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Mobile World Congress Videos

Light Reading's Show Site: Barcelona, Spain  |  February 27 - March 1

Slide Shows  

MWC 2011 Photos: NEC Booth Tour

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BARCELONA -- Mobile World Congress 2011 -- If you had set aside 10 minutes in Barcelona to hear out about the three key products that the leading mobile network systems vendors were showing off this year, what would you have been pitched?

Well, wonder no longer, because we did the rounds, got the details and took the photos. It's all part of the service…

We visited seven companies this year (in alphabetical order): Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. , NEC Corp. (Tokyo: 6701), Nokia Siemens Networks and ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763).

We gave them 10 minutes only -- not a second more -- and they were allowed to talk about the three products they felt were the most important/cutting-edge/game-changing, etc. Basically, any three they wanted. But no more than three, and they had to be individual products -- "end-to-end connectivity solutions" or any such multi-element marketing pitches fell outside the brief.

Our first stop was NEC, which, in its maiden year, had performed admirably at MWC 2010, coming joint top of the class once all the grades were in. (See Booth Photo Tour Report Card and MWC 2010 Photos: NEC Booth Tour.)

To find out how the Japanese vendor performed this year, check out the pictures below, with accompanying text, and find out how we (totally subjectively) graded NEC's overall effort by reading the final picture caption.

Click thumbnails for full-size image.

Figure 1: No Doubt Where We Are -- It's the NEC Stand!
Midway through the first day of MWC and the NEC stand in Hall 8 was buzzing.
Figure 2: The Team With 10 Minutes
With the 10-minutes/three-products rule laid down by the suit on the left, Manuel Gallo (center), EMEA sales and business development executive, and Shinya Kukita, chief manager of international sales and operations, gird their loins for the challenge ahead.
Figure 3: It's All in the Backhaul, Baby!
The first of the three highlighted products was NEC's iPasolink 400, an IP-optimized packet backhaul unit that's an integrated microwave and optical platform designed for lower power consumption and a smaller footprint, says Kukita. The product was announced in January this year and is being targeted at operators migrating to LTE.
Figure 4: Is It a Book?
No, it's the LT-W dual-screen Android-based Cloud Communicator tablet, which NEC is presenting as part of its overall cloud offering. It looks pretty cool, has Wi-Fi as a default and can support 3G and LTE connectivity. This is currently a prototype, with a commercial product due out toward the end of this year, says Kukita. So that's killer product No. 2.
Figure 5: A Point to Make
NEC's Shinya Kukita points out how tablets such as the LT-W are part of the vendor's overall cloud-services-enablement strategy. But time is running out -- what's the third product?
Figure 6: The Host With the Most (Apps)
Rounding out NEC's offering was Aplicateca, the company's business applications brokerage platform that hosts tools such as ERP and CRM for small and medium-sized businesses, and which can be tailored to suit specific vertical markets. Gallo explained that Aplicateca can be hosted either by NEC, the model adopted by Spanish mobile operator Movistar (Telefónica), or hosted by the operator. NEC has just added new mobile applications that enable enterprises to locate and track their workforce devices through the platform.
Figure 7: It's All About the Application
NEC's Gallo talks Light Reading through the business case for the Aplicateca hosted apps platform, which sounds like the kind of product operators could use to finally crack the SMB market.
Figure 8: At the NEC Wheel
NEC's 10 minutes were up, and the team had shown us the three products they believed were key to the company's Mobile World Congress presence. But we hung around with our camera to look for any other photo opportunities, and had to check out this telematics display.
Figure 9: Grip It Like This
If you go really fast, the in-vehicle devices will let the service center know (we reckon). So, how did NEC do in its given 10 minutes? Well, there was an air of disconnect in the messaging, and it appeared to be unclear, as the 10 minutes began, whether the presenting team had a clear grasp of what the opportunity involved. And while the products were, individually, impressive enough, we left the NEC stand without the buzz of the previous year's tour. This year, NEC's stand tour grade is B-.

All photos by Siqui Sánchez/Getty Images. He can't be blamed for the captions, though.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading
Newest Comments First       Display in Chronological Order
Ray Le Maistre
User Ranking
Thursday February 24, 2011 1:48:11 PM
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Three products in 10 minutes is a challenge, but one I think that companies, if properly prepared, can manage quite easily, no matter how large or small their stand might be. It's all about communications. THis year proved yet again that some vendors are hot at this stuff and others, well, have some work to do. Once we have completed the pic tour series (late next week) we will take  a look at all the grades and see whcih companies have what it takes.

And if you are suggesting that I can be influenced by a great cup of coffee, then you are soooooooooo right. THis year at MWC was fantastic for caffeine - in fact, it was the year of LTE (Lovin' The Espresso) - see

MWC 2011: Cool Beans!

http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=384&doc_id=204631 

Phil Harvey
User Ranking
Thursday February 24, 2011 1:17:28 PM
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Three products in 10 minutes is a lot. And I'm only suggesting that you REALLY like coffee.

Ray Le Maistre
User Ranking
Thursday February 24, 2011 12:56:05 PM
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Are you suggesting I am shallow?

 

Oh...

Phil Harvey
User Ranking
Thursday February 24, 2011 11:49:01 AM
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... spent 8 minutes on the tablet pitch then 2 minutes making you a coffee. That would have almost guaranteed a win, right?

The blogs and comments are the opinions only of the writers and do not reflect the views of Light Reading. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Official Mobile World Congress Site: www.mobileworldcongress.com