In an unlikely turn of events, Mobile World Congress, held each year in Barcelona, is an event that is disproportionately attended by people in my friendship group. The theme of the event is connecting everything – and over the years, it has certainly connected us.
Coursing through the attendee list now feels like a very pedestrian safari as I spot my various pals’ names and job titles amongst the fodder. In between the tales though, there’s the tech – and this year has been a cracker. As day three wraps up, here’s a look at some of the most exciting announcements, products and developments at the show.
First up, Motorola unveiled the world’s most flexible phone yet with a bendable adaptive display you can wrap around your wrist. How’s that for wearable tech?
The next gadget to catch my eye was Lenovo’s Transparent Display ThinkBook. Answering a call to (I suspect) very few, Project Crystal presents a screen you can see totally through. Honourable mention for its premise though, which is to facilitate a more collaborative working experience where users can see other people whilst also looking at the screen. Naturally, AI factors in somewhere, and the device features an outwards-facing camera which provides AI-powered augmented reality functions in the display.
Next, five finalists were announced in the annual 4YFN (Four Years From Now) startup competition which aims to find the world’s best fledgling companies.
These include Bitsensing, a radar technology which detects if passengers are inside a car or not; MICA AI Medical, claiming to spot and diagnose early suspicious findings in mammograms; Ocean Ecostructures biodiversity regeneration program, which says it can regenerate marine life; Qilimanjaro, a full-stack quantum computing company developing hardware and software; and Whispp, the assistive voice tech and calling app which can convert whispered and vocal cord impaired speech.
There was also some exciting news from BSS leader, Qvantel, which announced it has signed an agreement with Etisalat by e& to implement its Qvantel Flex BSS solution to help in the digital transformation of Etisalat BSS. Congratulations Qvantel!
With the sun setting on this year’s show, that’s it from me on the penultimate day of MWC24. It remains to be seen whether 2025 will be the year I report from the ground and make my first appearance.