Big names in mobile industry gather in Barcelona to reveal plans and products

The biggest names in the mobile industry are gathering in Spain this week to reveal their plans and products for the upcoming year.

The annual conference will see everything from new handsets and accessories to new services unveiled over the four days, giving consumers an idea of what products will come to market this year.

Samsung has already kicked off the proceedings by unveiling its successors to the Gear smartwatch, the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo.

Based on Samsung’s Tizen platform rather than Android, both devices show a slimmed down smartwatch, indicating that Samsung has been listening to feedback on its initial foray into the market.

The built-in camera remains on the Gear 2, although it has migrated from the strap to the watch itself.

The devices will have built-in fitness tracker options and let users make calls and monitor heart rates.

Although the watches are built on the open platform that Samsung has been developing with Intel, they will be compatible with more Samsung Android phones than the Galaxy Gear, which was initially limited to the Note 3.

The watches, which have a 1.63-inch screen, are set to go on sale from April.

Wearable technology is expected to be prominent at the exhibition yet again this year ahead of persistent rumours that Apple is planning its own smartwatch. Huawei is also rumoured to be planning devices in this area, and last month's International CES exhibition saw Sony and LG unveil their fitness tracker devices.

Smartphone market
Samsung is also expected to unveil the Galaxy S5 later today as it tries to stimulate interest in an increasingly saturated high-end smartphone market.

Mobile maker Nokia is widely expected to unveil its first Android phone at the Barcelona event today, with the device predicted to be aiming for a more low-cost market.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced it plans to update its Windows Phone system to not only provide better corporate support but also allow it to take advantage of markets where cheaper devices are more important.

Mobile World Congress kicks off today in Barcelona, and will run until February 27th.