Mobile World Congress: A View From Inside [PICS]

BARCELONA -- Like all large tech events, Mobile World Congress is very similar to the last mega mobile event in Spain, but as with those previous events, each year brings a couple of surprises, as well.

Last year, Nokia and Microsoft were nearly absent from the show -- this year they came back with a vengeance. Meanwhile, companies you've likely never heard of had the weirdest and the most interesting displays -- exotic dancers, girls in superhero costumes, scantily dressed anime characters -- we've seen it all (maybe too much).

There were also dozens of smaller booths hosting tiny mobile app companies, as well as companies that produce various accessories or technologies related to mobile. Weaving their way through all of them was an immense river of people in suits nosing about the gadgets, screens and handsets, and peppering company reps with questions.

Over the next few days, we'll be publishing several galleries with interesting, unusual and wacky photos from the show. The first one, above, should give you a glimpse of the atmosphere in Barcelona this year.