With a few small exceptions, MWC this year was all about Android. It's not so much that Android stole the show -- more like it was given the show. Other platforms were there, of course, but their presence didn't move the needle much compared to ubiquity of Google's mobile OS. How much of an edge did this conference give Android over its rival platforms?In the past year, Android has managed to replace iOS as the most popular smartphone platform for new purchases, and it even toppled Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) Symbian OS on a global scale, according to at least one report. So it's not surprising that at the Mobile World Congress last week, Android took center stage. What is perhaps surprising, though, is it seemed to actually take almost the entire stage.
The Mobile World Congress is an annual trade show in Europe, and it dates back all the way to 1987. However, since in its earlier years most consumers only wanted a cell phone that could, well, make calls, until recently MWC had remained a rather niche and specialized event.
Android Takes Over the MWC
In more recent years, though, the show has come to be a barometer of the smartphone industry, and it continues to pick up steam. This year, it was the launch pad for a whole bunch of hotly anticipated devices. The Samsung Galaxy S II made its debut, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson's (Nasdaq: ERICY) Xperia Play was on mass display for the first time, and LG's G-Slate made quite a big splash, to name just a few. A lot of powerful mobile companies were in attendance this year, but there's something curious about all these devices ... they're seemingly all powered by Android.
Sure, other platforms were represented, but the above devices, as well as the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, not to mention Android developers themselves, were the ones grabbing the biggest headlines.
Apple: There but Not There
It almost seems like a slap in the face, then, that Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 4 was selected to win the show's Best Mobile Device honor. Cupertino probably could have stolen a lot of attention away from Android at the event, except for the fact that Apple doesn't seem to like to attend shows hosted by other people. As such, it had no official presence at the Mobile World Congress whatsoever.
Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) Playbook tablet was on display. However, as a known product that's already been seen up-close at gatherings like CES, it was certainly hard to compete with offerings like LG's G-Slate or Samsung's new Galaxy Tab -- brand new devices that with which the public hasn't had much hands-on time.
And meanwhile, by the time MWC rolled around, HP's (NYSE: HPQ) webOS tablet, the Touchpad, already seemed like old news. It got swept under the rug almost entirely.
Android No Longer Needs to Prove Itself
"Android is poised to absolutely dominate the entire smartphone market. It has reached the point of penetration where consumers may not even really want or be aware that they are buying an Android phone," said Ben Cull, entrepreneur and founder of development company TBODA.
"It has become the de facto mobile operating system. Buying an Android phone these days is like going to the supermarket for detergent and just blindly buying a bottle of Tide," he told LinuxInsider.
Android no longer needs to prove itself, Yankee Group analyst Daniel Taylor told Linux Insider. "At this point, everyone knows what Android is and knows that it does a good job. MWC this year is more about the products. The spotlight should be on LG, Motorola, and Samsung. Advancements in Android aren't huge, but advancements in hardware are."
Windows Phone 7 May Pose a Challenge, Eventually
However, Cull actually has more of a penchant for Windows Phone 7, and he thinks it has the potential to blossom into something big.
"It's still a new entity, and everyone in the mobile space is waiting for it to mature a bit, but [WP7] could definitely start giving Android a run for its money if Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) continues its strong commitment," he said.
If Microsoft can get its act together, maybe next year's MWC will be a bit more interesting on a software standpoint, but for now, it's really all about Android.
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