Mobile World Congress - day 1

Usually, day 1 at the show is slow because people fly in on Monday and there is an incredible line to get in (which forces half of the people to actually get into the show only in the afternoon). This year was no different, although I saw more people than usual (which is a good sign for the industry).

Things I noticed (in order of importance):

1. Funambol won the Mobile Monday Peer Award representing mighty Silicon Valley (take that, Matt :-)) Ok, it is not that important for the industry, but it is very good for us... I had the opportunity to get on stage and thank mom, plus I got a free ticket to Malaysia, which makes it even sweeter.
2. Microsoft bought Danger. This is huge. Microsoft is in a corner and they are trying to get out as quickly as they can. Very aggressive, with Yahoo and Danger. It is all about mobile, baby. That's where the action is these days.
   
3. Android is everywhere. Everybody is talking about it and there is some hardware now attached to the OS. Nothing special, but it is the talk of the show (for example, Samsung said they will have a phone in 2009, which is huge). Thanks to that, Mobile Linux is even more present. The LiMo Foundation is announcing 18 phones based on its platform. Trolltech is talking about Webkit integrated with QT. MOBILE OPEN SOURCE IS EVERYWHERE. Awesome.
   
4. Sony Ericsson announced a Windows Mobile phone. Odd.

More to come tomorrow, stay tuned.