Next year’s Mobile World Congress, which takes place from 14-17 February in Barcelona, will include a dedicated app show targeting Apple developers. Macworld Mobile will join the App Planet, launched at the 2010 event.

The GSM Association (GSMA) is partnering with IDG World Expo, organisers of Macworld, to produce Macworld Mobile. There will also be a Macworld Mobile iOS Developer Conference, which will provide full-day, in-depth training on Apple platform, with technical sessions, targeting tools and apps specifically designed for mobile app developers and engineers.  The GSMA expects more than 10,000 developers to visit App Planet during the four days of Mobile World Congress.

This year’s event will also include the culmination of the Brand App Challenge. This is a competition in which app developers create brand apps for a select number of global consumer brands. Developers will compete by creating customised mobile apps for the participating brand sponsors based on the objectives and guidance provided by the individual brands. The primary goals of the Brand App Challenge are to create networking and business opportunities which benefit the brands, application developers and the broader mobile ecosystem, as well as to tap the creativity and capabilities of the mobile app developer community to address brand and industry challenges. There will be cash prizes on offer to the winners. The competition will begin in October, with the finalists to be revealed in January 2011 one month before Mobile World Congress 2011.

“App Planet proved to be a stunning success in its debut this year at Mobile World Congress, demonstrating the tremendous demand for in-depth content, networking and business development opportunities and information on the cutting-edge technologies and solutions in the mobile application space,” says Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA.  “The developments we are announcing today, particularly the launch of Macworld Mobile which will target the critical Apple developer community, will serve to make App Planet and Mobile World Congress the epicentre for the app world.”

The GSMA has also released details of some of the keynote speakers. They include Daniel Hajj, CEO of América Móvil and Telcel; Peter Chou, CEO of HTC; Vittorio Colao, chief executive of Vodafone; and Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive, of WPP. They join speakers previously announced, including Randall Stephenson, chairman, CEO and president of AT&T; Li Yue, president and CEO of China Mobile; Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google; and Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter.