HTC, Asustek to sparkle at Mobile World Congress fair

Source from chinapost

TAIPEI -- Taiwan's HTC Corp. and Asustek Computer Inc. will hold press conferences shortly before the opening of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain to draw the attention of the smart device industry. 

HTC, the world's fourth-largest smartphone maker by volume, has invited media to an event to be held in the evening of Feb. 26 at Cupula Las Arena to “see what's next,” according to an e-mailed statement.
Based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, HTC is expected to launch a quad-core tablet computer, along with two new smartphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android 4.0 software and long-term evolution (LTE) high speed broadband technology, said local media reports.
HTC CEO Peter Chou will deliver a keynote speech at the MWC on Feb. 29 on the topic of “Mobile OS & Applications,” and he will have a panel discussion with Nokia Oyj President and CEO Stephen Elop and Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello.

In a separate invitation, Asustek said it will hold a MWC press conference at noon on Feb. 27. The invitation was attached with a picture of its new Padfone — a hybrid device that is a 4.3-inch smartphone and 10.1-inch tablet.
The launch of the Padfone, powered by a quad-core processor from Nvidia Corp. and the latest Android 4.0 OS, was delayed by Asustek until the first quarter of 2012, which means that it missed the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping holidays.

The MWC, which will be held from Feb. 27 to March 1, will cover topics such as mobile operator strategies in developed and developing markets, cloud computing, connected consumers, mobile money, mobile OS and applications and next-generation networks and technologies, said the GSM Association (GSMA).
Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA comprises nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators and more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organizations.

Steven Hartley, analyst of Telecommunications Company (Telco) Strategy at research firm Ovum, said the progress made by operators in responding to the increase in mobile data traffic will be interesting to note at this year's event.

“Operators' growing realization of their position in the ecosystem means that the watchwords at MWC will be 'partnership' and 'co-operation' as telcos look to minimize the impact that mobile data traffic growth will have on their profitability,” Hartley said in a recent report.
“Although there will be more LTE announcements, we do not expect LTE to be portrayed as the ultimate answer to operators' problems. Instead, it will be one part of the wider solution,” he noted.