Carnival of the Mobilists

COM Shifts Monthly Schedule To Showcase Month’s Best Blogging

Finding the golden middle is always a challenge — and at COM it looks like we have finally nailed it. (After some trial and error, of course.)

At the start of 2011 we made the decision to go monthly — a flexible schedule that we purposely chose to encourage more submissions and allow contributors to focus on in-depth trends and topics. After all, analysis has been a trademark of the Mobilists since the COM  was founded in 2005.

We started out by posting the COM in the middle of each month — but have now switched the schedule to showcase the best of the previous month’s mobile blogging in the first week of the following month. As a result, the next COM (June 2) will feature a pick of blogs that were published by Mobilists in the month of May. Please check the NEW hosting schedule and reserve your date to host.

As always – I welcome your involvement and your ideas on how to grow our reach and encourage more Mobilists – everywhere — to get involved and contribute their analysis and observations. To this end I have also recruited the help of a few colleagues to refresh our website and — more importantly — rethink our own use of social media to reach out and spread the word.

On a personal note: my sincere thanks to all of you for your well wishes over the last turbulent months. Life happens and it’s great to reach a point where I can say it just gets better from here on!

I welcome your ideas and assistance — and invite you to contact me personally via the Mobilists group in Google (sign up here) or peggy@msearchgroove.com.

Rock on!

Carnival of the Mobilists #248

Carlo Longino, co-founder of the COM and Community Manager at the Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP), brings us the best of mobile blogging for the month of April.

The line-up includes:

• An interesting viewpoint on whether buying apps is such a hot idea from Antoine RJ Wright.
• A pair of posts from MSearchGroove looking at Amazon’s play in the app store pace (including a chronicle of a recent Tweetchat on the topic together with Amdocs Interactive #doxchat) and an exclusive interview with mobile marketing agency M&C Saatchi Mobile.
• A pair of seasonal posts from Mobile Ministry Magazine, taking a look at the Easter holidays from a mobile perspective.

Finally, from the WIP blog, Carlo draws our attention  to several must-read posts, including research into how tough it can be to submit apps to app stores and an updated list of app stores.

REMINDER::

WIP Muther

You can still register for a new kind of developer event and join Carlo and the rest of the great folks at WIP for their first Muther! of all Hackathons + Dev Con – it’s a bit of Hackathon meets WIPJam meets WIP party.  You know it’s got to be good!

It’s taking place:

Friday, June 24^th and Saturday, June 25th

At the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California

Register here.  It’s only $42*** or find a WIP sponsor or Partner for a free pass code.

See you there!

READ COM #248 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #247

We applaud Andy Favell over at mobiThinking.com for rallying Mobilists to contribute an impressive collection of posts and commentary, many of which challenge us to think about the role of mobility in managing the disaster in Japan following the horrifying earthquake/tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011.

The line-up includes:

• A report (on-location) from Wireless Watch Japan via Lawrence (Lars) Cosh-Ishii
• A look at the role of mobility in disaster relief from 3G Doctor (David Doherty)
• An examination of Near-field-communications (NFC) from C. Enrique Ortiz at Mobility Weblog.
• The battle between tablets and smartphones rages — and we have invaluable insights from Eric Chan, Antoine RJ Wright, and Steve Smith from Mobile Insider.
• A thought-provoking piece on RIM from Francisco Kattan — and a hard-nosed assessment of the business market for smartphones from Jose Colucci at the Mobile Strategy Blog.
• Must-read advice and analysis (aimed squarely at mobile operators) from Dean Bubley of Disruptive Wireless.
• The inside track on SXSW from Aurélien Fonteneau at Life is Better ON.
• An overview of where content adaption works (and fails) from Eduardo Casais at Areppim.

And finally, a useful primer on 2D barcodes from Masabi.

The pick of the month: An essential account of Japan via Wireless Watch and a view at disaster relief from 3G Doctor.

READ COM #247 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #246

Veteran Mobilist Eric Chan hosts the COM at MobileSlate this month. A special highlight: lots of thoughtful posts looking at the impact of mobile post-Mobile World Congress 2011.

The line-up includes:

• A double dose of Ajit Jaokar, who asks if this is the year of mobile apps.
• A look at where mobile will likely lead us in 2011 from Martin Wilson.
• A podcast from Mobile World Congress (via the great folks at TheFoneCast) looking at personal privacy issues.
• Mobile World Congress videos, impressions and commentary from George Nimeh.
• A look at a different kind of social media marketing from Dmitry Namiot.
• Comments on the intersection of smartphones and TV from Emma Wells.
• The plight of fragmentation via Antoine RJ Wright.
• Must-read mobile marketing research and guidance from Andy Favell over at mobithinking.
• A slide presentation that underlines a passion for mobile from Belen Barros Pena.
• A look at the issues with Android from James Barnes.
• An insightful mobile education survey from Dave Olsen.

And finally, Eric’s own look at what Apple might become without Steve Jobs at the helm.

READ COM #246 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #245

Tego Interactive steps up the helm, hosting the new, monthly COM #245 from its new-look website. The team at Tego also used this important occasion to launch its new white paper exploring consumer attitudes toward mobile commerce and the payment mechanisms that will allow companies and merchants to satisfy customer requirements.

The line-up this month includes:

• Dennis Bournique’s look into the rumor that Nokia is planning to launch an Intel-based MeeGo handset next week at MWC.
• Antoine RJ Wright expresses his frustration with US mobile consumers and the marketing that is spoon-fed them by the “Mobile Elite.”
• Tomi Ahonen posts a comprehensive mobile strategy guide for CEOs and other senior executives at Fortune 500-size companies.
• Eric Chan at MobileSlate helps us plan our Mobile World Congress networking agenda with a complete list of parties. Eric also invites us all to add our event/party/happening to his growing list!
• Andy Favell at mobiThinking introduces two new industry guides available for free download: a guide to mobile research and a guide to mobile barcodes & best practice from the acting CEO of NeoMedia.
• Mark Bridge at thefonecast.com makes a case for the BlackBerry PlayBook and provides reasons why it just might be one step ahead of other tablet devices.
• Ram Krishnan at Movik Networks poses the tough question: Have femtocells become obsolete?
• Jamie Wells’ introduces us to his ambitious and insightful WikiMobiDex Insights Report at Wikimobidex. Want to find out who the movers and shakers are in mobile marketing? Then read on and find out!
• Chetan Sharma recounts the results of his 2011 Mobile Predictions Survey Results and provides us insight into key mobile trends from the vantage point of global mobile industry experts.
• Peggy Anne Salz over at MSearchGroove has stepped up coverage of mobile codes, mobile health and mobile giving — thanks to the site’s new writer. In line with this she brings us Five From Five, a new series that showcases top innovators in barcodes and their top 2011 trends.
• Finally, Tego Interactive’s submission is a summary of it’s new white paper Real Goods, Real Commerce & Real Results: The positive future for mobile operator billing platforms.

The pick of the month: Antoine RJ Wright wins Tego’s vote for his analysis of why the mobile industry has to get real about people and what they want from mobile. Honorable mention goes to Chetan Sharma for his survey.

READ COM #245 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #244

Beginning with today’s Carnival (hosted by Volker Hirsch over at Volker on Mobile) the COM is now monthly. This new schedule will encourage more contributions and more of a focus on in-depth trends and topics – analysis that has been a trademark of the Mobilists since the COM  was founded five years ago.

The line-up includes:

• A guest column from Sidebar over at MSearchGroove examines the true power of personalization across digital platforms and the impact of social TV on the future of personalized and connected content.
• MobiThinking looks at vanity apps and why there may be a mismatch with brands’ target demographic. It also submits a new report on what Mobile 2.0 really is…
• Tam Hanna looks at the Galaxy Tablet and why it might be a trailblazer for devices to come.
• Chetan Sharma gives us a must-read summary of his latest Mobile Future Forward Breakfast event (with worthwhile insights into what we can expect in 2011).
• The WAP Review offers their take on the best eBook reader apps for the N8.;
• Tomi Ahonen writes on the platform wars and Nokia’s position in the scheme of things ( a post that also triggered a reply from Robert Scoble and kicked off an invigorating debate). Volker offers his take on the discussion as his submission to this month’s COM.

READ THE COM #244 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #243

Andy Favell at mobiThinking hosts this excellent line-up of posts from regular Mobilists and our new contributors Average Jane, a columnist at MOPocket, and Lindy Dreyer at SocialFish.

This roundup includes:

• Antoine RJ Wright takes a look at music services – specifically Last.FM.
• Dr. Jim Taylor picks up this discussion with a look at the psychology behind our urge to tune in music on our devices and block out the world.
• Raj Singh also considers if (and how) mobile devices can influence changes in behavior and takes a look at how mobile might improve our health.
• Dean Bubley of Disruptive Analysis looks at our interest in mobile social and asks the uncomfortable question: have mobile operators missed the chance to own the social graph?
• Peggy Anne Salz at MSearchGroove looks at trust, permission and the human factors that impact the relationship between marketers and mobile users. To drive the point home she interviews Michael Becker from the Mobile Marketing Association in a podcast.
• Volker Hirsch takes a hard look at licensed movie apps and why they don’t fly on the iPhone.
• Lindy Dreyer at SocialFish also examines apps — and poses the question: are they a waste of
• James Coops at Mobyaffiliates tells us why a new US-based mobile ad network called Burstly might be good news for buyers and sellers of in-app advertising.
• David Eads of Mobile Strategy Partners discusses two trends that will challenge the industry for a while to come: the advance of mobile commerce and the avalanche of device fragmentation issues.
• Tom Godber at Masabi looks at latest mobile phone sales stats — a theme also picked up in the podcast from the Fonecast.
• Keeping with smartphones an platforms we have an analysis of Nokia/Symbian from Tam Hanna. Ajit Jaokar picks up the thread over at OpenGardens looks at Android features. Nan Hickman closes the circle with a commentary on the outlook for Windows Phone 7.
• Randy Giusto at NewDigitalCafé looks at why touch could well be the future of computing.
• Radvision’s Tsahi Levent-Levi compares circuit switching and packet switching in three installments. circuit switching and packet switching.

Pick of the week: Andy gives the honors to two COM newcomers: Average Jane at MOpocket and Lindy Dreyer at SocialFish.

READ COM #243 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #242

AntoineRJWright steps up to host a colorful and eclectic mix of posts at his new-look site this week.

The line-up includes:

• Andy Favell at MobiThinking interviews Susan Teltscher, head of market information and statistics, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU.
• Peggy Anne Salz at MSearchGroove posts The Mobile Marketing Review, a new podcast series that brings together the Mobile Mavens (Kim Dushinski and Linda Daichendt) to critique mobile marketing campaigns. The focus this month: Arby’s cross-marketing campaign in the U.S.
• Rita El Khoury from Mobile R’n’R charts the divergence in Mobile and Web and wonders when convergence will truly arrive
• Ajit Jaokar at Open Gardens examines pricing, usability and the market potential of tablets
• AntoineRJWright also looks at tablets – and examines why the paradigm requires more than a repeat of what we know from the PC
• Tomi Ahonen at Communities Dominate Brands takes a hard look at Nokia (based on their recently published Q3 financial results)
• Rafe Blandford from All About Symbian takes a look at the future of the Symbian platform
• Tsahi Levent-Levi (via a guest post at VisionMobile) maps the evolution of the Android platform
• Francisco Kattan provides us a good read and an analysis of Microsoft’s strategy with Windows Phone 7 through the lens of the XBox
• Dean Bubley from Disruptive Wireless dissects Sprint’s approach to the mobile wallet

READ COM #242 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #241

This week’s COM comes to us via mobile strategist and marketer Martin Wilson of Indigo102. A special feature of this particular COM: a summary of Forum Oxford: Future Technologies Conference at the University of Oxford (a milestone event attended by many regular Mobilists including Ajit Jaokar, Tomi Ahonen and Martin Wilson).

The line-up includes:

Aurélien Fonteneau at ON gives us a round-up of the buzz surrounding the release of Windows Phone 7.

Peggy Anne Salz at MSearchGroove gives us her take on the recent Mobile Marketing Association Forum event in London and cross-posts a column she contributed to mobile Marketer.

Lisa Ciangiulli over at Alcatel-Lucent Global Advertising Solutions contributes her column – one that urges mobile operators to stand up and seize the opportunity mobile marketing offers

Helen Keegan, a mobile marketing authority and an organizer of Heroes of the Mobile Screen, describes what would happen (and change) if U.K. supermarket Tesco got serious about mobile

Steven Hoober urges developers to consider mobile context when designing mobile apps, websites and phones.

Finally, a reach out from Holly Kolman over at MobiEnthusiast seeking expert contributors to share breaking news about mobile developments.

READ COM #241 HERE

Carnival of the Mobilists #240

Eric Chan is back again to host the week that also mark’s the fifth anniversary of the COM. We now count over 100 members and will sharpen our focus in 2011 on growing the roster of mobile experts and influencers. Be sure to follow COM on Twitter (@COTMobilists) and keep those submissions coming!

The line-up this week:

• The stats that sum up the Mobile Web (and the year) in numbers from Dave Olsen. Dave also shares valuable views on mobile strategy and how to build on interfaces to allow complex interactions based on device type and device reach.
• Mark Bridge over at thefonecast.com interviews Dave Tharp from Roulette Cricket.
• Monty Munford gives a ‘birds-eye view’ of the team behind Angry Birds.
• Andy Favell at mobiThinking provides us a breakdown of the people and the campaigns recognized at the Mobile Marketing Association 2010 Global Awards. He also features an interview with the Selly Muzammil from the United Nations World Food Programme
• Steven Hoober deep dives into what mobile convergence really means. His advice: make mobile services genuinely useful and easy to find.
• Rudy De Waele gives us all the details behind the upcoming Design for the Networked City at the Mobile Design Conference taking place in Barcelona
• And Eric wraps up the COM with the exciting announcement that I have added Angel Investor to his long list of mobile activities.

Thanks for hosting and congrats on the new venture!

READ COM #240 HERE