5 smartphone trends at Mobile World Congress
The key characteristics of new mobile devices are bigger, faster, or cheaper — Big smartphone vendors such as High Tech Computer (HTC) and LG Electronics are trying to get their mojo back after some challenging times, and they hope …
Context & Ripple Effects
Mobile World Congress has become the second act of the winter launch season, with the Barcelona show confirmed as the venue where Android devices, tablets, and LTE get their showcase after CES sets the tone. InfoWorld's read on the 2012 edition — that new handsets are defined by being bigger, faster, or cheaper — landed widely, picked up by outlets including TechCrunch, the Guardian, and LAPTOP Magazine.
The two vendors the piece singles out as seeking a comeback arrive with track records worth weighing: LG spent 2010 scrambling to catch rivals, promising ten more Optimus smartphones by year-end alongside a five-million-unit sales target and a tablet push, while HTC enters 2012 after what the report itself calls challenging times. Whether either can convert spec-sheet volume into durable position is the open question the show poses.
First-order effects
- HTC and LG are using MWC 2012 as a relaunch stage, betting that bigger screens, faster chips, and lower prices can arrest their slide against better-positioned Android rivals.
- LG's strategy repeats its 2010 playbook — flooding the market with many Optimus models against a five-million-unit target — which puts immediate pressure on its own margins and carrier relationships.
Second-order effects
- A 'cheaper' tier at the top of the industry's biggest trade show forces every Android vendor to defend both ends of the price ladder at once, straining the premium positioning that carried HTC's earlier growth.
- The LTE emphasis running through the Barcelona lineup pulls silicon and radio suppliers deeper into handset differentiation, echoing LG's earlier bet on Intel's Moorestown platform for the GW990.
Third-order effects
- If bigger-faster-cheaper remains the organizing logic, Android hardware commoditizes further and vendor advantage migrates from specifications to design and brand — the dynamic captured by fashionized computing.
- Trade shows like MWC consolidate their role as the industry's pricing signal, where each year's spec resets cascade through carrier subsidies and component demand for the rest of the cycle.
The trend: Smartphone competition is stratifying into a spec-and-price arms race in which second-tier vendors like HTC and LG fight for relevance against scale leaders, with annual trade-show cycles setting the terms.