Category — CTIA

One of the problems we’ve had with mobile video is figuring what formats to offer the user and how.

On one automotive mobile site we offered two video types for download - but that assumed the user knew which one would work on their device. We also had to compress and shrink the video to the lowest common denominator so that it would fit on all devices.

What a pain in the butt… and try passing that off to your client as customer friendly!  

At CTIA this past March I had an opportunity to speak with Daniel Torras - the VP of Marketing and Product Strategy for vantrix - a company that specializes in mobile video solutions.

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Last week at CTIA Wireless I had a chance to sit down with Michael Chang, the CEO of Greystripe to talk about mobile gaming and more specifically about his mobile advertising platform.

Greystripe currently has over 800 java based mobile games which are distributed through their own site (gamejump.com) and about 100 other sites and partners.

What makes them unique is the fact that any person with a java-enabled mobile device can download their games for free as Greystripe’s gaming network is ad-supported.

Users downloading games must view 2 pre-game ads and two post-game ads in order to access their games.

Mobile Ads have not been a barrier to engagement

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At first glance, the pcEdge had a similar “wow” factor as the Polymer device that featured a roll-up / out screen as profiled here and seen as the WMC in February.

With only rumours of the 3G iphone coming in June and no sign of any real iphone killer or really fantastic next generation blackberry, this is the one device that stuck out the most to me this week.

It looks like a motorola razr - but much larger with an impressive 6 inch by 3 inch display and about 1/2 inch thick. That’s about double the screen space as the iphone.  It’s thin, it looks cool… but it falls short in my opinion of being a must have device.

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Today’s keynote address at CTIA was Sir Richard Branson who talked about doing things his way. He brought us on a 30 minute journey through the many bold successes Virgin has had. The highlight of his presentation was when he proclaimed that his next project once Virgin Galactic takes off is to build a modern day ”Noah’s Ark” for space that will send animals, seeds and 30 volunteers to travel to Mars for what he described could be a one way ticket.  

April fools joke or yet another bold project for the future?

Although his proclamation sounded more like a joke than a vision for the future - this wouldn’t be the first time he has gone against “the experts” to boldly go where no company has gone before (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Other things I’ve picked up on over the first two days:

1. If you lend you iphone to a stranger to make a local call, be sure to keep them within eyesight… or give them a quarter to make a call. Last night a stranger at an industry party walked away with my iphone. Good thing there’s an Apple store across the street from the hotel!
2. Much like the North American mobile industry, so much has changed in Vegas since I was last here two years ago. It’s truly remarkable to see the number of new buildings, casinos, and condos from 2 years ago. Even more remarkable are the massive projects currently under-way that will completely transform the infamous strip into something even more excessive. One project called the City Centre will have it’s own water treatment plant and power station. It looks like a series of 10 buildings that start at the strip and extend to the other side of the main highway. They have their own private monorail system for the place too.
3. Nothing new from blackberry this week…except a few more colour options for the pearl.
4. Although CTIA Wireless is the largest mobile event in North America, it pales in comparison to size and scale of the world mobile congress
5. 48 billion SMS messages are sent per month in the U.S.!!!

Time to catch a nap before heading over the i love the mobile web launch party!

 I’m on my way to listen, learn, and contribute to the conversation next week in Las Vegas for the 2008 CTIA Wireless conference - the largest mobile conference in North America.

This will be my first time back since 2006 - and much has changed

I’ve signed up to follow the mobile marketing track and have made several appointments with all sorts of players in the mobile ecosystem.

Here are a few things I’m especially looking forward to this week:

1. Alcatel’s session on 4G networks…and their after-party
2. U.S. Spectrum announcement - we’ll find out this week who won the new spectrum that was secretly auctioned off this year. Will it be AT&T, Verizon, Google…. Somebody else?
3. Sneak peak at the Blackberry 9000 series. We’ve seen pictures on the interweb, now let’s hope we can get a closer look
4. Also looking for more Google phone or gphone previews
5. The official kickoff of the “I love the mobile web” campaign which was started by Bango and inherited by the dotmobi MAG to extend the campaign out globally. Their party on Tuesday night should be fun too
6. Examples and application examples of how 2D bar codes are being applied in America
7. Meeting other mobile bloggers!

I’m not a gambling man, but I’m betting this week will be a hoot.