MOTODEV Blog

[#1]

There's a rhythm to many things in life; an arc of motion from origin to conclusion.  Great trade shows, like Mobile World Congress 2011, have their own tempo, too.  Fifty thousand visitors swarm in at the beginning of the week.  They are led and fed, tutored and nurtured, smiled, riled and beguiled. Then, educated and exhausted, fifty thousand visitors swarm out again, back to the highways and airports to return home.  Over the course of four days, we have touched the latest products, and heard from the greatest leaders.  Read on for final impressions from MoWoCo 2011.

Out with a Storm
The storm clouds that threatened Barcelona all week finally broke, with heavy rain falling in the final hours of the show.  Event staff were ready, with scores of umbrellas to loan to people walking between buildings.  Sometimes rain is seen as an ominous sign; here it was a refreshing reminder of Spring's reawakening.

Pin-demonium

Google gave away thousands of enamel button pins, depicting the android character in dozens of styles.  Google staffers passed the pins out at random times throughout the show.  The pins were a great icebreaker, and made it easy for strangers to talk to one other.

  

The Mayoral Chain of Office of Androidville 

Naturally, people hoarded the pins, traded them, and flaunted them.  A mischevious spirit planted a rumor that one rare model had appeared on EBay with a thousand dollar asking price.  Was it true?  Not in the least!  But the rumor spread like wildfire, leading to even more feverish pin hoarding, trading, and flaunting.

Adroidified-redux

Leaving my demonstration XOOM tablet for a meal break, I returned to find that coworkers had updated my Androidified avatar with a new version of me...

I don't smoke or wear glasses, but the purse is a nice touch, I think.  And the hairpiece.  A dude might say "that rug really tied the Xoom together".

The Bottom Line from MoWoCo 2011
Business leaders have definite views about what we'll see in 2011 and mobile.
    * 2011 is "the year of Near Field Communication" (Orange Executive VP of Mobile Services)
    * 2011 is "the year of convergence - mobile devices become hubs to the network" (CEO Qualcomm)
    * 2011 is "the year of nanotechnologies" (CTO of AT&T)

There is always a lot of walking, and a lot of talking at Mobile World Congress.  There's no substitute for an intense and focused convocation with all interested players.   Everyone agreed that 2011 is "the year of the tablet", and the Motorola XOOM tablet is leading the race.   Great show - and I hope to see you next year!

Cheers,

Peter van der Linden

Android Technology Evangelist