MacBlogz - One Stop Apple News » mobile market

How Else Do You Think We’ll Get to Star Trek?

Aviv — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:06:46 +0000

Forget everything you’ve heard about the iPad. Put aside all the caveats and seemingly major flaws that people are floating around, and think about what Apple’s really doing here. If you don’t quite get it, don’t worry, it’ll eventually click.

A tablet computer, a beefed up iPhone, a touch screen slate, the iPad, whatever you call it, this device’s magnitude won’t be entirely realized for a few years to come. The ambition behind this single device is huge. What Apple’s trying to do here is momentous, it’s unmatched and whether you like it or not, it’s going to change the way you compute.

When you watch movies like Star Trek or recent phenomenons like Avatar, you see conceptually magnificent user interfaces. You see rich and robust screens and characters interacting with them in ways we could only dream of. With the swipe of a finger, the flick of a wrist, or some motion in your arms, you have the power of a fully embraced suite of technologies. This is conceptual immersive computing that we have never experienced as a species, let alone something we can begin to understand, comprehend or imagine being worked into our daily lives.

It’s no secret that Steve Jobs loves Star Trek. When asked about the future of computer input on stage at the All Things Digital conference in 2007, Jobs responded with, “Ya know, just give me Star Trek.” He was talking about the way the characters interacted so fluidly with the technology around them. The way that technology interfaces and responds elegantly with the people controlling it. Computers are depicted as natural elements, organic structures baked into the core of any room or ship. Quite the opposite from the desk, mouse, keyboard and monitor combinations we currently use.

If you don’t think Apple is trying to make Star Trek or Avatar style computing a reality, then you haven’t fully grasped what the iPad brings with it.

Let’s get one thing straight. As it currently stands, only one company has the potential to invent, deliver and actually execute these high-level, infinitely complex scenarios. No other company on earth has multi-touch technology like Apple’s, let alone the ability to combine that software with highly optimized hardware and now custom silicon. This is the trifecta of the future.

The iPad is Apple’s first attempt at bringing this technology outside of a handheld device and into general computing. We’re talking about extremely powerful gestures, motions and finger swipes to accomplish tasks that had previously only been done through the combination of a keyboard and a mouse.

Just like the old saying goes, “You can’t build Rome in a day.” For Apple, the iPad is the first brick in this Star Trek-like Colosseum of technology. Imagine the iPhone as the gravel, and now you’re beginning to grasp how monumental this device is. We still have a very long way to go, but this is the foundation. It can’t be rushed, it can’t be hurried and you can bet Apple is going to make billions of dollars while increasing the company’s bottom line along the way.

A completely immersive computing experience. As conceptually realized by James Cameron in the film Avatar.

It’s impossible to go from where we are today, to a fully immersive world of touch-screen technology. The general public would be lost, and the most technically savvy computer users would feel alienated by such a rapid change in computing. It would never happen, it can’t happen, and if it did, it would be by one of Apple’s competitors as a rush to beat the competition. However, Apple knows that this is extremely valuable. It’s the holy grail of computing as far as we can see it today. This absolutely cannot turn into Windows Mobile. For all the proprietary downfalls that the company brings with it, the way they get behind open standards (banning flash from nearly everything they do), should come as a relief to the general public. For the people that actual develop applications and pieces of software for our computing platforms, open standards are a way of life. We live and die by them. If Apple wasn’t the largest player in the paradigm shift to touch computing, I’d feel a bit nervous, anxious and kind of unsettled to not know what’s coming. With Apple, we know we’re in good hands. They value healthy competition, and it’ll be done right.

To the nay-sayers, give it some time. Just pretend this is the first iPhone and keep whining about copy-and-paste.

Ditching the iPhone? I’ll Bet WinMo Has What You Want

Aviv — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:15:42 +0000

As of late, we have three prominent names publicly ditching the iPhone. Om Malik, from GigaOm, Michael Arrington from TechCrunch, and one person who’s inspired me for ages, macintosh developer Steven Frank from Panic, inc. here in Portland, Oregon. While I have no qualms with their decisions to ditch the iPhone, I’m having a tough time understanding what the hell they’re talking about.

The iPhone is a big deal… Period. It radically changed the entire mobile industry. Since its launch in 2007, Apple has clobbered sales records and the iPhone revenue bomb continues to explode. This single piece of technology and the services around it, including the thriving developer community, close the gap even further between human nature and technology. The vision that good technology should be indistinguishable from magic has clearly shown through with the iPhone. In fact, it’s so intuitive, so easy to use, and so powerful, that when people consider leaving the device due to whatever reason(s), they second guess themselves so much, that they ultimately settle on announcing a personal ban against Apple and AT&T. And you know as they hit that “Publish” button, they regretted it.

Why not just jailbreak the device? Does the need for one app make you ignore the years of work that have gone into this thing? Without the iPhone, you wouldn’t even have a second, comparable device to switch over to! So perhaps you’re bored with it? Perhaps the arrangement of icons on the homescreen is driving you nuts? The dropped calls, poor reception, constant ludicrous prices… Perhaps you hate AT&T with a passion! I do too! And still, NONE of these reasons are good enough to even consider ditching the iPhone.

Some of you may swear this off as just another Apple freak gushing about his toy… So if that’s the way you take this, just stop reading. But for those that can actually sit down and relate with what Apple has done time and time again, and what they’ve publicly said (time and time again), you’ll see that these public denouncements of the iPhone, and these “I’ll pay $175 to leave AT&T” are just people with personal gripes, a large audience, and a little too much time on their hands.

When Apple released the iPhone they were all singing a different tune. They were willingly hopping on the Apple train, ditching Verizon, t-mobile and everything in between to snatch up iPhones. Even though everyone knew how incredibly shitty ~~Cingular’s~~ AT&T’s service was before the iPhone was even released. Through a little bit of common sense, anyone would know that the network would only degrade as millions of content heavy devices were sold to everyone you know. And now with the App Store, Apple has said time and time again that it’s their store and they’ll do what they want with it.

The problem with these public outcries, is that maybe the tiniest sliver of people who Apple actually gives a shit about reads these articles. You think the millions of people around the world buying iPhones know who Michael Arrington is? Or Om Malik? I don’t think so. Apple doesn’t care who does and doesn’t use an iPhone. All they care about is the masses seeing Alec Baldwin hold it up in 30Rock. You think Google Voice is such a big deal that you would leave the iPhone for it? I personally know people who use Google Voice, and it’s not a walk in the park. In a nutshell, if you love Linux and searching for the proper drivers for hours, then you’ll love Google Voice! And the explanation Michael Arrington has outlined for porting your phone number, is akin to calling up an outsourced ISP and setting up managed hosting… A fucking nightmare.

There have been no good reasons as of yet to ditch the iPhone… Perhaps if you were on a call with the president, talking about Iran’s nuclear initiatives and the call dropped, that would make sense. But none of these people’s calls are so important that they can’t communicate via SMS. They’re all on twitter, they’re used to it! One app? A few dropped calls? Poor reception? To leave the single greatest technological advancement in our time since the macintosh? What it is… Is sad.

Whether you love or hate Apple or AT&T, the iPhone is absolutely hands down the best mobile device in the world. Yes, it sucks that we have to deal with bullshit surrounding our service, reception and now the app store, but as long as ANY mobile carriers are involved, it will never change.

For fucks sake, if you have such monumental issues with the thing…. jailbreak it… It’s not that hard.

iPhone 3GS: Some Pit-falls Revolving Search, Photos and Videos

Aviv — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:43:28 +0000

I’ve had roughly 7 hands on hours with the iPhone 3GS. While the device performs entirely like a newer, faster, more powerful iPhone, a few pit-falls regarding searching and tagging leave me a tad confused.

Undoubtedly, the video recording feature is absolutely phenomenal. I’ve already been recording everything around me for the fun of it, and within a few hours, I managed to capture roughly 20 different videos. Alongside this, with the new auto-focus photography feature I found myself taking more pictures. Situations where images would’ve shown up blurry or dark in the past, now have been given a nice enhancement, which inevitably increases my confidence in the iPhone’s camera, which means more photos.

But after a few hours, my photo and video library is full, and finding a specific video or photo couldn’t be more of a time suck. I have to basically choose between a list of different thumbnails. Why do I still need to do things this way when Apple’s baked in Spotlight Search into the OS? Why can’t I flick my homescreen to the right and search for my videos based on a title or a few tags I’ve given them? At that rate, why can’t I title and tag my videos or photos? With 16 and 32GB flavors of the new iPhone, we’re talking mountains more memory than competing devices. Yes, we know it’s an iPod too, but we can actually search for music in that iPod much in the same way we should be able to search for photos and videos.

Search is an absolutely phenomenal thing to focus an OS around. If done right, everything, at anytime, from anywhere inside the OS, can be found by typing in the desired result. But it doesn’t work if things aren’t indexed, like the iPhone’s photos and videos.

As an iPhone owner, I’d like to be able to give my photos and videos a title, description and some tags. Obviously, this could be worked into the entire user experience in a very elegant way, and would be entirely optional for the end user. However, as the memory in my device increases, so will the amount of media on it, and so will the need for me to alter, edit, include and omit things from my search results.

In a nutshell, Apple, if you’re going to give us Search, don’t half-ass it, let us tag and label our media so that we can find it. And in the meantime, if Apple doesn’t respond, or care, maybe an iPhone developer wants to whip up a solution for organizing your photos and videos, then making them available in search. I’d buy the a copy for me and all my friends.

Palm Pre Overhyped, and Why Roger McNamee Shouldn’t Speak In Public

Aviv — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:52:36 +0000

Currently burning through huge cash infusions from Venture Capital firm Elevation Partners, Palm has moved all their chips, their rolex and mortgage to the center of the table with the Pre.

In a matter of days Palm will be releasing the most overhyped device since the original iPhone. They’re calling it the Pre, which takes its name from the way it supposedly thinks and acts a few steps ahead of its owner. In essence, attempting to help consumers find solutions and information before they know what they need. I’ve got some strong opinions about the Pre, and for the sake of competition in the marketplace, I hope it’s not just hype. But sadly, the closer we get to launch, the more I’m realizing it’s just another plasticky iPhone competitor without a thriving developer community, no App Store and no proprietary competition to iTunes.

The video below is of ex-Apple executive, now Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein and Venture Capitalist (Elevation Partners) Roger McNamee hyping up the Pre even more at this week’s All Things Digital conference. You’d think with all the massive media outlets hyping up the Pre so much, Rubinstein and McNamee would try toning it down a bit. But they are definitely not trying to calm things down. Instead, they’re layering the hype with thick coats of redundant points about the mobile space, that Apple CEO Steve Jobs made us aware of two years ago.

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein and Elevation Partners Co-founder Roger McNamee

With every piece of high technology, game-changing hardware or innovative software that’s announced to the masses, several coats of hype are applied before an official release date is even set. For most companies and products, this is what causes their inevitable demise. The inability to live up to the expectations set out by their own people, which in turn leaves consumers disappointed and downright angry.

We can all agree that in the last few years, the iPhone stands out as the only piece of mobile hardware to induce a puddle of drool from everyone who’s ever used one. Those who clamor against the iPhone, for whatever reasons, have already had their mobile fantasies fulfilled (Blackberry owners, email power-users), but for the vast majority of consumers, the iPhone came along and truly delivered the best and most intuitive user experience on the market. In fact, the software (iPhone OS) leaves the hardware lagging behind most of the time. With iPhone 3.0 Apple is hoping to change that, and all the rumors happen to be pointing in the right direction.

At the risk of sounding too negative, my honest opinion is that the Palm Pre will massively disappoint. The lack of dedicated Palm developed desktop software leaves the company open and vulnerable to being shut out by those they depend on to make the device sync with your media. Very early reports play as a constant reminder that a built-in QWERTY keyboard is not so enticing. Additionally, how does Palm expect potential iPhone switchers (which they are counting on) to adjust to the lack of dedicated killer apps that they have grown accustomed to using on a daily basis (twitter clients and Google iPhone offerings mainly). Not to mention the elephant in the room… Gaming.

Palm is facing a steep uphill battle. One that may very well turn out littered with lawsuits and legal troubles stemming not only from Apple, but other patent holders in the mobile industry. Yes, Palm has some very old patents in the books, and in court, some may hold up. But unless Apple’s legal team takes a drastic turn, Palm may not even be able to afford the legal fees associated with taking on a company that has $30 billion (debt free) in the bank.

Some Facts:

• For the 13 weeks ending 2009-02-28, Palm’s net profit was -95 million
• Palm is burning close to $1 million a day
• “Palm shares closed Thursday up 93 cents, or 8.8%, to $11.46 and are unchanged in recent late trading” (WSJ)
• The Pre syncs with iTunes, which leaves it completely vulnerable to being shut-out by Apple
• Apple is closely watching Palm and will aggressively defend its intellectual property through legal outlets
• Palm’s stock is currently surging on rumors that the device is headed to Verizon
• ” Instead of creating an entirely new trunk Palm is branching off of the established phone environments.” (John Biggs over at CrunchGear)

iPhone Negotiations With China Unicom Have Reached Possible Agreement

Aviv — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:20:23 +0000

Recent information sheds light on negotiations between Apple and Chinese telecom provider China Unicom, and the possibility that both sides have reached an amicable agreement.

In early February we first reported about the ongoing talks between Apple and China Unicom. As we previously explained, even though feverish reports came in claiming that all talks had broken down about bringing the iPhone to China, these reports were a bit premature. Amidst all of the treacherous negotiations between China Mobile and Apple, China Unicom were the ones to step and take control of the prospective partnership.

Contrary to recent reports that talks between Apple and Chinese mobile provider China Mobile had broke down because of App Store negotiations, it’s now being reported that the iPhone will be arriving in China on May 19th with China Unicom.

Reports that negotiations between Apple and China Mobile had broke down were true, albeit a bit premature. As it turns out, previous negotiations surrounding China Mobile and the potential iPhone 3G agreement were “becoming a threat to Apple’s business.” The “business model differences” as well as the inability to agree on distribution benefits made it so that negotiations had reached a stalemate. This is when China Unicom stepped in to takeover negotiations with Apple around September of 2008. Due to a shakeup in management on the Chinese telecommunications side, Unicom Chairman Chang Xiaobing has been appointed as the head of the team leading negotiations with Apple. If everything goes smoothly, the iPhone is expected to launch in mainland China on May 19th, 2009. Apple is expected to get between a 20% and 30% “share” of iPhone sales. Whether China will subsidize the iPhone is still unconfirmed.

At the time of those initial China Unicom reports, we were a bit skeptical at first. However, we diligently spent nearly 4 hours tracking down and locating connections and colleagues in China who were able to confirm the information and relay what was being reported in local news. The general understanding was that talks between China Unicom and Apple were healthy, and the iPhone was something executives in China did not want to miss out on.

As Chinese news source gansudaily notes in a report about the subject, China Unicom will be restructuring its cellular network to support WDCMA, alongside a newly secured arrangement that will allow them to license certain 3G technologies. These cellular network technologies will be deployed into Chinese mobile markets making way for the iPhone, which is slated to arrive around May 19th. The iPhone 3G has simply plaid too big of a role in shaping the global market and Chinese telecom executives do not want to miss what is going on. They are deeply intrigued by the success of the App Store and have been paying extra close attention to the development of 3G networks outside of their markets.

Backing up these reports is some new information that has been made available today via ChinaTechNews.com. “Foreign media are quoting representatives from Ovum, a British consultancy, as saying that China Unicom and Apple will achieve cooperation soon and if everything goes smoothly, the 3G iPhone will enter the Chinese market in May 2009 at the earliest, but no more detail is given. Prior to this latest rumor, other rumors abounded both China Mobile and China Unicom intended to introduce Apple’s iPhone into China. China Mobile started early in the negotiations with Apple, but the two sides have not reached any agreement.”

Apple Sr. Product Manager Talks About iPhone Gaming and App Store

Aviv — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:20:50 +0000

PocketGamer.biz has posted an interesting interview with Eric Jue, Apple’s senior product manager for iPhone worldwide product marketing. The interview touches upon Apple’s intentions with gaming and the possibility of an Xbox-live style games community.

The interview takes place in London, and among some of the most interesting responses given by Jue are in direct comparison to the way Microsoft (among others) is handling their business model. When asked whether Apple was planning Xbox Live, Jue responded.

“I don’t think we look at it in quite the same way [as Microsoft],” says Jue. “Xbox is a system that they’re creating certain capabilities with, but we have a very open platform, with technologies built into it that are free to developers through the SDK and the APIs.

“So if somebody wanted to develop that then they certainly could, but… we’re not championing that type of experience per se. It’s open to the developer community and wherever they want to take the platform.”

“You could take that the next step further and combine it with Facebook or MySpace and a gaming experience, but I haven’t seen anyone pull those things together yet. There’s been a lot of talk about it though.”

Additionally, PocketGamer explains that Jue “seems enthusiastic” about connected gaming on the iPhone, and the potential that this brings. “…whether local – he says his team has “killed hours in the office” with wi-fi multiplayer on ngmoco’s upcoming WordFu – or online.” Delving into the social aspect of connected games, he sees significant potential here as well. “There’s a whole lot of activity around the social networking side, including location-based social networking applications like Loopt and Whrrl,” he says.

App Store

When asked what Apple is doing in regards to making the App Store a better experience for everyone involved, developers and end users alike, Jue explains that everyone (including Apple), is learning together as the app store grow. “We’re hearing the same thing,” says Jue. “We’re all learning as we march down this road together, but you’re right: with 15,000 apps out there, it is a little bit harder to find applications.”

Jue explains that Apple is employing two particular ways in reducing the burden of developers and making it easier to “cut through the noise” of seemingly third-rate applications. “He cites two ways Apple is trying to combat the problem. There’s the editorial content within the App Store itself – the featured applications – which he says are being changed daily to ensure users always see fresh apps when they return to the store,” Stuart Dredge explains for PocketGamer. “Then there’s the iPhone Your Life section of the Apple website, which Jue says is an example of the company ‘being much more pro-active about highlighting certain applications’.”

Jue explains, “There’s a lot of websites like yourselves doing reviews and top ten lists and trying to get a bit more visibility for some of the better apps.” – “It’s all starting to happen, but we’re looking at more ways too. It’s going to be an evolving story.”

When asked whether Apple would utilize the same technology that drives its iTunes Recommendation Genius feature, only for apps in the app store, Jue replied, “Certainly it’s possible, yeah,” – “I can’t comment on anything that we may or may not be doing in the future, but it’s a good idea. We already do it for music, so it’s certainly possible to do.”

Pricing iPhone Games and Location

Jue continues to show how confident he is with Apple’s success and the business model they’ve deployed around the iPhone’s app store. Being a game changer is an understatement for the app store, especially given that nearly all of Apple’s main competition is now directly copying the idea.

When asked about the rumored $19.99+ premium game category in the app store, Jue responds, “Are we creating a new category? People can charge those prices now – they can charge whatever they want to charge. We haven’t publicly talked about any new format to the store or creating a new category though.” – “We’re much more open – we didn’t really have a pre-defined idea for how iPhone would play in the games space,” he says, stressing that the platform is powerful for a lot of things besides gaming.

“Medicine is coming on board, business too. Lots of other people are exploring the power and utilisation of technologies in the iPhone. So where it goes with developers and the gaming world is fine by us, but we’re not trying to steer it down one particular path.”

Rounding out the interview, Jue touches upon his excitement for the iPhone’s potential with GPS functions. “Gaming is going to be one of the areas that takes advantage of location,” he says. –
“You can do virtual scavenger hunt type experiences, and you’ve got the camera and networking in there besides GPS. You could do a Dungeons & Dragons type thing on the city streets… There are so many cool things. It’s just a matter of time before these games get developed.”

“Better graphics, better levels and worlds, better interaction, better sound… Everything is marching down the path where we’re getting more innovative stuff, more creative stuff and more sophisticated stuff. And then we have multiplayer coming in, so we have a lot going on.”

Microsoft’s ‘iPhone Killer’ Secret Prototype Stolen in Barcelona

Aviv — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:10:07 +0000

One of Microsoft’s new prototypes, which was loaded with “tons” of top-secret software, features and early bugs was pick-pocketed from an unnamed executive in Barcelona, a city known for having the best thieves in the world.

Telegraph reports: But within hours of announcing the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a phone fitted with the new generation software was stolen from an executive’s pocket.

The theft will no doubt embarrass Australian telecommunications giant, Telstar, whose CEO Sol Trujillo was reportedly given the device by Microsoft to test the system ahead of the launch.

He in turn handed the top secret product to an unnamed executive who was pick-pocketed during an evening function at the trade convention.

A spokesman for the Australian company confirmed the theft had happened. “One of our product executives was given the phone to test the system. He had it with him at an organised evening event and it was stolen from him – we don’t know by whom.”

There are fears that leaks regarding the features and early bugs in the software could mar the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 which the company hopes will give it the edge over the iPhone and the new Google Android operating system. The new product includes support for touch-screen technology similar to that found on the Apple iPhone.

Among the features offered in the new service unveiled by Microsoft’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, on Tuesday, is a version of Windows Marketplace for Mobiles, which is set to compete with the popular Apple’s App Store and provide easy ways to download music and products to mobiles.

“I’m not clear on what the security implications of the theft will be,” said the Telstar spokesman. “That is for Microsoft to say.”

As Fortune notes, Barcelona is known for having the best pick-pocketing thieves in the world. So, while the news is shocking, after it resonates for a second, it is understandable.

Google Demoes Off-Line Mobile Web Apps with iPhone (VIDEO)

Aviv — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:56:12 +0000

New functionality being shown by Google publicly for the first time, allows mobile devices to access data that has been locally stored on the device without any network connections. A first for new-age mobile devices, and a breakthrough for developers.

iPhoneBuzz posts a video and images of the new functionality which is split into three categories. First, a web-page or web application can implement a local database which can store data directly on the device. Second, App Cache allows that same application to store its executable state directly on the device, which means that form processes being sent from a user’s “touch” can still be performed. Third, GeoLocation allows that particular application (while running in a browser) to securely access location based features while respecting privacy.

If after the video, the concept still seems blurry, just imagine being able to access data from Gmail while your iPhone is in airplane mode. With the implementation of these emerging standards, a developer can build and deploy an application that spans multiple devices and platforms. Just as long as they support these W3C open-web standards.

As we’ve explained, Apple’s intentions lie at the forefront of web technology and open-standards. They have long made it apparent that Adobe’s Flash is not needed, and have continued to invest in open technologies.

Back in January, we reported some information being relayed to us from sources inside AT&T. The term “wireless network caching” was being used to explain a potential way for iPhone users, and AT&T especially to open up a better solution for MMS. Not to be confused with local caching, which stores data on a particular device, AT&T’s potential “network caching” would utilize a cellular network to store data.

Turn-by-Turn iPhone GPS Gets Demoed (w/Screenshots)

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:10:38 +0000

Turn-by-turn GPS functionality has been an exceedingly sought after feature since the launch of the iPhone 3G itself. It now appears that the Slovakian company, Sygic has developed a native iPhone application that does just that.

Images courtesy of The iPhone Blog

Making its debut at this year’s Mobile World Congress, this turn-by-turn GPS application comes complete with voice prompts, points of interest, support for multiple countries, and memory stored maps. The iPhone Blog notes that the the Sygic application uses TeleAtlas maps as a base and appears to function with relative ease and speed.

Sygic claims that they are planning to submit the application to Apple’s App Store, as they do not intend to release it solely as only a jailbreak app. Yet we may have to cross our fingers and hope that it gets accepted as Apple’s SDK prohibits such useful functionality. As we’ve previously reported, Apple’s iPhone SDK terms have strictly blocked turn-by-turn GPS. “While Apple may be developing their own solution, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Product Marketing Greg Joswiak described voice-based, turn-by-turn navigation apps as “complicated.” – Although he did explain that the hardware inside the device was “very capable.”

The App Store Bandwagon: Who’s Next?

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:34:58 +0000

Today marks the beginning of GSMA Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM World Congress) week in Barcelona Spain, which stands as the world’s largest exhibition in the mobile industry, bringing together a host of mobile operators and equipment vendors.

Last year’s event provided manufacturers with the opportunity to display their touch capable smartphones in efforts to come within a competing stride of Apple’s iPhone. While numerous gadgets will debut at the expo this year, the iPhone remains the looming force with heavy attention being focused on the iTunes App Store that now boasts over 20,000 applications. Such success brings envy as the other top mobile manufacturers are using the Mobile World Congress to unveil applications marketplaces of their own.

Fortune notes that this year’s highlights will include the following:

• Nokia’s Ovi Store: An online app and media portal that comes “pre-integrated” on Nokia’s (NOK) new N97, but will be available for download on a slew of existing Nokia phones come May.
• Windows Marketplace: Along with a new version of Windows Mobile, Microsoft (MSFT) announced Monday that it will open a new Windows Marketplace offering — you guessed it — 20,000 apps, some of which actually run on mobile devices.
• App Store for Symbian: PocketGear, which had previously built its own Palm App Store and an App Store for Windows Mobile, unveiled an App Store for Symbian, the operating system that runs Nokia’s smartphones. How it will compete with the Ovi Store remains to be seen.
• Android Market: Google (GOOG) opened an application marketplace for the Android platform last October, but so far it has only accepted free apps. Look for an announcement from Google this week about how that’s going to change.
• BlackBerry Applications Center: Research in Motion (RIMM) invited developers to submit programs to its forthcoming Applications Center in October. We may be hearing more this week about when that will open for business.
• Palm Software Store: This one went live in December with 2,000 apps and 1,000 free games available for download to both Palm (PALM) OS devices and Windows Mobile.

One other major headline that is making waves in Barcelona is Adobe’s announcement that it expects to ship a fully operational version of their flash player that will be set to run on Windows Mobile, Google’s Android, Nokia’s Symbian and Palm’s OS in 2010. Apple’s iPhone remains off of the list as CEO Steve Jobs has been known to oppose Adobe’s flash player, noting that it was simply not good enough to run on his device.

The Official GSMA Mobile World Congress website has live streaming video of the event that can be viewed here.