(Getty)
The 2014 Mobile World Congress is a hotly anticipated event. MWC 2014 will be the stage where leading smartphone manufacturers debut their latest and greatest offerings, and tech fans are already salivating. Here’s what you need to know about this event, as well as some rumors about what devices will debut there.
1. Mobile World Congress 2014 Runs For 4 Days
This year’s Mobile World Congress will run from February 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain. Mobile World Congress is a mobile industry trade show. Attendees can see keynote speakers, attend informative panels, and see the wares from over 1,700 exhibitors. Advancements and achievements in the industry are also celebrated at the event’s Global Mobile Awards ceremony.
As you can see from the Bloomberg video above, the 2013 MWC event saw over 70,000 people in attendance.
2. MWC 2014 Will Debut Tons of New Smartphones and Tablets
This year’s Mobile World Congress is one of the most hotly anticipated events to date. A wide array of next-gen smartphones and devices are rumored to be making their first public debut at this event. The most anticipated release is the Samsung’s Galaxy S5 smartphone, which is outlined in the Bloomberg video above.
Other likely product debuts at MWC 2014 include the BlackBerry Jakarta, the Nokia Normandy, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z2, and the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Smartwatch.
The HTC M8 was rumored to debut at the event, but NDTV Gadgets is now reporting that HTC will debut their HTC One successor at an event on March 25 instead.
For anyone looking to buy a new mobile device in 2014, Mobile World Congress is an event to watch.
3. Mark Zuckerberg Is Scheduled to Speak at MWC 2014
Want to see Mark Zuckerberg speak at #MWC14? We're going to be streaming across @mobileworldlive TV – stay tuned for details!
— GSMA (@GSMA) February 18, 2014
This year’s keynote speakers include IBM’s CEO Virginia Rometty and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
Additional speakers will include Jon Matonis, Executive Director & Board Member of the Bitcoin Foundation, as well as Jan Koum, the co-founder & CEO of WhatsApp.
4. Many Cool Hardware Advancements
We're going to be at Mobile World Congress next week talking about Firefox OS! More on what's happening here: http://t.co/pSgP7eBhBD
— Mozilla (@mozilla) February 18, 2014
MWC 2014 won’t just be the proving ground for new devices. It will also allow tech companies to showcase their new hardware advancements. Phone Arena reports that Audyssey is likely to showcase some smartphone audio advancements. NDTV Gadgets expects that Intel will also debut new chips for smartphones and tablets.
5. No Apple or Windows Phone Announcements at MWC 2014
Ruh-roh for Redmond as no new Windows Phone software or hardware expected at Mobile World Congress http://t.co/iMXNk1JZBT via @InaFried
— Lauren Goode (@LaurenGoode) February 18, 2014
No Windows Phone announcements are expected at Mobile World Congress this year, which is somewhat surprising to some tech insiders.
As expected, TechRadar reports that Apple will not be presenting anything at MWC 2014.
Apple fans looking forward to new product announcements will likely have to sit tight until Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June.
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Mobile World Congress 2014: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know