Posted by Global on November 23, 2010 under Global
Delivering an appealing set of mobile applications to consumers is not without its challenges, even for a company with the scale of Vodafone Group. The developer ecosystem is characterised by a mixture of small and large developers, with a handful of the former complemented by large numbers of the latter, and with companies in both camps requiring different levels of engagement and support. And the introduction of new developer options such as WAC-backed technologies complicate the picture further.
Vodafone has already used a number of methods to engage with the developer community, with Hemant Madan, Head of Developer Marketing for Vodafone Internet Services, arguing that in order to succeed the company has to be proactive with its efforts. “Whenever we talk about developer engagement, it’s not a question of us sitting back and waiting for the developer to come to us. You have to take the horse to the water and not bring the water to the horse, always,” he says.
As part of its strategy to improve its engagement with the developer community, Vodafone has recently sponsored events such as DroidCon in Germany and Mobile 2.0, and it is working with groups including Mobile Monday. In addition, it already has a number of relationships with developers and brands through its previous Vodafone live! mobile internet activities, which can be carried forward into the mobile app market.
The winner of the most recent Mobile Clicks was Cardmobili, developer of an application which aggregates customer loyalty cards, and enables retailers to push vouchers and reward points to subscribers. This company has apps products available for a range of platforms including Android, BlackBerry, Java, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7, iPhone and – perhaps unsurprisingly – Vodafone 360/JIL. As first prize winner, the 12-person company landed EUR100,000 in cash, which it said it would invest in marketing, and to encourage sign-ups among consumers and retail partners. Full article via: Mobile Business Briefing.
Posted by Global on November 22, 2010 under Global
HONG KONG–In a muggy, overcast and polluted city like Hong Kong, it seemed somewhat apropos to gather together thought leaders from the mobile industry for a discussion on mobile computing and the cloud. That fluffy, shape shifting, overshadowing “cloud,” which has managed to escape proper definition for a couple of years already and which is becoming ever more amorphous as it floats onto the mobile horizon.
“The cloud is the driver of the app economy,” declared one speaker, presenting a rather complex slide to better illustrate his point. Meanwhile, Cat Purvis, partner at consulting firm Exicon, preferred to describe the mysterious mist as Software as a Service (SaaS), while Mike White of Locatrix communication preferred to call it “some sort of resource available over a network.”
“It’s actually a utility that is ‘pay-as-you-go,’” mused Per Dalberg, CEO of the Asia Cloud Computing association, while Navteq’s APAC partner relation manager opted for a foggy “plug and play” description.
A refreshingly honest and easy to grasp definition actually came from Caroline Lewko, who called the cloud “somebody else controlling your data.” The point was a controversial one in the room, but Lewko defended her position, explaining: “I hate having other people control my data and my access to it.”
The issue is not just control of data, but control of sensitive data, a term whose definition seems almost as blurry as that of the cloud itself. “I mean, what exactly is defined as sensitive data these days?” asked Dalberg. “After all, Google is so ubiquitous and controls so much of our data, be it pictures, e-mails or web history, that could become a huge issue.” Full article via RCR Wireless.
Posted by Global on November 20, 2010 under Global
infoDev is pleased to announce the first six of eight grants for mobile social networking activities under the Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy program, part of a partnership among infoDev, the Government of Finland, and Nokia.
The awards will be for US $35,000 and will be made as follows:
These organizations will support preexisting or establish new social networking hubs and complementary online communication channels to foster collaboration among developers, entrepreneurs, mentors, partners, investors and other technologists working in the mobile field. In addition, these organizations will provide vital support for the creation of content for a mobile applications community of practice, along with other mentoring and concept incubation activities.
The creation of social networking hubs is closely related to another element of the Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economywhich focuses on the establishment of a series of mobile applications laboratories. The social networking hubs will be expected to interact closely with the labs, for instance, by hosting regular meetings there and by providing opportunities for networking with the business community, the finance community, and other stakeholders. These hubs are also accompanied by a program of analytical work, the forthcoming Mobile Flagship Report, on the impact of mobile applications in different sectors.
Posted by Global on November 19, 2010 under Global
Kenya grabs a lot of attention with mobile money, but is all the innovation happening at the top of the food chain? We don’t think so. In fact, working with FSD Kenya and some great ex-Unitus folks, we’ve found a veritable hotbed of Kenyan entrepreneurs spinning out one exciting idea after another. But as exciting as their ideas are, nearly all these entrepreneurs are somewhere in the “valley of death”, past funding from friends and family, short of commercial investment.
There are some good resources out there. iHub and Mobile Monday have surged into the gap providing a space — literal and figurative — for networking. In fact, Mamakiba’s founders were introduced through the iHub. Several incubators provide training, work space and some other forms of support: particularly exciting is the new Mobile Application Lab supported by Nokia, the Government of Finland and infoDev. There are also a few high profile contests. Outfits like Virtual City have won big awards from Nokia. The Kenya ICT Board ran a successful competition. And the US Department of State’s Apps for Africa contest handed out a $2,000 prize to Mamakiba and a few other designers addressing development issues. While these help get entrepreneurs excited, and raise the profile of the winners, no one can build a business off the small, infrequent sums. Full article via CGAP.
Did you miss Gitex 2010 in one of the world’s most powerful technology hubs, Dubai, United Emirates? Techistan only agrees to promote and partner with events that are any combination of the following: elite, empowering, innovative, collaborative, grassroots-level, practical, and educational.
On October 20th, Mobile Monday invited hundreds of the world’s most provocative and successful IP communications entrepreneurs to participate in the ever-memorable Dubai DIDX Desert Safari. Representatives from Yahoo!, Oracle, Microsoft, VoIPSwitch, DIDX, MoMo HQ, Zain, Etisalat, Orange and other companies participated. The safari also served as Karachi’s first Mobile Monday meet-up. Rehan Allahwala, a popular and successful entrepreneur founded the Karachi MoMo chapter. Via: Techistan.
Here’s the promo video released in advance of the event..
MoMo is pleased to support the Movember Foundation, a not-for-profit, charitable organisation which runs the annual men’s health initiative, Movember, across the globe. Each year, Movember, the month formerly known as November, is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces around the world, with the sole aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.
Men sporting Movember moustaches, known as Mo Bros, become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo growing efforts. The rules are simple; register online at Movember.com and start the month of Movember clean shaven and then grow a moustache for 30 days.
The money raised as a result of Movember is channelled by our men’s health partners into a number of world class and innovative education, research and awareness initiatives. Importantly, the total cost of administration and fundraising at 6% of donations is low by global fundraising standards, and reflects our goal of reaching for the best possible campaign outcome while carefully monitoring costs.
So, massive props to the MoMo crew down-under for stepping foward on this worthy cause. We encourage you to support their activities or donate to your local country.. and Smile.. It’s MOvember!
We managed to get Vesku on video and had him read his original invitation email to announce the very first MoMo! He clearly nailed the tribes vision coming out the gate way back in the day and had some good council going forward.
We took a flashback to August 2000 when the brave new mobile world was just coming together, exciting days for the start-up scene. Veska sent 60 invites, with less than one-week notice, to join the debut event at Molly Malones Irish Pub. Nearly all attended the launch with a great range of professional backgrounds on-hand for a few frosty pints.
A few key points in his call-to-action still hold true today:
Regular and informal meetings
Brand neutral and open to all
Presentations run max. 15mins
Organized by a fun committee
Personal networking is valuable
A few drinks & sponsors = Ok!
Practice presentations in English
If it’s fun Great, if not oh well
He also suggested that we must listen to the weak signals, understand the growing and changing needs of converged industries and always be ready to catch the next big wave!
Looking ahead, as we enter the pre-teen years, he advised finding strong partners for our established platform and work with key players to “do good things” in emerging markets & industries. We also touched on the concept of creating a foundation along with well-defined goals to deliver valuable opportunities to all in the MoMo community.
It’s our a great pleasure, and food for thought, to have this chance to explore our past, present and potential future with the guy who got this whole thing started..!! Via The Mob Rulz.
The Austin Technology Incubator, a not-for-profit commercialization unit of the University of Texas, is partnering with UT’s Wireless Networking and Communications Group to host the eighth annual Texas Wireless Summit, Nov. 16 at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas. The Summit will highlight technologies emerging from industry players, startups and research groups at the core of the wireless industry’s continued innovation explosion. Keynotes, panels and presenting companies will drive the day’s discussion.
Speakers will represent industry leaders — from Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs to Grid Net to Texas Instruments — and academic institutions at the forefront of wireless research — from The University of Texas to Polytechnic University of New York to Virginia Tech University. The conversation will cover the industry’s most pivotal topics, including “The Too-Much-Data Paradox,” “Inside Out: The Future of Mobile Broadband,” “The Future of Multi-band Wireless Devices,” “Smart Grid,” “The Future of Cognitive Radio” and others.
More than 10 Austin-based wireless startups will display their innovations as MobileMonday Austin, a group that exists to connect wireless consumers to industry and academia, is partnering with TWS this year to create the MoMoATX Showcase, a forum for Austin’s most interesting mobile applications to interact with the Summit audience. Participating companies will receive one complimentary registration and discounts on additional registrations.
There will be around 200 leading members from all areas of the mobile industry in attendance, including many investors and business development representatives from key potential partners. In addition, RCR Wireless, the premier news source for the wireless communications industry, has come on as a TWS partner to provide built in media connectivity. Details via PR Web.
Vodafone has said that Mobile Gadgets are fun, educational and functional. This was shown during an event organised by Mobile Monday where all those attending tried out the latest technological mobile devices that were on display as part of Vodafone’s gadget lab. The gadget that attracted most attention was a remote controlled car running on an android application developed by one of Vodafone’s employees. The HTC Desire Smartphone acted as a remote control for this model car.
Vodafone and Mobile Monday said that they are both committed in educating the general public about all the benefits that the latest mobile technology can provide.
Mobile Monday is working on its participation in the Mobile Gaming Summit which is going to be held between the 3rd and the 5th of November. More information can be accessed from www.momomalta.org or by following momomalta on Twitter and Facebook. Via: Gozo News
Celebrating the richness and diversity in m-Content
This year, Abu Dhabi and ADSIC (Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre) will be generously hosting the first edition of the WSA-mobile Winners Celebrations. The unique networking event showcasing the most outstanding mobile content from all over the world and organized in close cooperation and back to back with the Global Forum of the United Nations DESA GAID will take place from December 6-8, 2010 bringing together a wide range if experts from the industry, governments and the UN, along with the creative community.
Sharing the expertise: m-Content & innovative applications
For two days, the World Summit Award mobile (WSA-mobile) Winners teams selected from around the world, will take stage to present their awarded projects, meet each other in a panel discussion, share their visions on ICT, creativity and innovation, speak about their experience and ask and answer questions. Each session will be thematically dedicated to one of the WSA mobile categories and moderated by a member of the Grand Jury.
The workshops will be dedicated to Innovation and creative use of ICTs, which lack sustainable value if not driven by quality content. Using and working with technologies creatively can improve the lives of many – this shall be clearly demonstrated and showcased during the three days in Abu Dhabi on concrete examples of excellence from all parts of the world. Creativity is not bound to being rich in terms of material goods, infrastructure and access to networks: it is a “natural resource” of the human mind everywhere in the world. Bridging the digital divide is therefore a matter of content.
The WSA-mobile winners workshops will be a unique opportunity and an invitation not only see the best examples of taking the main challenges of the new Information Society, but also to personally meet those behind the best in the content industry, from m-Learning to m-Health and from m-Entertainment to m-Inclusion. Download Preliminary Program Agenda Here
Delivering an appealing set of mobile applications to consumers is not without its challenges, even for a company with the scale of Vodafone Group. The developer ecosystem is characterised by a mixture of small and large developers, with a handful of the former complemented by large numbers of the latter, and with companies in both camps requiring different levels of engagement and support. And the introduction of new developer options such as WAC-backed technologies complicate the picture further.
infoDev is pleased to 
MoMo is pleased to support the 
