What is this MWC thing, and why should I care?
If you read any kind of tech blog or publication around this time of year, you’ll be bombarded with non-stop chatter about MWC 2014, or Mobile World Congress to give it the full title. But what is MWC, and why is it so bloody important?
Here’s our quick MWC 2014 ‘what you need to know’ guide, and don’t forget to check out our ultimate MWC 2014 prediction piece too, where we collect all of the biggest news and rumours…
MWC 2014: So, what is it?
MWC is an annual mobile expo that takes over Barcelona every February, and it’s one of the biggest global events in the smartphone and tablet calendar, with huge launches from the likes of Samsung, Sony and Nokia.
Fact fiends prepare your pencils: MWC is organised by GSMA, an association of mobile operators, and the very first MWC took place way back in 1987. These days it’s attended by almost 70,000 people each year, which helps to explain why the lunch queues suck, and why the place stinks pretty bad come Thursday.
MWC 2014: And when is it?
This year, tech journos will be flying into Barcelona on Sunday February 23, kitted out with laptops, cameras and as many caffeine tablets as they can legally fit inside their backpacks. The expo goes on almost all week, wrapping up Thursday February 27.
MWC 2014: But when’s the good stuff happening?
So far there’s only a single phone launch scheduled for Sunday, with Huawei set to unveil its new Ascend P7 handset at 3pm local time (2pm UK time). Monday February 24 will be the big one, with launches from Nokia and Sony early morning, and Samsung’s huge Unpacked event in the evening (7pm UK time). Mr Zuckerberg of Facebook fame is also scheduled to give a talk at 5pm UK time.
Your great mates here at Recombu Mobile will be sweating buckets all week on the show floor, bringing you hands-on reviews of the coolest new phones, tablets and wearable tech, and whatever else we think is awesome. Check out our MWC 2014 rumours round-up for the full skinny.
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