At an exclusive private party in Barcelona, Brit Award-winning band Florence and the Machine are entertaining a crowd, mostly male, middle-aged and rather well behaved, who can’t believe their luck. Already at a conference in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, they find themselves enjoying an experience that – for most – money can’t buy. Who does have the money for such a bash? Google.
The audience are the representatives of the mobile phone industry, a technology sector that has changed the world and is only just getting started. The annual Mobile World Congress could hardly be more different from the one that began in 1987, and while the crowd remains overwhelmingly male, it’s a bit cooler – and a lot richer.