The annual conference is the mobile industry’s “must attend” event with more than 49,000 visitors in 2010. The conference agenda features speakers representing the leaders of the world’s most innovative companies.

Juniper Research revealed the hot topics at this year’s show:

Wave of tablet launches in wake of iPad
IPad competitors are launching their own devices and showcasing them at the event. For example, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2, the LG Optimus Tab and the HTC Scribe. 

Meanwhile, the surge of interest in consumer tablet devices – allied to the accelerated adoption of smartphones – has brought further urgency to the debate on how to tackle mobile network congestion.

LG’s Optimus 3D in the vanguard of stereoscopic revolution
LG’s announcement that it would be unveiling the world’s first 3D smartphone at MWC generated significant pre-event buzz.

The handset, which enables both stereoscopic image and video capture, is expected to be the trailblazer for an array of imitators, with vendors anxious to translate the wider consumer enthusiasm for 3D experiences in the cinema and on TV to the smaller screen.

NFC to see real, live usage in 2011
In Juniper’s view, NFC is going to see real adoption in 2011. 

Over the last few months the industry has seen major announcements from several key players such as Orange and Google along with growth in the rollout of the contactless readers at merchants’ POS plus announcements of retrofit interim solutions.

Mobile industry moves to grasp mHealth opportunity
Mobile health has a dedicated stream at MWC this year, indicating the scale of the opportunity presented by this sector and the increasing industry interest.

The nascent markets for mobile services such as remote monitoring are expected to grow strongly in the short-term.

Juniper expect the number of deployed services will rise dramatically this year.

Vendors and brands invest in augmented reality
This year augmented reality will hit the mobile mainstream.

There has been innovation and investment in the space.

Qualcomm has launched an Android AR SDK. Samsung is preloading augmented reality browsers on selected handsets.

Expect to see greater breadth and depth of augmented reality apps this year, with significant numbers of brands such as Carlsberg useing the technology in their ad campaigns.