Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team recently blogged about Three Things You Must See at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona, Spain, between Sunday 24th and Thursday 28th February, 2013.

Here are three more major trends you must see at this year's MWC:

1. LTE-Advanced. Standard LTE (4G) is fast becoming "old hat". LTE-Advanced (4.5G) is where the next boom lies. And it will be here sooner than you think. We recommend visiting the Ericsson or Qualcomm stands, where I believe they will have LTE-Advanced demos for phones, chipsets or networks.

2. Microsoft tablets. It is no secret that Microsoft W8 tablets have struggled to take off so far. Pricing, distribution and design issues are inhibiting their growth. But Microsoft is in it for the long game. The US giant has deep pockets and it will not give up. Are we going to see a new Microsoft tablet from a certain Scandinavian hardware vendor?

3. Mobile Accessories. Smart phones and smart tablets will increasingly be sold with smart accessories. Operators and device makers want to create fresh revenue streams with Bluetooth headphones, Bluetooth watches, protector-cases, and many other types of add-on products. We recommend visiting stands from Plantronics or Samsung.

If you would like to meet with our mobile devices analysts at MWC, for briefings or analysis or media interviews, please send us a message via this link at our website. We look forward to seeing you in sunny Barcelona.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, total worldwide mobile phone industry revenues grew a healthy +15% annually in Q4 2012. Profits and prices also increased due to a greater proportion of 3G and 4G models in the mix. Samsung and Apple dominate the industry and they are tightening their grip on value share, squeezing out almost all other rivals. This published report, available for download by clients, provides quarterly global handset average selling prices, revenues and profit metrics for multiple major handset vendors, from 2007 through 2012. Revenue share and profit share are also supplied. The report is a valuable tool for operators, component makers, automotive players and financial analysts who want to track the financial health of mobile phone makers.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, Sony shipped 9 million mobile phones worldwide in Q4 2012. Its position in the high-growth LTE cellphone market has improved recently and its global 4G share doubled quarter-on-quarter. Sony remains under-penetrated in the huge US and China regions, but in other parts of the world, such as Japan and Sweden, the Japanese vendor has good potential to grow this year due to an improved Xperia portfolio and various marketing activities across Latin America. More analysis can be viewed by clients in this published report.

Mobile World Congress (MWC), in Barcelona, Spain, is arguably the mobile industry's most important trade show of the year. The event takes place between Sunday 24th and Thursday 28th February, 2013. Strategy Analytics is an official research partner for MWC 2013.

Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team, which tracks all mobile devices, will be at MWC. There will, of course, be thousands of companies and products vying for your attention at the show. Here are three major trends we recommend looking out for:

1. The rise of the 4G phablet. Every year the largest practical size of screen for a mobile phone goes up. This year will be no exception. We expect a large chunk of flagship LTE smartphones announced at MWC 2013 to have screens of at least 5 inches in size. LG Electronics should be one stand worth a visit.

2. The rise of Chinese brands. Huawei and ZTE will have a major presence at the show. They will be keen to talk up their 3G and 4G offerings for hardware, software and services. Lenovo, TCL-Alcatel and Coolpad -- who have a smaller international presence than Huawei and ZTE -- will also be worth a look for their mass-market smartphone portfolios.

3. Beyond Android. As Android approaches a peak in the influential US and China markets, we expect more rival smartphone (and tablet) platforms to be prodding us for their attention at MWC this year. Microsoft WP8, BB10, Firefox, Tizen, Ubuntu and Sailfish should all have some interesting stories to tell.

If you would like to meet with our mobile devices analysts at MWC, for briefings or analysis or media interviews, please send us a message via this link at our website. We look forward to seeing you in sunny Barcelona.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, global Bluetooth headset revenue growth will be broadly flat in 2013. Lower pricing and growing competition from car-kits are among some of the challenges facing the industry. One bright spot can be found in the stereo headphones market, which we forecast to grow at an above-average rate of +23% in 2013, as model diversity improves, distribution expands, and prices become more affordable. Key players to watch in stereo Bluetooth include Plantronics, Monster, Nokia, Motorola, Jabra, Jaybird and others.

This published report, available to download by clients,  forecasts worldwide Bluetooth headset wholesale revenues and pricing for mono and stereo, in-box and aftermarket, by price-tier segment, from 2001 to 2017.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, Nokia shipped 86.3 million mobile phones worldwide in Q4 2012. Increasing Microsoft Lumia volumes and tighter cost-controls helped Nokia return to profitability after three straight quarters of financial losses. However, Nokia’s handset shipments fell sharply in China. China now joins the United States on the company’s “must recover” list of countries for 2013. More analysis can be downloaded by clients here.