The annual Mobile World Congress has wrapped up in Barcelona with Samsung’s Galaxy 5 smart phone capturing most of the headlines.
But there were a number of other announcements at the show that pointed to industry trends. Reporters for TechHive, for example, were struck by the number of low-end smart phones released – many of which likely won’t make it to North America where buyers aren’t as price sensitive as they are in emerging markets.
Mobile Syrup.ca was quick to discover that Nokia’s new X line of Android handsets won’t be coming thisaways because these are seen as entry-level smart phones. Nokia soon-to-be new master, Microsoft, will want to have Nokia devices running Windows Phone in the U.S. and Canada.
Mozilla showed seven handsets that run the Firefox OS. Devices powered by the operating system are available in 15 markets so far, with eight more coming: Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.
Twenty-one operators carry Firefox devices – including Wind Mobile’s financial backer VimpelCom. I suspect, though, that Wind Mobile is too small to add another operating system to its lineup. And, like Rogers, Bell and Telus know, there’s not demand for devices with another OS. Most buyers are happy with Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone.
If you’re interested in the emerging wearable devices, Susie Ochs found a number you can check out here.