BARCELONA, Spain ― The annual Mobile World Congress kicked off here on Monday for a four-day run with about 1,500 handset makers and mobile carriers showcasing their latest smartphones and advanced mobile technologies.

A number of Korean tech firms including LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom and KT are taking part in the mobile trade show as they strive to expand their presence overseas.

The theme of this year’s event is “New mobile horizon,” and it will be staged at the Fira Gran Via from Feb. 25-28. Strategy Analytics, a market research firm and official partner for MWC, predicted that three major trends would arise at the trade show: 4G “phablets,” more Chinese brands and devices moving beyond Google’s Android mobile platform.

LG plans to unveil about 80 different electronics devices including nine smartphones, according to its officials.

With its exhibition space adding up to 1,260 square meters, the Seoul-based smartphone maker said it would display mobile phones belonging to the G Series, F Series, L Series and the Vu Series. 

Among the wireless gadgets, the 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro, which is put together by LG and its affiliates, is a flagship model that is a follow-up to the firm’s Optimus G.

The second L Series will feature a dual-SIM version of the 4.3-inch Optimus L7 II, which enables the user to set up two different numbers on a single handset, such as one for work and one for personal use.

The F Series, unveiled for the first time in Barcelona, is a lineup of budget LTE smartphones that are equipped with True High Definition IPS displays in the 4-inch range, LG officials said.

That’s not the end of it, said LG officials, because it is also focusing on the leadership it has in key smartphone technologies such as a wall that is made up of a list of 100 LTE patents, registered in the U.S. and Europe.

“We target the global smartphone market with our internationally recognized picture quality, LTE patent portfolio and by offering a creative user experience,” said LG’s mobile chief Park Jong-seok.

In the meantime, Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, is coming to the annual show with its Galaxy Note 8.0 and the theme “People-Inspired Innovation.”

The new 8-inch Galaxy Note, belonging in the category of “phablet,” will be equipped with the company’s unique S pen. Running on the Android Jelly Bean mobile operating system, it will be powered by a 1.6 gigahertz quad-core processor, its company officials said.

“The Galaxy Note 8.0 is a gadget that provides a bigger display size, while still being portable,” said Shin Jong-kyun, president of mobile business at Samsung.

The Suwon-based firm is also taking part in an event that introduces the new Tizen mobile platform on Feb. 26. It will also hold a developer’s conference on Feb. 27 to discuss how to strengthen the ecosystem for its wireless devices.

Involving local mobile carriers, SKT will present its latest LTE-Advanced technology such as carrier aggregation at its exhibition hall that is 20 percent bigger than previous years.

The company is also testing the 150 Mega bit per second LTE technology for the first time in the world on a handset at the show. If it is commercialized, a high picture-quality movie of 1.4 gigabytes will be downloadable in 75 seconds, said SKT officials.

The country’s top telecom is also planning to showcase its smart care services and solutions that have converged information communication technologies with the medical sector.

A customized health management program called “Health-On” and a disease control platform named “Smart Care” will be introduced, its officials said.

KT will be presenting 31 different items ranging from All-IP solutions to virtual goods at the show.

It built a team called the “KT Amigos,” which will be in charge of providing assistance in viewing the exhibited products and solutions of the nation’s top fixed-line service provider.

With its chairman Lee Suk-chae scheduled to give a keynote speech on virtual goods and the ICT industry, it will be displaying the firm’s advanced network technology “LTE WARP” at its 1,500 square-meter exhibition space.

The company will also showcase its All-IP service which it believes makes life more convenient by linking devices at home and outside of home through smartphones, smart home phones and other smart gadgets, KT officials said.

The company further plans to live broadcast the exhibition using Ustream during the four days.

By Cho Ji-hyun, Korea Herald correspondent
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)