of Bharti Airtel, said that the cost of smartphones must start to fall and come much closer to the price of feature phones seen today in India.  “The difficulty we have moving forward to the next business model is the lack of a cheap smartphone,” said Mittal. “A US$50 device would dramatically alter the landscape.” READ MORE » Operators agree mobile content must pay its way Mobile operator execs said the industry needs to change user perceptions and the way mobile content is paid for after giving too much away in the past. “We have to come to terms with the reality that we may have spoiled consumers by giving things away too fast. And that’s not an easy thing to come back from,” said Telefonica Latin America chairman and CEO Santiago Fernández Valbuena in Tuesday’s keynote. Bharti Airtel chairman and MD Sunil Mittal noted that this practice has led to operators being viewed as the “bad gatekeepers” when services don’t meet expectations. READ MORE » _____________________________________________ Samsung aims to become top three LTE network vendor Samsung has set out its long-term goal for LTE, saying its target is to be one of the top three global infrastructure vendors in this market in 2013. By 2015 the South Korean vendor is targeting a top three spot within the entire mobile infrastructure market, now that it has finally added GSM to its product mix. READ MORE » _____________________________________________ Intel gets deeper inside mobile    Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor company, chose Mobile World Congress to announce a string of new partnerships for the Medfield platform, aimed at the mobile device market. In addition to Orange, which unveiled Europe’s first Intel-powered smartphone on Monday using the Atom Z2460 chip, Otellini announced deals with Visa and ZTE in a press conference held Monday evening. Lava International, a young handset company targeting the fast-growing Indian market, is also to use Intel Atom processors for its first move into smartphones.  READ MORE »