Intel and Windows lose ground to Android

On the first full day of the Barcelona Mobile World Congress Windows and Intel were conspicuous by their absence. The two great leaders of the computer age are barely a footnote in the post-PC era. Apple is also not in attendance, but only because its marketing ploy is to go against the mainstream.

The congress began on Sunday with presentations from Sony, Huawei and HTC; on Monday it was the turn of ZTE, Asus and LG. All of the companies unveiled cellphones and tablets with one common feature — Google’s Android operating system, whether it be version 3 or version 4, using Qualcomm and Nvidia processors.

Only Nokia, whose Lumia range uses Windows technology, bucks the current trend. A direct result was the end of its in-house Symbiam software, which is forecast to make a half-hearted recovery within a couple of years but will still be a distant third in the market.

“Welcome to Androidland,” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile for Google, who stated that his company is currently activating 850,000 Android devices a day, with 12 million tablets sold in 2011, double the number of a year earlier.

However, Rubin noted that the next frontier is the home: “If we don’t get Android into people’s houses, this won’t work.”

The fair opened with good visitor numbers and it is expected that some 60,000 people from 130 countries will pass through the Fira de Barcelona before the end of the event on Thursday.

On Monday, Prince Felipe was one of the attendees, accompanied by Industry Minister José Manuel Soria. The prince perused various stands and participated in the presentation of Barcelona as the world capital of mobile technology, an initiative due to be launched next year. The royal heir said the move will constitute “a positive message and image that will be launched from Spain to Europe and the world. [The mobile industry] is one of the keys in helping to exit the crisis and create jobs.”

The regional premier of Catalonia, Artur Mas, also said that the injection of capital from the annual fair and from plans to convert Barcelona into a technological center is a morale boost for everybody. Between 2012 and 2018 it is estimated that some 3.5 billion euros will be generated by hosting the Mobile World Congress.