Monday, May 12, 2008
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The mobile internet as an ecosystem

Today is the final day of the show, and as things start to wind down, I'm sure everyone is thinking about what is yet to come for the industry.  Well, Atish Gude, senior vice president of Mobile Broadband Operations for Sprint's new Xohm business unit, addressed those thoughts and espoused his vision for the future for wireless internet.

The theme of his discussion was that the mobile internet is and will be a complex ecosystem with many different players, that will not be built by one individual, company, or even industry.  The mobile internet is a collection of wireless, consumer electronics, and content, and all of these components need to work together seamlessly to create a positive customer experience.

Because there are so many interwoven components to the moble internet, Gude said that Xohm is "not going to do it ourselves."  Instead, he said that they are committed to opening up their platfrom in hopes of spurring innovation in the broader range of consumer electronics, performance, and mobility. 

As different business models emerge to capitlize on the demand for mobile internet, it will be interesting to see what models consumers ultimately decide to adopt and what this new world will look like.

Geeking out with Nokia

Here is a video of Kasey Farrar showing of Nokia's newest devices, which I shot with the N95.  I have to say, I really love this device, you can edit video easily and then upload it via WiFi. 

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Communicating with Customers

I just spoke with Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice-president- external and legislative affairs for AT&T.  Jim is responsible for AT&T's public policy organization.  I wanted to ask him some questions about what kind of value that the show offers from a policy perspective.

Jim talked about how important the show is in highlighting policy issues that arise in light of new advancements in technology- it gives a "full picture" of the industry and the challenges it faces.   For instance, he noted that the convergence of wireless with wireline, demand for mobile entertainment, the iPhone, WiFi technology and E-911 are all developments that have presented new policy challenges.

He added that all of the challenges currently facing the industry flow out of the natural evolution of wireless as a necessity for modern life.  He said that because the industry has become so mainstream, it falls under a brighter spotlight, and that the carriers have to make sure that they are communicating their policies effectively wth their consumers.  I asked him if he thought that new media and social networking were ways that carriers could more effectively reach their customers, and he said yes, that companies "have to be able to communicate with customers at every level." 

I couldn't agree more.

 

Facebook announces new mobile apps, Facebook for Blackberry

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Mobile Entertainment is today's theme, so Steve Largent started off this morning's keynote with some stats about how people are entertaining themselves on tehir devices:

- monthly MMS grew by 125% in the past year

- there were 472 million MMS messages sent in June 2007 alone

-carrier data revenue reached $1.5 billion in the first months of 2007

Steve also announced that October 13, 2008 will be the 25th anniversary of the first commercial wireless phone call, and that to commemorate that date, CTIA is asking folks to vote on the Top Ten moments in wireless on their website. 

Dustin Moskowitz, Co-Founder, Facebook

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Dustin Moskowitz started off his keynote by talking about  the evolution of the company.  Considering facebook's gaining popularity in the business community as a networking tool (the over 35 demographic is the fastest growing), it probably would have been just as appropriate from him to have spoken yesterday.

Dustin began by talking about the company's "unprecedented" growth, in both the US and abroad.  There are now 49 million active facebook users with 200,000 users joining daily.  With such widespread adoption, facebook has become an effective multi-media communication tool, and like all communication, people want to be able to use it on the go.

Currently, facebook supports SMS, MMS, and mobile web, and Dustin announced that they are adding two new mobile applications.

- the ability for third pary apps to have 'boxes' on mobile profiles

- the ability for third party app developers to communicate with users through SMS

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Dustin also brought RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis and announced Facebook for Blackberry, which Mike demoed.  The application will make it possible to upload and tag photos to Facebook- within the phone's camera application.  It will also offer a central location for Facebook messages and announcements.  It looks really great- I am going to download it as soon as I am finished writing this post!

Afterwards, the big announcements, I had a chance to sneak backstage to see where the speakers all hang out:

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Mobile Content on the Move

Mobile entertainment takes over on Day Two of the show, with the keynote from Facebook founder Dustin Moskovitz. We'll feature his comments on our daily webcast from the show, which, will be up on the site late this afternoon. 

We also will be dropping in on the M-tertainment Pavilion to give you a look at the latest and greatest of the games people play on the move.

Earlier I spoke with AT&T VP of Consumer Data Mark Collins about what we know so far about user habits and demand, his thoughts on transferring content on and between the three screens, and the challenges to helping mobile content take off. If you're curious about what's going on in the mobile space from one of the big players perspective, check out Mark's comments.

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Telekinesis @ CTIA

I moved a car with my mind today.  Seriously.  OK, not really- I was playing a video game with NeuroSky's bio censor and signalling processing system, which monitors brainwaves and gives feedback on emotional states.  Basically, I put on headphones equipped with a censor, and then thought calming thoughts to lift a car on a screen in front of me.  And it worked!

Obviously, this technology can be applied to gaming, but it has other wireless application potential as well.  I spoke with the company's CEO- Stanley Yang, who explained that aside from mobile phone applications which can help people meditate and develop concentration skills, the technology can also be used in mp3 players to develop playlists based on a user's mood.  It also has health applications- it can be used in Bluetooth headsets for drivers to monitor when they are getting drowsy, and can also be used to detect potential heart attacks.  Here are some photos of me using me telekinetic powers:

 

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Chatting with PV

With so many ways to access media on your mobile device, it can be difficult to find what you want and sort through what you have.  PV has developed software that will make everything accesible from a single source.  They provide embedded software for multimedia services, and Gretchen Griswold demoed PV Core, which seeks to provide a more compelling end-user expereince by creating a single on-device portal for multimedia. 

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The Show Floor

I know that this show pales in comparison to the size of the Las Vegas show, but with more than 350 exhibitors, the floor is impressive.  From device manufacturers to service providers, to software developers, the floor was bustling today.  I wanted to get a little bit of a sampling, so I started off the day by talking to Jonathon at Sony Ericsson about what they are offering in Mobile TV, and also looked at the K790a and the newer K850i.  Jonathon did a little demo for us, check it out:

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