It's A Big, Wide, Wireless WorldIt's A Big, Wide, Wireless World

Day Three:

PARTY ON

There are many things that make 3GSM my favorite wireless industry trade show. There's the charming Mediterranean location: This year it's Barcelona; in years past, it was on the French Riviera in Cannes. There's the glitz of the big vendor announcements, plush booths, and bountiful swag. And there's a more relaxed attitude here than at similar shows in the United States. But the best thing about 3GSM is the endless stream of parties.

Companies spare no expense on these affairs. There are DJs, live bands, dancing, expensive food (the catered tapas here in Barcelona are second to none), cocktails, wine, champagne, models--you get the idea. So far, I've been to parties thrown by Sony Ericsson (Sunday), Telenor (Monday), Symbian (also Monday), and TwistBox (last night).

However, just about everyone I speak with says there are fewer parties this year than in recent years. Most attribute it to a drop-off in the mobile content sector. Mobile content companies have thrown a lot of money at the wireless industry in the last few years, and everyone here seems a little anxious that the money may be running out. Market bubble? We'll have to wait and see.

Another hot topic among the partygoers is mobile banking. It seems that after eight years of modest experiments, mobile payments and mobile banking may finally take off. The GSMA--the global agency behind GSM wireless technology--has lined up a group of 14 carrier partners, led by South Korea's KTF, to push global mobile banking. More important, the GSMA has MasterCard and Visa on board.

In the past, antagonism between the credit card companies and the carriers stalled the development of mobile banking technology. This time, it looks like they're ready to make it work.

MUSIC TO APPLE'S EARS

At his keynote this morning, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. warns the industry that if it can't improve mobile music services, it could lose the market to Apple. Bronfman says that while there are millions of music phones on the global market, only 8.8% of users of these handsets have ever downloaded a music track over the air. Why? Because carrier mobile music services are too expensive and too hard to use. "Apple has raised the bar in terms of what users expect," Bronfman says.

TEST YOUR UIQ

UIQ Technology is the Swedish company that makes the UIQ Symbian interface. Sony Ericsson acquired UIQ earlier this month and has taken on Nokia's Series 60, the dominant platform and interface for Symbian-based smartphones.

At an early afternoon party, UIQ shows off the interface on a number of devices, including the sleek Motorizr Z8. Sony Ericsson's Flint says he's interested in licensing UIQ to other handset makers in order to make it the interface standard for Symbian smartphones.

WHO'S AFRAID OF MOBILE VOIP?

Two years ago, if you'd asked carriers about mobile VoIP--the use of voice-over-IP services on cell phones--they would have ignored your question. At 3GSM, the carriers are finally talking about mobile VoIP, but they're still in denial about its potential. T-Mobile International CEO Hamid Akhavan says VoIP won't be as prevalent on mobile devices as it is on the desktop. There are too many problems with it, he warns, to make it a viable alternative to GSM telephony.

Tell that to Fring. Earlier this month, the company launched a client that works seamlessly with popular peer-to-peer VoIP services Skype and Google Talk, and Fring has been demoing its service here at 3GSM. I had a chance to take a peek at it and was impressed. T-Mobile has more to worry about than it's letting on.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Day three is winding down. As attendees run off to the last round of parties, let's tote up the winners and losers.

Smartphones and business users were the clear winners at this show. Thanks to dropping prices and growing consumer demand, smartphones are finally going mainstream. Now that revenue from mobile content has flattened and the BlackBerry is mass market, the wireless industry is courting business professionals again.

Emerging markets are another clear winner. As wireless markets in Europe and North America near saturation, the industry is looking to places like Brazil, China, India, Russia, and much of Africa for growth in the next few years. Customers in these markets will soon gain access to cell phones and mobile data services. For many of these users, cell phones will be their gateway to the Web--pretty amazing, when you think about it.

The biggest loser is mobile content, such as games and ring tones. Another loser is mobile TV. Nokia still appeared to believe in it, with its new N77 handset and its partnership with YouTube, but others, such as Sony Ericsson, went out of their way to skirt the hype.

It's time to clear out of this press room, go back to my hotel and pack, and get ready to return to snowy New York. OK, I might drop by the BlackBerry party on the way out.