Argus Insights will continue to monitor social Mobile World Congress discussion throughout the show, keep an eye on this blog for more updates. Please contact us if you are interested in information about the performance for a specific brand, product, or market throughout the show.
It is no secret that the wearables market exploded in 2014. Brands like Fitibt and Garmin led the way with fitness trackers as the smartwatch market expanded with products by major manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, and LG. In September, Apple announced the Apple Watch, a device many thought would validate the wearables market. Consumers held their breath for a while, as they waited to learn what Apple had to offer; but they quickly turned to other smartwatch brands over the holidays. Apple dropped their smartwatch announcement into a rapidly developing market that is not simply waiting around for Apple to confirm the legitimacy of wearable technology.
The smartwatch market is quickly becoming saturated. Smartphone manufacturers seem to be in a competition to fit as many features on the consumer’s wrist as possible, but user experience is being sacrificed in the furious pursuit of this goal. While a host of smartphone manufacturers turn out what can be described as mini wrist phones, companies like Pebble and Swatch are focused on including only the features that are essential to a small, wrist worn device. This strategy has proven successful for Pebble, as consumers continue to buy and review their smartwatches even with the looming release of the Apple Watch.
Perhaps the most shocking fact of consumer reaction to Pebble products in the wake of Apple’s wearables play is that their announcement of a new smartwatch, the Pebble Time, saw nearly the same amount of social buzz as the Apple Watch event in March.
There is no doubt that consumers will go crazy for the Apple Watch, but they have already proven interest in focused products. Pebble broke Kickstarter records with the announcement of the Pebble Time, and their stripped down approach to practical usage scenarios has paid off with consumer delight in the past. As time passes, wearable brands are pleasing the customers that are not waiting around to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on an Apple Watch.
Keep an eye on the Argus Insights blog for updates about the Apple Watch launch. Argus Insights will continue to track consumer perception of Apple, Pebble, and other brands in the wearables market. Please contact us for information about custom reporting, consultation, or access to our consumer data.
Argus Insights has been tracking all social conversation about Mobile World Congress, and is ready to reveal some of the most popular brands of the show. Our winners secured the most mindshare in their category, prompting continued engagement and conversation.
And the winner is… Cloud: Ericsson NFV: HP Smartphones: Apple Wearables: Huawei
Cloud
With cloud related announcements ranging from an Industrial Cloud partnership with Intel to a Connected Traffic Cloud to introducing a Volvo cloud platform, Ericsson gave MWC followers a lot to talk about
NFV
HP was driving interest in NFV through their proof of concept with Orange, OpenNFV partnership with Telefonica, and targeted comments from their CEO about improving infrastructure with virtualization.
Smartphones
Though the smartphone giant was not actually present at the show, Apple dominated mindshare and the iPhone 6 was awarded ‘Best Mobile of the Year’ along with the LG G3
Wearables
Huawei got people talking with the early announcement of the round, Android Wear enabled Huawei Watch.
For more details about why and how these brands won mindshare during the show, and an outline of overall trends plus winners and losers in several more categories, request a copy of our Mobile World Congress 2015 Report. Typically a $3,000 value, we are offering this report to our readers for free.
Find Out Which Brands and Products were the Biggest Winners in Barcelona
Argus Insights has been monitoring social conversations at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Before MWC, we hosted a webinar highlighting the brands and products that drove the most mindshare heading into the showcase, for which the slides and presentation are now available to download. Simply fill out the form and we’ll send that your way immediately.
Now that the event has passed, find out which brands, products, and tech trends were sparking interest during MWC. Argus Insights would also like to offer a free Post MWC 2015 Report (usually valued at $3,000) as a gift. The stories that we are finding are just too good that we believe everyone can benefit from the data. The world is talking and we’re listening, take advantage of our comprehensive analysis:
Discover what topics are most important to consumers
Examine market trends and consumer preferences
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If you want to stay up to date with trending social content, sign up for our weekly newsletters in the Smartphone, Wearable, Home Automation, and SDN/NFV markets. Leverage Argus data to gain an upper hand in the marketplace.
Mobile World Congress begins in Barcelona today, and Argus Insights is tracking which brands and products people are interested in at the show. We determined the most popular links shared about smartphones and wearables in social conversation about MWC in the week leading up to the show, to discover major interest in Samsung’s new flagship Galaxy phones and HTC’s Grip Wearable.
Samsung’s announcement of their most recent Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones monopolized mindshare, as people shared the NYT blog reviewing the phones and CNET’s coverage of their MWC reveal. While Samsung is gaining attention for their high-end flagship phones, LG and French manufacturer Archos, both developed interest as they revealed 4 midrange smartphones, surprisingly generating more interest than flagship models from HTC and other major brands. Ikea’s wireless smartphone charging furniture was the only non-handset related news to make major waves in MWC conversation leading to the show.
Popular Shared Links about Smartphones at MWC on Social Media 2/23-3/1
Wearables conversation was driven by device announcements from HTC, Haier, and Acer. HTC unveiled their HTC Grip wearable, a device optimized for use by serious athletes, and Acer vaguely teased a mysterious new wearable device. Haier sparked interest in their line of smartwatches aimed at children and senior citizen, along with smart pet collars.
Popular Shared Links about Wearables at MWC on Social Media 2/23-3/1
As a category, wearables are beginning to encroach on the traditional interest in smartphones around MWC, as major companies are also focusing on the wrist. Mobile World Congress smartphone conversation, however, remains vast, and was heavily focused on Samsung’s announcement of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but people were also interested in the midrange handset lines released by LG and Archos, and Ikea’s innovative wireless charging furniture.
Argus Insights will continue to track Mobile World Congress mindshare, so keep an eye on our blog, and please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. If you are interested in a comprehensive report of who and what won at MWC 2015, we are happy to send you the Argus Insights complete MWC 2015 Report when the show is over.