11 February 2008
The Mobile World Congress, which will see several technology firms showcasing their wares, opens today in Barcelona.
Around 50,000 industry delegates are expected to attend the four-day expo - which is anticipated to provide hints of key future mobile phone trends.
Speaking to the Associated Press about the show, John Strand at Copenhagen-based Strand Consulting said: "One thing is [for mobile phone firms] to come out with an announcement - the next is to deliver.
"At the end of the day, the user decides who is the winner and who is the loser. The winner is the one who can give the best experience."
Mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola and Samsung - as well as a range of network providers - will be in attendance this week.
In a nod to the internet's increasing migration to mobile phones as technology develops, delegates from Yahoo, Google and Microsoft are also expected.
On the eve of the conference, however, handsets came in for some sharply critical remarks from manufacturer Modu Mobile - which is launching its new phone in Barcelona.
Vice President of Marketing at the firm Zack Weisfeld said that many phone users felt hamstrung by restrictive contracts and battery-hungry, often superfluous, extra features.
"When you buy a phone you have everything crammed in and you're paying a pretty hefty price for all these functions and features when they're really not best-of-breed and are hard to use." he told industry website VNUnet.com.
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