By Chris Lee

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the biggest annual event anywhere in the world for the mobile industry, attracting the biggest names in technology and its associated media. Prominent attendees this year included television presenter Stephen Fry , Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, whose keynote speech is available here.

New Media Knowledge could not be there in person this year, unfortunately, but we spoke to some of our media colleagues that were to see what they thought of the show.

Talk to the hand

According to Gordon Kelly, news editor of gadget site Trusted Reviews, this year’s MWC was less about handsets and more about user experience.

“What really stood out this year for me is Microsoft’s reinvention of Windows Mobile, Android [Google’s mobile operating system], Samsung’s LTE notebook, multi-touch technologies and femtocell,” he told NMK.

All about the apps

David Ross-Tomlin, mobile campaign manager for PR firm Diffusion, agreed with Kelly that handsets were not the main draw this year, with infrastructure and applications taking centre stage and taking the show’s organisers, the GSMA, “back to its roots”.

Ross-Tomlin added that despite the show being quieter than previous years, the quality on display was high and a lot of business was being done.

“Applications are of course a big talking point, with App Planet in particular demonstrating the GSMA’s commitment to this area,” he said. “What’s been great about App Planet is that there are actually a number of independent developers in attendance, and that they are being treated with the same regard as the operators and handset manufacturers.”

Not all attendees were turned on by the prevalence of apps on display. Xavier Adam, managing director of marketing consultants, AMC Network, cited the change of names from “Content Hall” to “App Hall” as evidence of what he described as “app hype”.

“Anywhere there is a (perceived) buck to be made you will find plenty of takers,” Adam said. “It seems the app hype is in full force at MWC 2010. The fact still many people don't download, or use the apps they do download, together with there being more apps than takers, does not seem to deter the money men and their merry band of entrepreneurs.”

Adam believes that while there is a place for apps, they should not be seen as the be all and end all of the future of wireless. “Get roaming charges down, data packages sorted and customer service up, and the rest will follow,” he advised service providers.

Onwards and upwards

Judging by its following and feedback on Twitter, attendees were overwhelmingly positive about MWC 2010.

“Overall it’s been a very positive, optimistic and forward looking show,” Ross-Tomlin told NMK. “At the start of a new decade, there is real hope for the continued growth of mobile throughout the industry, working towards developing the best mobile experiences possible for the people who actually use the end products.”