The world’s largest mobile phone conference, the Mobile World Congress (MWC), kicks off officially in Barcelona on Monday, with the industry’s biggest names heading to the Catalan region of Spain to unveil their new gadgets and discuss the industry’s most pressing issues.
But it is the resurrection of a 16-year-old classic ahead of the show’s official opening that has mobile enthusiasts most excited.
The Nokia 3310, the iconic feature phone launched by the Finnish mobile pioneer in late-2000, is set for a comeback at a launch on Sunday afternoon, in an event organised by the brand’s new owner HMD Global.
Early reports suggest that HMD has replaced the 3310’s monochrome display with a colour screen and the new version of the handset will be thinner and lighter than the original.
HMD Global, a Finnish phone manufacturer, announced a deal in May to acquire rights from former owner Microsoft to produce mobile phones under the Nokia brand for 10 years. The deal was completed in December.
Chinese firm TCL is unveiling a new device, the KeyOne, under the BlackBerry brand at an event late Saturday night.
The KeyOne, which sports a 4.5-inch screen and a physical keyboard, is the final BlackBerry smartphone to be designed by the company, and will be manufactured, sold and marketed by TCL.
LG, Samsung, Huawei and Motorola have also scheduled device launches for Sunday, with Sony set to follow suit Monday.
Samsung has traditionally dominated headlines at MWC, with the unveiling of the latest in its flagship Galaxy S range.
However, this year the Korean company has confirmed it will not unveil the Galaxy S8 at Barcelona, but a launch event may take place in late March instead.
The company is likely to launch its Galaxy Tab S3 tablet, positioned in the same space as Apple’s iPad Pro.
Aisha bin Bishr, the director general of Smart Dubai, is one of the keynote speakers during MWC’s conference sessions.
Ms Bishr will share insights from the Smart Dubai programme as part of a panel discussion titled The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will discuss the impact of technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things on societies of the future.
Other keynote speakers include Reed Hastings, the Netflix founder and its chief executive, and Shane Smith, the co-founder of Vice News.
About 100,000 delegates are expected to pass through the doors of the conferences and exhibitions, which run until Thursday.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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