It’s Mobile World Congress week, so expect a lot of mobile-related news coming out. Every year, telcos and their partners/suppliers congregate in Barcelona, Spain to show off current innovations and to share knowledge. Last year, I was fortunate enough to go to MWC for my company. This year, I’m reading the news from the usual sources just like you guys.

For the past year, Apple and RIM have maintained their lead in the smartphone space. No one can deny that the usability of the Apple iPhone interface is far ahead of competitors. Palm’s webOS is a credible competing operating system, but Palm itself is no longer a credible competitor as a company.

Google’s Android is catching up fast, shipping on a reported 60,000 handsets a day. That’s still not enough to catch up with the iPhone, but Android does get better over time.

What about the two remaining heavyweights in the mobile OS space? Both Symbian and Microsoft have been quiet and lackluster in the innovation front over the past couple of years. Well, both organizations announced their response to the iPhone OS in Barcelona.

Symbian has revealed Symbian 3, their new operating system. Here’s a video showing the key features of the new OS :

Highlights of Symbian 3 includes :
* Simplifications across the user for an improved user experience
* Architectural improvements that speed up the user interface and improve the behaviour of network-aware applications
* New features such as a podcast manager and an improved Homescreen

Symbian 3 is due in the second half of this year.

Microsoft has revealed their successor to Windows Mobile, with a name that’s quite a mouthful : Windows Phone 7 Series. Microsoft rewrote the entire operating system from scratch, taking inspiration from their Zune OS. In the new OS, you interact with “uber-applications” organized around a set of hubs: People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video, Marketplace, and Office.

Here’s a video of Windows Phone 7 Series :

Meanwhile, even Blackberry is joining the “refresh” game. One common complaint about the Blackberry devices is the web browser, which is not as good as Mobile Safari or even Opera Mobile. RIM has previewed a new web browser based on Webkit. If it sounds familiar, Webkit is the same base that Mobile Safari and the Symbian web browser is based on.

Here’s a video demo of the new Blackberry web browser :

It’s heartening to see that all parties are stepping up their game. With Symbian, Microsoft and RIM making massive improvements in their operating systems and applications “ecosystems”, the ultimate winners will be us, the consumers.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see how Apple will advance the next iPhone OS.

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Filed under: Mobile News

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