IDG and GSMA Mobile World Congress are coming together to bring an Apple mobile presence to the yearly parade of mobile devices in Barcelona held every February.  Just like Macworld in San Francisco, this one won’t have an official Apple presence, but Macworld will be on hand to shepherd mobile apps developers and accessory makers who want to showcase their wares on the world stage.

We’ve always wanted an excuse to go to Barcelona in February!  Full press release below:

GSMA Reveals New Developments for Mobile World Congress 2011

Mobile World Congress to Host Macworld Mobile to Address Apple iOS Developer Community

LONDON, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ — The GSMA today announced several new developments for the 2011 GSMA Mobile World Congress, which will be held 14-17 February, 2011 in Barcelona. Building on the success of the inaugural App Planet event held in 2010, the GSMA is expanding the developer-focused programme at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2011 to include new elements such as Macworld Mobile and the Brand App Challenge. The GSMA also announced RIM and Palm as the first Application Developer Conference (ADC) partners for App Planet. Finally, the GSMA announced that the CEOs of America Movil, HTC, Vodafone and WPP have joined the list of industry leaders delivering keynote presentations at Mobile World Congress.

“App Planet proved to be a stunning success in its debut this year at Mobile World Congress, demonstrating the tremendous demand for in-depth content, networking and business development opportunities and information on the cutting-edge technologies and solutions in the mobile application space,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer, GSMA. “The developments we are announcing today, particularly the launch of Macworld Mobile which will target the critical Apple developer community, will serve to make App Planet and Mobile World Congress the epicentre for the app world.”

At Mobile World Congress 2011, the GSMA is partnering with IDG World Expo, organisers of Macworld, the world’s premiere event focused exclusively on the Apple products platform, to produce Macworld Mobile, a mobile developer event for the Apple iPhone and iPad platforms. The Macworld Mobile iOS Developer Conference will provide full-day, in-depth training on this critical platform, with technical sessions, targeting tools and applications specifically designed for mobile application developers and engineers.

“We’re excited to bring Macworld Mobile to Mobile World Congress,” said Mary Dolaher, chief executive officer of IDG World Expo, a leading producer of world-class tradeshows and events. “Macworld is known around the world for helping to drive and stimulate the Apple products community with educational programmes and business development activities. At Mobile World Congress, we will help international iOS developers to strengthen their skills, as well as facilitate connections with other developers and the worldwide audience of mobile decision makers who attend.”

In addition to the key components of last year’s event, including ADCs held by major mobile platform providers, an interactive exhibition and the App Lounge to facilitate networking and business development activities, App Planet will also feature new elements including the Brand App Challenge. The GSMA expects more than 10,000 developers to visit App Planet during the four days of Mobile World Congress.

Brand App Challenge

The GSMA is creating a competition focused on mobile application developers creating “brand apps” for a select number of global consumer brands. Developers will compete by creating customised mobile apps for the participating brand sponsors based on the objectives and guidance provided by the individual brands. The primary goals of the Brand App Challenge are to create networking and business opportunities which benefit the brands, application developers and the broader mobile ecosystem, as well as to tap the creativity and capabilities of the mobile application developer community to address brand and industry challenges.

The competition will begin in October with the finalists being named approximately one month before Mobile World Congress 2011. The Brand App Challenge winners will be announced as part of the Mobile World Congress conference programme and will receive cash awards for their winning efforts.

App Planet ADC Partners

The GSMA announced that Research in Motion (RIM) has again signed on as a key partner for App Planet, and will be focusing company’s entire Mobile World Congress presence in App Planet, located in Hall 7 at the Fira de Barcelona. In addition to a 1,200 square metre exhibition, RIM will be hosting an ADC for 500 BlackBerry developers on Tuesday, 15th February, 2011.

Palm will also be an App Planet ADC partner and will be holding a full-day ADC on Wednesday, 16th February, 2011.

New Keynote Speakers for Mobile World Congress 2011

The GSMA continues to expand the stellar line up of keynote speakers at Mobile World Congress and today announced that CEOs from leading companies including America Movil, HTC, WPP, and Vodafone will be taking the stage in Barcelona. New Mobile World Congress keynote speakers include:

  --  Daniel Hajj, CEO, America Movil and Telcel
  --  Peter Chou, CEO, HTC
  --  Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive, Vodafone
  --  Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive, WPP

  Previously announced speakers include:
  --  Randall Stephenson, Chairman, CEO and President, AT&T
  --  Li Yue, President and CEO, China Mobile
  --  Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google
  --  Paul Jacobs, Chairman and CEO, Qualcomm
  --  Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square
  --  Evan Williams, CEO, Twitter

  GSMA Ministerial Programme

The GSMA also announced that Saudi Telecom is the Platinum Sponsor and that Qualcomm is the Gold Sponsor for the GSMA Ministerial Programme at Mobile World Congress. Now in its sixth year, the GSMA’s Ministerial Programme is a unique invitation-only event gathering ministers, regulators from over 90 countries and CEOs from across the mobile industry for a series of in-depth strategic, policy and regulatory discussions, and bilateral meetings, over three days during Mobile World Congress.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.

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