Personal Impressions of Mobile World Congress 2018
The Mobile World Congress, the main telecommunications exhibition of the year, has just finished in Barcelona. One of our business consultants, Pavel, is here to share his personal impressions.
So, first of all, how was it in general?
It was great. The excitement surrounding MWC 2018 was impressive - as far as I know, there were about 2,300 exhibitors and more than 110,000 visitors.
These days were highly productive - I had a lot of meetings, saw several speeches and got the impression that the future already surrounded those attending.
Was there anything at the exhibition that struck you at first sight?
My clearest recollection is of the “holographic” display technology by Hypervsn.
They use special low-profile hardware, something like a windmill or propeller, that makes real magic happen - once it's switched on, you can see a 3D visual floating in mid-air. It’s not an actual hologram, but it’s really enchanting.
What was your favourite invention there?
It’s really difficult to choose the best….I was impressed by Continental’s Predictive Connectivity Manager. It can determine network availability based on GPS positioning and calculate the reception quality, signal strength and bandwidth. And it can forecast the connectivity along a route based on previous trips.
Mercedes this time focused on artificial intelligence - the new A-Class, equipped with teachable MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience).
This smart system can adapt to your preferences.
For example, if you called your mum yesterday and again this morning, it’ll suggest you do it tomorrow as well. Have I mentioned it can also be connected to your smartphone? Well, indeed, it can. Toyota is implementing the Artificial Intelligence as well.
I also like the new Asu Smartwatch. It has a tiny projector that can throw a range of information at the back of your hand or anything else with a 480x854-pixel resolution.
The device still requires a lot of work, but in my opinion, the general idea is worth attention.
And of course, it was interesting to get acquainted with the new smartphone models by Samsung, Sony, Google, Asus, and others. I’ve already discussed mobile innovations with Tom this week, and he made a good Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ review, so as not to repeat myself.
Bro, finally, was there any time for fun?
You gotta ask? Sure! After the official presentations everybody gathered just to chat and relax. Stand-up meals, happy hours with free beer, a DJ performance and of course a lot of cool people united by a common passion for high technology and innovation.
This is how I feel about MWC 2018 and am already looking forward to next year.
If you want to share your impressions or ideas, we’re always ready to hear from you.
Chief Product Officer
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