mobilejones

Nokia Conversations goes live April 21st, 2008, led by Nokia’s social media expert, Charlie Schick. As a member of the newly minted Social Media Communications group inside Nokia, Charlie has built what he refers to as a “mud hut,” and which he plans to transform into a blogosphere palace. Mark Squires describes the project briefly in my video interview with him at CTIA.

Many people will recall Charlie from his early work with Nokia’s first blogger outreach project promoting the use of Lifeblog. But for those who don’t remember. Lifeblog was a three-way (mobile, PC, Typepad blog) syncing application built in partnership with Six Apart allowing Typepad users to post images, photos, videos and text directly from their Nokia devices. That was over 3 years ago, and many of us have had the privilege of sharing conversations with Charlie since those early days in 2005.

Nokia Conversations highlights the developments inside the world’s largest device manufacturer, and new entrant into mobile content and services that the 60,000 employee company represents. Some of those 60K employees are also introduced along with their accomplishments and new products. Comments are welcomed, and engagement with the blogosphere has already begun as you’ll see. Welcome Nokia and we look forward to the “conversations.”

Congratulations to Charlie and his team for a job well done. If this is the “mud hut,” I can’t wait to witness the path of construction to the palace.

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Supervising Producer for MTV, Michael Scogin discusses the network’s Choose or Lose social media project, the live video streams from Super Tuesday. We also hear what MTV sees as the future of its citizen journalism efforts.

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A year ago I received an email from Francois Gossieaux about a new thought leadership blog that would focus on the mobile industry and specifically messaging.  Initially I thought it might be another among the countless offers I’ve received to provide content for free “to raise my profile.”  When I read that this was a Corante production, and that it was sponsored by Airwide Solutions I became intrigued.  Francois was on the phone almost immediately and he quoted a list of other mobile bloggers who I knew and respected.  I was quickly convinced that this new blog called Mobile Messaging 2.0 would be a great opportunity and said yes on the spot.

Mobile Messaging 2.0 has provided me with the chance to work and collaborate with the great team of writers assembled by Corante.  We’ve covered events around the globe including: Global Mobile Messaging - Monte Carlo, Brew Conference - San Diego, TechCrunch 40 - San Francisco, CTIA Fall - San Francisco, MWC - Barcelona, and CTIA Wireless - Las Vegas, just two weeks ago.  I’ve enjoyed the amazing thoughts and writing from my colleagues at MM2, and been privileged to share thoughts, brainstorms and disagreements with them in our weekly editorial conference calls.  Over this year,

• Four of the top ten most popular posts on MM2 were written by me.
• I’ve recruited two of the writers at MM2.
• As Managing Editor, I’ve led our weekly conference calls and our monthly editorial calendar.
• Brought the Carnival of Mobilists to MM2 along with securing the blog’s feature position at TechDispencer, Computerworld’s Blog Network
• Covered conferences and other events

With my separate increasing demands from other projects and even the neglect of mobilejones.com to consider, it’s time to move on.  Mobile Messaging 2.0 will continue to be an important addition to anyone’s feed reader who wants to understand the evolving mobile industry, especially as we turned to the new opportunities related to mobile advertising.  I’ve very much enjoyed interaction with readers of MM2 and look forward to, now, becoming one of them.

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Another mobile video captured with a Nokia N95 8GB recorded locally featuring Louis Libin who discusses the challenges with coordination of all wireless communications at both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican Natonal Convention this summer.

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A version of the interview with Mark Squires, Head of Social Media Communications at Nokia. This video was also captured using an N95 8GB, but minus live streaming. It was recorded directly to the device and as is probably obvious wasn’t on a tripod. Tripods are hugely helpful in these type of recording environments. Everyone’s hand does shake at least a little.The audio codecs used by streaming services come into question when viewing the local recording as the sound is much improved. So is the solution is likely an external mic AND a better audio codec on the streaming service.If you listen closely you’ll notice that we have a scoop on Nokia’s internal blogging effort going live. Tough to prove it as it’s not public, but 800+ internal blogs is quite the undertaking. Now, I wonder about Nokia Twitter which would likely deliver the internal news service in a more efficient manner for everyone at the company.

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Welcome to Carnvial of Mobilists #119. What’s amazing about this week’s offerings is that they themselves are a reflection of mobile’s push to data and multimedia in 2008. Handset companies, former handset companies, Internet companies, new entrants and social networking giants are all involved in mashups of services. And this CoM is a mashup of various media types to capture it all and bring to you. A photographic collage, video, audio and even the old school written article converge in the CoM to bring together the best thinking, talking and writing about mobility around the world.

From China, Anina of 360fashion.net and 360fashion.tv, delivers a video recorded with a Nokia 7900 which features a discussion with a Chinese fashion booker on the usefulness and utility of Anina’s own mobile game for girls called, Dress Up Anina. Some will be aware of Anina’s efforts through her 360fashion network to mashup the fashion and mobile industries. And if you’re not, you should be.

From the UK, Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian, creates his media mashup of a visual commentary of CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas.

Andrew Gill of blog.andrewgill.com introduces us to a mashup of Facebook and LBS which allows tracking of friends and family including wayward spouses. Channeling Dr. Suess: Oh! The Places We Will Go! The service is made available by UK mobile operator O2.

Vero Pepperrell of Taptology brings more news of O2 which reveals that 3G isn’t necessarily about speed for this operator. Read this one as “trust but verify” might be the best advice for those who think the iPhone’s Edge radio doesn’t meet their demands for 3G speed, especially those in the UK.

Ajit Jaokar of Open Gardens talks about his mashup of Gmail with Blackberry. This article asks a very simple direct question, but it’s hinting something bigger.

Kiran Bellubbi of Small Doses reflects on last week’s attendance at OvertheAir mobile development camp and champions the browser as platform for mobile devices. Let’s repeat together….iPhone, iPhone, iPhone.

Matt Radford of AllAboutiPhone discusses the iPhone’s Over-the-air (OTA) syncing opportunities and possible roadmap through an analysis of recent announcements from Apple along with it’s other properties. Interesting assessment of what syncing could mean for enterprises and for Apple.

James Cooper of mjelly delivers a comprehensive recap of this month’s Mobile Monday, London discussion on mobile user experience. The enthusiasm James has for the topic is palpable and contagious.

Dean Bubley of Distruptive Analysis takes on the disruptive possibilities of m-commerce for brick and mortal retail. Leading with the impact of Amazon on traditional retail, Bubley extrapolates the potential for m-commerce and how traditional retail can deliver unique value in the face of additional price and convenience competition.

James Whatley, aka Whatleydude of SMSTextNews,  advocates replacement of standard device OS user interface with the Facebook interface.  During the Mobile Messaging 2.0 led Roundtable at CTIA 2008, the group I led took on the topic of user experience.  After a discussion of consumer research results on user desire for integrated social networks from Jonathon Steuer, vp, consumer strategist at iconoculture, Facebook, and Helio’s MySpace interface, then the natural next step was expanding the concept to User-defined UI.  Or more correctly expressed….use case defined UI.  Some examples discussed included media creators, sports enthusiasts, and social network addicts.  Take a look as James recounts the discussion.

From the cyber bridge between the UK and US, Chetan Sharma of AORTA delivers the Mobile Data State of the Union for 2008 and the US market. Sharma continues his on target analysis of the mobile industry combining quantitative measures with enlightened commentary which extends beyond the common narrative into the reality of the US mobile market.

From the cyber bridge between Germany and the US, Peggy Anne Salz of MSearchGroove (MSG) connects the dots of Qualcomm’s seemingly disjointed services strategy and roadmap. The article features an extensive discussion with Qualcomm’s Herbert Vanhove, Vice President & General Manager, Qualcomm Internet Services, Europe, with Salz’s own analysis of the meaning and opportunity for Qualcomm’s service M&A activity.

From the US, C. Enrique Ortiz of About Mobility defines the drivers of the wireless/mobile usage boom. Ortiz draws out the factors that are converging to move mobile usage to a critical mass.

Jamie Wells of Mobilestance zeros in on the glut of mobile advertising inventory and mobile publishers engage in experimentation with multiple sales partners. Wells offers some advice for big brands and publishers.

Barbara Ballard of Little Springs Design uses her love of basketball national champions, Kansas University, as a metaphor for success in mobile application design. Ballard answers the question of where the challenge is won.

Judy Breck of Smartmobs features to an article from the New York Time Magazine on the travels and intelligence gathering of Nokia’s Jan Chipchase. With the ubiquity of the cell phone comes opportunities beyond sales of games and dating applications. Breck’s headline says it best, “Can the Cell Phone Help End Global Poverty?”

And finally we come to my pick discussion this week on the mobile industry via audio: Vizard and Gillmor on the Mobile Shakeout from Mike Vizard and Steve Gillmor. Featuring an in depth discussion of Intel’s new Atom chip, these technology industry veterans lead us down the twists and turns of the path to what’s happening next in mobile development. Of course, it wouldn’t be Gillmor without discussion of the iPhone. What do the recent product shortages mean?

From a photo essay to video, to audio and even the written word the Carnvial of Mobilists continues to feature the best thinking on and from the mobile industry. There’s a feast of information available as the CoM continues to grow and incorporate new voices along side long-time contributors. It is a reflection of the industry as a whole. I’m confident that all audiences will find value in the variety of perspectives and commentary featured this week, and would encourage everyone to follow the CoM next week at its new host location, Skydeck’s blog.

If you have articles, videos, audio or photo commentary on any and all things mobile, visit the official Carnival of Mobilists site and join to have your voice featured in a future CoM. And better yet, if you would like to host the best source for thinking on mobility anywhere on the web check out the instructions to volunteer as a host.

Enjoy Carnival of the Mobilists #119. I certainly have.

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Congratulations to my new favorite tech gadget company Cradlepoint for today’s acquisition by Sierra Wireless. Sierra Wireless expands their product offerings from wireless data cards and embedded modules which provide connectivity to mobile networks from PCs.

My Cradlepoint PHS-300 also called a “Personal Wi-Fi Hotspot” is used to connect my Nokia N95 GSM device to the faster EVDO Rev A network. Rev A uplink connection is a zippy 1.8 MBs, in contrast to the GSM carriers in the US who top out at 700 kbs. The N95’s Wi-Fi radio makes this solution possible. Many mobile devices are beginning to ship with a set of three radios: CDMA or GSM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It’s liberating to choose the best network for connectivity and have the compatibility problem solved by a Wi-Fi bridge. Adding mobility to the solution, the PHS-300 is battery-powered with a battery-life of 2 hours.

Pat Phelan telecom distruptor and entrepreneur of CubicTelecom first alerted me to the Cradlepoint as the right solution for capturing and streaming video over US CDMA networks.

The deal is good news for Cradlepoint and good news for Sierra Wireless who now face stiff competition from Qualcomm’s Gobi in the embedded mobile broadband connectivity market. Cradlepoint is well positioned to continue innovating with SWIP’s resources and SWIR expands it’s product suite.

When asked about continued support of USB modems which compete with SWIR like the Novatel I own, Gary Oliverio, vp of marketing, said,

Our mission is to make sure we support as many handsets and modems as we can…we’ll be the Mobile Broadband Router division of SWIR, and will remain intact as an organization. Of course, we’ll continue to innovate with new clever products, features, and ideas!

The current list of supported cards and devices is as follows.

Compatible Cards

• Sprint: Novatel U727, Novatel U720, Sierra 595U, Franklin CDU-550, Franklin CDU-680 & EX720-with adapter
• Verizon: Pantech UM150, Novatel 720U, Sierra 595U & V740-with adapter
• AT&T: AT&T USBConnect 881, Sierra AirCard 881U & Option GT Max 3.6 Express (with adapter)

Compatible Phones

• Sprint: LG Musiq,Motorola RAZR V3c, Motorola RAZR2, Motorola Q (Not Q9c), Palm 700w, Palm 700p, Palm 755p, RIM Blackberry 8703e, RIM Blackberry 8830, Samsung A920, Samsung i830, Sanyo Katana 2, Sanyo M1
• Verizon: LG VX7200, LG VX8000, Motorola RAZR V3c, Palm 700p, RIM Blackberry 8703e
• AT&T: Motorola RAZR v3xx, Motorola Q v9h, Samsung SGH-A707, Samsung Blackjack

The PHS-300 was the perfect solution for increasing upload speeds by using the EVDO Rev A network and enhances the quality of streamed video as I produced during CTIA last week. The last remaining piece to the puzzle is use of an external mic. This solution is being addressed by Nokia and I’m hoping to report on it very soon.

Check out the press release for the details - Sierra Wireless Announces Acquisition of Cradlepoint, Inc. (pdf)

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Supervising Producer at MTV Mobile, Michael Scogin talks about the Choose or Lose project and MTV’s future plans for citizen journalism.

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Another CTIA has come and gone. What a great week! It’s been a great pleasure to work with Bena Roberts at GoMo News these last couple of months and bring GoMo News on Wheels! to life along with creating and launching GoMo’s new look in time for “the conference formerly known as 3GSM”. The new logo and site have been well received by GoMo’s readers and clients which is happy news.

For GoMo News on Wheels! we went from zero to a great production in one month. That’s astonishing. And it was hectic. We couldn’t have done it without the help of a number of people.

GoMo News on Wheels! was an ambitious undertaking. The idea required the right devices to capture quality video, software that could stream the video live and be fault tolerant in the inconsistent environment of the mobile network. We needed enough bandwidth to transfer video at 30 frames per second. And beyond this we planned to record interviews not the 30 to 60 second clips that most people record. In short, we pushed all the parts of the technology to it’s limits and beyond. And of course, we needed wheels.

What made GoMo News on Wheels! a success were our sponsors and technology providers. And I’d like to introduce you to them and reveal their heroic contributions.

First was Nokia. We put in a request with a very short response time for 3 to 5 devices adequate for capturing the videos. The newly minted Social Media Communications group, namely Charlie Schick and Ray Haddow responded quickly and I received 3 brand new N95 8GB-4s. The video quality is amazing and the automatic light and image adjustments made it possible to capture the SnapNow demo. I spoke with Mark Squires about the new team he leads and Nokia’s own social media production.

Next, we needed the software and service for streaming. I spoke to a couple of service providers, but Flixwagon stepped up immediately. They understood the production, our goals and shared my excitement and enthusiasm for putting the mobile industry in motion. To support us Flixwagon provided the SIMs we needed to access ATT 3G network. The whole Flixwagon team was amazingly responsive. Here are the highlights of their heroic efforts in support of GoMo News on Wheels!

• Sarig Reichert traveled to Las Vegas just to ensure our successful capture of interviews
• Xen Mendelsohn brought the production to the attention of the company and did lots of hand holding with me even when it was 11PM in Tel Aviv
• Flixwagon’s developers went into overdrive to develop an updated client for us, and to produce the sexy hot event page for CTIA

That’s an amazing level of support from a tiny startup who is busy creating the bleeding edge solution for Social Media. You guys rock!

And then there was the late night technical service call to the RV by Cradlepoint’s Gary Olivero, founder and VP of Marketing. Gary wasn’t only gracious in the party atmosphere, but kind when responding to a user issue. I love this product and will expand on it’s capabilities in a future post. Gary was scheduled for an interview but Cradlepoint’s success at CTIA prevented us from finding a time to talk. Thanks, Gary!

We are thrilled to be supported by pioneering companies including: JumpTap, MCN, Smaato, Airwide Solutions and SnapNow.

Finally, GoMo News on Wheels! would never have been conceived had Paul Smith of mPulse not shared a meal with me following the Insiders by Dealmaker Media. Paul and mPulse put GoMo News “on Wheels.” Paul has been a source of inspiration, collaboration and humor when it was needed most. The RV was provided by mPulse, as well as the spark that launched GoMo News on Wheels!

Check out all the videos at http://www.flixwagon.com/cita/

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