What's big at Mobile World Congress 2013
New hardware, gadgets, and business partnerships are creating buzz at Mobile World Congress, and it's only day one.
A man holds the new Nokia Lumia 720 at the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile phone trade show, in Barcelona, Spain on Monday. Nokia unveiled a cheaper model in its Lumia smart-phone range, powered by Microsoft's Windows phone software, as it tries to regain dominance in emerging markets like China.
Manu Fernandez
The first day of the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona has brought several developments that seek to transform the industry, from the prices to the shopping experience on the devices. Here’s what took the spotlight on the first day:
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New Lumia Phones
Nokia unveiled two new Windows smart phones, the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 720, IBN Live reports. The smart phones, which come in five colors, have a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 512 RAM.
The Lumia 520 has a 4-inch screen and a 5-megapixel camera. Estimated at 139 euros ($184), it is the lowest-priced Windows 8 phone. The Lumia 720 has a 4.3-inch display and a 3.7-megapixel camera. The higher-end phone is estimated to start at 249 euros ($330).
For the first quarter, both models will go on sale in Hong Kong and Vietnam, with the 720 also available in Singapore. Nokia will release the phones in other regions in the second quarter, including other parts of Asia (particularly China and India), Europe, Latin America and Africa in the second quarter.
CNET describes the Lumia 720 as a 920 “light” with its simpler, but slightly higher-end level of hardware.
Nokia price strategy
Speaking of Nokia, it seems that the company may be working to become competitive in the Chinese market. CNET predicts that this may be Nokia’s direction since it has struggled to jump into Lumia Windows Phone devices and maintain its hold on the traditional cellphone market. China’s new title as the world’s largest smart-phone market (which it took from the US recently) makes it even more appealing to Nokia.
The Chinese market is somewhat familiar with the Lumia line. Nokia released the Lumia 920T there as an alternative to the 920 that’s tailored to China Mobile. The company, which has the largest customer base, has also signed on to sell the new Lumia models.
Phone meets Firefox
ZTE introduced the Alcatel One Touch Fire, the first device with a Firefox OS. The phone is an orange, 3.5-inch device with only a single-core 1 GHz processor and a 3.2 megapixel camera.
GSM Arena noted that when Mozilla announced that it had deals with 18 carriers, a partnership with Qualcomm to use their Snapdragon chipsets, and four manufacturers.
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