Right about now Mobile World Congress (MWC) is looking about as irrelevant as it possibly could. As I type, Nokia and Microsoft are in London announcing what they’re calling a ‘broad strategic partnership,’ which comes hot on the heels of HP flying anyone who is anyone out to San Francisco to announce its biggest mobile gamble ever. Gone are the days, it would seem, when MWC was the place to make waves and get the industry buzzing.
It’s not the first time Nokia has shunned MWC, but in all seriousness; has the show just become too big? The press list might be enormous but so is the price tag. It seems to me that the show has become a parody of itself and certainly not in a good way. With the big guns making announcements this week, what are we left to look forward to at the actual show? Some demos? Some girls in bikinis doing the can-can?
In my humble opinion, MWC has lost its way and is out of touch with how news is both reported and consumed. Everyone who is anyone might be heading to Barcelona, but it’s a bit like going to your in-laws – do you actually want to go or are you going because you feel you should?
