Apple Isn’t at MWC, But Apple Is Everywhere at MWC
Apple doesn’t have to physically attend a trade show in order to loom over it like a thick, dense fog. CES and Macworld are prime examples, as is the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which runs Feb. 14-17 in Barcelona, Spain. Already at MWC, Apple’s presence is undeniable.
Samsung is a perfect example. At MWC, it unveiled a new tablet: the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Like many manufacturers, Samsung seems to be following Apple’s lead with the 10.1-inch form factor, after having brought the 7-inch Galaxy Tab to market last year (with mixed results). Steve Jobs famously derided tablets smaller than 9.7-inches, citing the poor usability of such devices, and predicting that other manufacturers would abandon them in due time. Since Samsung is opting for the larger form factor for its follow-up to the Galaxy Tab and no 7-inch successor is on display, it looks like Jobs’ comments may either have been prescient or prescriptive. Samsung also unveiled the Galaxy S II, and seems intent on streamlining its smartphone branding under the “Galaxy” moniker, in a strategy that more closely resembles Apple’s standard practice with iPhone naming conventions.
But if you’re looking for Apple at MWC, you probably won’t find a more striking example of its influence than at HP’s booth. HP recently unveiled its TouchPad 10.1-inch tablet device, running webOS, which it acquired when it purchased Palm in 2010. At its unveiling last week, the TouchPad looked like a very promising product, and webOS seemed to work wonderfully on the larger display. But what was more remarkable from the perspective of the Apple observer: the TouchPad’s mail and web browing UI, and its keyboard, look taken almost directly from iOS on the iPad. It’s true that Apple may have done it best, but it was still a shock to see HP lift so liberally from the Cupertino school of interface design. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with HP’s decision to to so closely mimic Apple’s UI successes, the Mac-maker’s influence in undeniable.
Even more amazing is HP’s broader adoption of webOS on its traditional desktop and notebook computers, something the company says is in the pipeline for later this year. Unifying hardware and operating system under one corporate roof is obviously a page torn directly out of Apple’s playbook.
I could go on about every tablet introduced by every major device manufacturer at the conference, but that fact that virtually everyone has one says it all: For better or for worse, Apple now sets the pace and trajectory of the entire mobile tech industry. And by entire, I really mean all of it. Carriers are affected by Apple’s mobile presence at least as much as the hardware and software-makers it competes with in the device market. Recent information suggests Apple could be poised to wrest even more power out of the hands of network operators with a built-in SIM card that can be easily switched from one network to another by any iPhone owner. European operators are banding together to ensure that Apple doesn’t turn them into dumb data pipes with minimal say in setting rates and a much smaller chunk of potential earnings.
So Apple isn’t at Mobile World Congress, but Apple virtually is mobile in terms of its influence on hardware, software and even carrier policy and mobile bandwidth usage. MWC is a response to Apple, and an anticipation of its next moves. Would LG have introduced the 8.9-inch Optimus Pad with a 3D camera had the iPad not come out last year? No, just like its new smartphone with the 3D camera and screen wouldn’t exist except as a response to the iPhone. Arguably, then, no company is more present at MWC 2011 than is Apple.
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That’s an interesting viewpoint, and I can only agree. Apple is one of the top-end trendsetters. Everything they do is followed by others trying to do the same, and better.
Speaking of 3D – I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and it just keeps making more and more sense: Apple’s next iPhone (and iPod touch, and the second or, at the very least, the third iPad) is going to have a 3D FaceTime camera (or two front-facing cameras, whatever). Together with their no-glasses, multi-user screen (http://gigaom.com/2010/12/07/apples-patent-may-unlock-3-d-technology/) this could be an epic feature for the next generation. Also, FaceTime is becoming an open standard, which is going to drive its success. Rear-facing 3D cameras should be included as well, of course. At least for the iPhone.
I totally agree that 3D is making more sense, however because it is such a new technology, I cant see Apple shipping it anytime within the next 12-18 months.
As with all things Apple, the technology has to be perfected and make sense before they will ship it. You only have to look at features that lacked on the iPhone to see that Apple doesn’t mind being late to the table on new technologies and features in order to get it right.
iOS Multitasking, cut-and-paste, front-facing camera, retina display. All arguably very important features, but Apple was massively late to the game on all of them (apart from the Retina, as they practically invented it).
I think 3D DOES have a place in a future iOS ecosystem, I just can’t see it coming anytime soon.
Apple invented the Retina display? I personally think that Apple creating a screen with a higher resolution is less of an invention and more of an improvement…
Perhaps I used the wrong terminology – what I was referring to is Apple was the first company to bring such a high resolution to a mass-market mobile device!
While their are some valid points I would have to disagree with this article for the most part. There were tablets before the iPad and there were smartphones before the iPhone. Yes, both of Apple’s devices put the types of devices more into the mainstream but to say that other companies are only making these types of devices solely due to Apple’s influence is rather extreme. And you say that Samsung is mimicking Apple in its naming convention? Apple was not the first one to use an incremental number for each generation of a product. Also, it is implied that Samsung is changing the size of its tablet just due to Steve Job’s comment. While what Jobs is saying may or may not be true, you are definitely giving way too much credit to Apple and Steve Jobs (as many people tend to do). There were (most likely) many reasons for Samsung to change the size of its tablet, and the comment may not have had any influence. Finally one last thing I have to comment on. Your article gives sole credit to Apple for making the smartphone (at least popular), and then you don’t even recognize the other company’s advances at all? You say that Apple is the trend-setter but as far as I know Apple has not made any significant 3D devices nor was it the first company to patent 3D (for mobile devices specifically).
Good article. I agree with the viewpoint. Their influence is undeniable.
To say that Apple was everywhere at MWC is like saying that Windows was everywhere at MWC…There were windows tablets and windows mobile phones before the iProducts…the iThingys just improved upon them…now there are android phones/tablets that improve upon the iStuff…its the circle of life…before electronics there was paper, mail, and landline phones and they were just improved upon…No one company is really that innovative they just improve upon the ideas that came before them.