3. 4G LTE, moving forward
Now that the aforementioned iPhone 5 has 4G LTE connectivity (Apple's first iPhone with the 4G force) and U.S. carriers are turning more and more of the country into an LTE zone, we want to know where carriers and manufacturers are taking the coverage moving forward.
During Pepcom's MobileFocus press event, we want to get our hands on what's next in the mobile and wireless space. With phones like the LG Optimus G, Motorola Droid Razr HD, and even the ZTE Anthem 4G by MetroPCS sporting quad-G capabilities, it's time to see where the industry is ready and willing to take it.
With a lot of catch-up left to do with Apple, how companies plan to compete connectivity-wise with the unofficial leader in mobile communications will be a huge part of this conference.
4. Samsung Galaxy S3
iPhone 5 or no iPhone 5, one of the 20 best phones on the market is still the Samsung Galaxy S3. While there are rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S4 on the horizon (though quickly denied by Samsung), and there seems to be no end to the legal troubles between Apple and Samsung, the S3 is still the flagship device. We'd like to see Samsung demonstrate how the S3 can be a true competitor to the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 has a letter of feathers in its cap: it's new, it's tall, it's thin and it's made by Apple. The S3, however, has NFC capabilities, a quad-core processor and a maps app that isn't struggling in its infancy. This is the showdown we want to see, and we're hoping Samsung will launch its a plan of attack at Mobile Con 2012 (one that will take place outside of a courtroom, preferably).
5 . PC relevancy
In a world where the portability and speed of tablets and smartphones have users turning to those devices before booting up a desktop or even opening a laptop, what is the future of dedicated computing devices? Will they morph into combination tablet/laptop machines like the Asus Vivo Tab or the HP ENVY x2? And what about desktops? Will they be for hardcore users only until they go the way of the dodo?
Are these the kind of questions IBM will address with its keynote at MobileCon 2012? Or will it confirm a headlong dive into the mobile space? In August we saw the IT giant sniffing around BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion with a possible acquisition in the air. IBM has been steadily expanding its cloud-based services like IBM SmartCloud for years now.
As a true force in the enterprise space, we're excited to see IBM's thoughts on the future of mobile and business, and how it plans to move forward and "build a smarter world," as the company likes to say.
6. The future of Blackberry
Blackberry was one of the companies that ushered in the smartphone revolution, introducing Internet-capable phones with full keyboards and color displays. Best of all, they could still make a decent call connection, something other phones struggled with for a long time.
However, just as quickly as they helped make sweeping changes to mobile devices, the company's market share began to shrink due to massive competition, and a network outage that damaged its reputation for reliability.
Blackberry needs a comeback, and it does seem possible. The BlackBerry Curve 9350 and BlackBerry Curve 9320 were both great smartphones, and we've seen good things from the upcoming BlackBerry 10.
While it seems to be courting consumers with its new tiled interface, business-level users have always been BlackBerry's bread and butter.
Robin Bienfait from Research in Motion (BlackBerry's parent company) will give a keynote speech at MobileCon 2012. This could be the perfect opportunity to win back some IT users.
