by Debi Jones
February 11, 2008 at 10:45 am · Filed under Carnival of Mobilists
Today many of the world’s mobilists are gathering in Barcelona for the conference formerly known as 3GSM, now called Mobile World Congress (MWC). MWC is the biggest mobile industry event annually and could itself be called The Mobilists Carnivale.
What better way to prepare for swimming through a sea of mobile industry press releases than to read some of the best writing on mobility anywhere in the blogosphere, The Carnival of Mobilists. And away we go.
Paul Ruppert, Mobile Point View and Mobile Messaging 2.0, starts off the CoM with a post of anticipation on the upcoming events in Barcelona this week. Paul provides a summary of his take aways from last year’s 3GSM, and his expectations of this year’s conference in Mobile World Congress - Barcelona. Paul lays out a convincing case for what topics to watch for this week and what factors drive the prominence of those topics.
Dennis Bournique, WAP Review, hits another topic which will receive lots of play in big waves of presentations, demos and obligatory operator/carrier promises. How to Define Open Mobile is the foundational treatise of what an “open” network would look like from the perspective of a subscriber/developer. This list of requirements will sound very familiar to Internet companies. As any good twelve-step program must, the 1st step is to admit you have a problem. Dennis points out that more operators and handset companies are using the word “open” in public. Watch for many references coming from their talks at MWC.
Ofir Leitner, Next Generation Mobile Content, delivers the counterpoint to Dennis’ article on openness. So, You Want to Deploy a J2ME App in the US covers the trail from a startup’s view of the options for coming to market.
On-deck or Off-deck: that is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the startup to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous marketing budgets,
Or to take aim against a sea of operator’s testing cycles,
Sorry, I couldn’t resist, and my apologies Shakespeare. Anyway, Ofir profiles the 4 top operators in the US and the unique challenges of developing for those networks.
Ajit Joakar, Open Gardens, addresses the issue of how best to deliver video communications over a 3G network. Mobile Multimedia Twitter pulls together rich media with communication immediacy and advocates a technology, IMS and a vendor, Ecrio. Simultaneously building the analogies of Twitter for video and PTT (push-to-talk) video, Ajit contends that network optimization is required for the success of video “communication at the speed of thought.”
Matt Radford, All About iPhone, discusses a topic which will be much discussed at MWC in hallway conversations, if not during the keynotes. A Quiet Launch for the Highest Capacity Music Phone ponders Apple’s low-key announcement of the 16GB iPhone last week. Matt’s reveals important metrics demonstrating the iPhone’s placement against it’s competitors. And where is Apple leading us? Good question.
Ewan Spence, All About Symbian, treats us to a revealing look into MWC’s primary product, the press release. All Those Press Releases from Barcelona provides a humourous peek behind the keyboard into what it’s like to be the recipient of the mobile industries biggest annual marketing event.
Ewan has delivered my favorite post of the week. Both for it’s tongue-in-cheek appraisal of MWC and it’s informative and instructive advice for those with stories to promote, I enjoyed reading All Those Press Releases from Barcelona.
Enjoy your week and swimming through your own sea of announcements, not to mention, all those well stocked parties. Glass held high- enjoy Carnivale!
Next week the CoM will be produced at Vision Mobile. If you would like to submit an article to the CoM, send your link to mobilists AT gmail dot com. Information on hosting the CoM can be found in the CoM FAQs.
by Debi Jones
July 30, 2007 at 5:36 pm · Filed under Carnival of Mobilists
Mobile Messaging 2.0 is proud to host the Carnival of the Mobilists for the first time. This 84th edition features wide ranging topics from the mobile industry including tips for saving money on mobile service when traveling abroad to analysis of the iPhone to a conceptual depiction of the mobile context. Once again, the CoM delivers the best editorial on mobility from across the web by experts who are in the industry and others.
SMS
The CoM leads with my favorite post of the week. SMS is the darling of the mobile industry for subscribers, service and application providers and carriers/operators due to it’s value delivered across the whole of the ecosystem. It is the cornerstone of mobile messaging, off portal content delivery, service monetization, and to date, mobile social activities and applications. It’s importance and impact is well known to most of us, but one article features it’s power and success in the context of the War in Iraq.
Untold Text Stories: SMS in IRAQ, Paul Ruppert, Mobile Point View
Access to mobile phones and SMS is having it’s most profound effects in developing countries. One such story is the following article from Smartmobs.
Disaster response, Relief and Mobile Phones, Howard Rheingold, Smartmobs
SMS is also center stage in this CoM offering.
Happy Birthday SMS, Anders Borg, Abrio
MoSoSo
Mobile Social Networking and mobile social media are upcoming applications that many believe hold the elements of the “killer application” for moblity, at long last. Two features in the CoM this week consider the state of MoSoSo and current efforts from the companies planning to crack the adoption barriers.
Social Networking by Mobile, Scott Smith, The Mobile Weblog
MoSoSo Experts: Twitter, MOKO, JuiceCaster Podcast Panel, Debi Jones, mobilejones
iPhone
Few words on iPhone fatigue. Don’t succumb, yet. The CoM this week features two important articles on the iPhone and it’s meaning that aren’t the typical fan rant/rave chatter. To understand the important and salient aspects of this story for our industry I encourage you to read both.
I’ve seen the future…and it will look allot like an iPhone, Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian
Exactly how many phones did you sell, Mr. Jobs?, Michael Mace, Mobile Opportunity
Mobile Web
One web, or multi-web - that is the question. The CoM entry that contemplates the questions thoroughly.
Apple versus the PC - Now for the real Mobile Web, Barry Welford, Stay Go Links, Public Diary on the way to a patent…or two.
Nokia Devices
Puzzling over Nokia naming conventions used to be a parlor game at mobile conferences. It’s great to see the tradition being carried forward into mobile blogs.
N800, Why an N-Series?, Ricky Cadden, Symbian Guru
On the more technical side of life, network connection time outs can be painful when trying to accomplish tasks from a mobile phone. Here’s a quick and effect “how to” for pain relief if you’re carrying a Nokia N71.
Disable network connection time-out on Nokia N71, Tam Hanna, Tam’s S60 Blog
Carriers/Operators
Experiences with carriers/operators worldwide vacillate from the adoring to the indifferent to the hating and to the absurd. This week’s CoM offers two evaluations of carriers/operators in the context of recent high profile events with the carriers/operators under inspection. One from the perspective of a subscriber to Amp’d Mobile’s now defunct service and the other from an observer, outside the coverage of the service by about 4,000 miles. Varying perspectives continue to inform our love-hate relationships with carriers/operators.
My Amp’d Mobile Experience, Dennis, WAP Review
Sprint’s customer service shows greater issues in US telecoms, Tom Gordon, The Mobile Weblog
And now for something totally different. How about a carrier/operator that provides service completely free, but that you can’t join?
Free Ad-based Mobile Service, now that’s more like it, Abhishek Tiwari
International Travel
Still waiting for that true world phone experience most of us have the experience of shocking roaming rates or incompatible network frequencies across continents. Finally, tips and tricks from an international athlete and mobile subscriber on how to save money on mobile service when traveling.
Traveling Overseas and Saving Money on International Calls, Jimson Lee, Speedendurance
Mobile Industry
Compared to the PC industry which stretches back to the late 1970s, the mobile industry is still young and poised for phenomenal growth minute-by-minute and certainly over the next five years. We continue to search for ways to define and describe mobility and learn from users on the optimal uses of the technologies available. The cliche “Necessity is the mother of invention” holds true in so many examples coming from the developing world on the uses for mobile technology.
Mobile Phone Reporters, Emeka Okafor , Smartmobs
The Elements of the Mobile Context, Enrique Ortiz, about mobility
That’s the Carnival for this week. I know you’ll be informed and educated through the various thoughts, opinions and analyses on offer in this week’s edition.
Next week’s Carnival of the Mobilists will be hosted at Paul Ruppert’s Mobile Point View. Next time!
