Who owns the mobile experience? The growing disconnect between advertisers, mobile operators and consumers

Written by Matt Berriman, Co- Founder at Unlockd

There’s no denying it. The smartphone has become a centrepiece in our lives. It’s a screen you are compelled to look at when you wake up and probably one of the last things you see before placing your head on the pillow each night. Chances are, you’re probably even reading this on a mobile device.

Today, there are more than two billion smartphones globally with the number expected to pass the six billion mark by 2020.

Popular electronics like VR headsets, fitness bands, and smart watches are all accessories to the smartphone. Think about it – an entire ecosystem of hardware and software products are dependent on this one central device.

Our top 3 takeouts from MWC 2016

Chris Minas, Co- Founder of Nimbletank

The biggest mobile event Mobile World Congress has just wrapped up and with it a flurry of new devices and trends have come out of it. In this article we want to take you through our top 3 takeouts that we found while walking the 8 gigantic halls of the Fira Barcelona Gran Via.

 

1. Virtual reality (VR)

First off this was the first thing that everyone would notice walking around the halls, was the sheer number of stands that were taking advantage of VR was incredible. This included tiny stands that had nothing to do with VR, having ways of experiencing their products that were hooked up to Oculus Rifts and Samsung Gear VR’s. However overwhelming this was, the real piece of news here is that not only is VR becoming more mainstream with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive coming this year, but also ways of capturing content for VR has become incredibly easy now. Sony, Samsung, LG and many more had tiny cameras that would take 360 video and images that you can then watch back on VR headsets. This will be a big turning point for VR because it means we as users can start to create our own content for VR.

 

2. Mobile has matured

There were also less gimmicky products coming from manufactures. Most of the devices at the event seemed to be useful and seemed to fit into potential users lives without much imagination. We also saw a large amount of enterprise experiences, again focused on delivering tangible results and not as “mobile” the buzzword of today. Mobile has also become incredibly powerful; LG’s G5 is another example of a company that is utilising the increasing power of mobile processors of the phone to run the experience on a pair of VR glasses. However, the biggest step forward in the maturation of mobile was at Microsoft’s stand, where they showed off Continuum which was the idea you could soon replace your laptop with a screen that is powered by your phone. You would take your Windows 10 phone and just plug it into a large monitor, and like magic you have a version of windows 10 which you could then use a keyboard and mouse with. Seeing it working for the first time live really showed us that mobile has come a long way since the days of the Nokia 3210 and snake, soon enough your mobile device will be the only device you will need.

3. Mobile is connected and compentalising

By connected we don’t just mean to the web, but there is a trend for putting more sensors into our devices, so that they are more connected to the world around them. For example Intel were showing off their Real sense and Google Tango infused mobile phone, that basically knew where it was in 3D space and was even able to allow for the recognition of a user’s hands. Plus, companies like Google and LG are looking at devices that can be updated and changed with the addition of different modules. Admittedly Google’s version Project Ara is still a prototype but LG announced a new flagship device the G5 which is the successor to the G4 and has a few interesting tricks up its sleeve. The bottom of the device can be removed and replaced with modules that deliver better speakers or camera modules with added battery. The focus of bettering people’s experiences and not creating gimmicks, is an important step in mobile maturity.

Overall this year was extremely exciting and as per usual some of the most interesting things were seen at the much smaller stands, like a Graphene area which was literally the furthest stand at the event, showing off the future of electronics and battery technology giving us a glimpse into the fantastically exciting development of the mobile space.

Go Native: The rise of mobile video

Stephen Upstone, CEO & Founder of LoopMe

Native advertising is one of those buzz words that just isn’t going away. It first featured on Google Trends in January 2012 and has been picking up steam ever since. Most digital conferences will discuss native in one form or another, but something which hasn’t quite registered on the industry’s radar is native video.