Day 2: Mobile Web Congress, 2011, Barcelona

[Another hurried post from the show floor]

Most of the day was spent working with investors and entrepreneurs in the mobile ecosystem (separate post coming up) but I did go back to the exhibit halls to capture some key takeaways.

1. Everybody was present: every  major operator, device maker, equipment maker, software vendor that mattered  had a booth/stand or was walking the aisles and hobnobbing at parties after hours.
2. You can be there without being there: Conspicuous by their absence were the major forces in the world of mobile today:  Google and Apple. However, the highlights of the show were guerilla tactics employed by Android (Google’s mobile OS) and a cool party they threw off campus.  They completely overwhelmed the buzz at the event by launching collectible Android pins that became the rage among attendees.   And yes, Eric Schmidt of Google did deliver a keynote.  Apple was not there in body but was everywhere in spirit: in conversations, in keynotes, it was impossible to ignore their influence on the mobile ecosystem.
3. The Chinese are coming, if not already here, from every direction!  In network equipment, Huawei and ZTE  no longer seem to worry about Cisco or Nokia-Siemens Networks or Alcalu whose lunch they have been eating for a while.  They are fighting each other hard (one company’s inebriated executive was asking me for the scoop on how the other was doing in India).    Their showing in devices and terminals was impressive.  The Schenzhen contingent was huge and they showcased everything from their “kill Nokia” handsets to Kindle quality e-book readers to an exact clone of Microsoft’s new Kinect technology which allows XBox users to control their game without Wii like remotes.
4. The Japanese have not given up yet. The Docomo team and their partner device makers showcased some very cool technologies and continue to demonstrate leadership.   One particularly cool application had a 3D phone which provided 3D tactile feedback inches away from the screen.   I could “feel” a T-Rex jump out at my stylus when it was near the phone with a mix of intensity, direction and surprise that makes it very powerful for gaming and multi-media consumption in general.
5. The talk of the show: An obscure Russian IT company called CBoss put up a looping dance show featuring up to eight fashion models.   Nobody at the show knew what CBoss does but the booth attracted huge  crowds and probably fed a lot of traffic into the Microsoft stand across the aisle(watch a video here).

Other pictures to follow-up from my post yesterday on key trends and devices at the show:

• An under-impressive Samsung Galaxy tab in 10.1″ form factor.
• A very impressive Blackberry Playbook, with a decent keypad, and a better browser than they have ever showcased.  A dearth of apps will be its Achille’s heel for a while.