>play mobile panel is on the future of mobile and mobile applications. I am particularly interested in learning about:

1. Which group will control the ecosystem? Application providers? MNOs? Device manufacturers?
2. Is this a zero-sum game with only one group controlling the ecosystem?
3. Is there only one ecosystem or can multiple parallel ones  coexist? For example, will there be clear segmentation on voice, music, video, applications, games etc.
4. How access layer agnostic will the services be? Does it matter whether the access is over WiMax or HSDPA (or its successor Long Term Evolution LTE)?
5. Will voice become just another application in the services layer and cease to be the major bandwidth consumer?

What are your questions on the future of mobile? Pose them in the comments.

Come to >play to listen to  Nokia, Google, Sprint and LoopT  to hear about mobile future and to get your own questions answered. 

Technorati Tags: >play, play, berkeley, digital media, conference, mba students

Here is a longer version of an interview with Myah who is leading >play.

playinterview.mp3

Zingku a Boston based Mobile application startup, entered into an agreement with Google. Zingku describes its services as ” Supercharged mobile txt and picture messaging for you & your friends.” With the simplicity of TXTing Zingku puts helps you put together a quick Social Network.

Why would Google acquire a TXT application (and a small player in that)?

GigaOM says, ” … we suspect it would be to bolster their Orkut social network. Zingku is an SMS-turbocharger of sort.

GrokOnGoogle says, “Google could offer the ability
to send targeted text links, display ads, and promotional flyers to
cell phones across much of the world.”

IterativePath (that’s me) says, “Duh! There is nothing more personal and personalized than a mobile phone. Whether the mobile business models based on TXT ads or flyers are possible or not are inconsequential to Google at this stage. Following their 9 year old business strategy of, develop something remarkable first and then figure out ways to monetize it, Google is positioning itself to be the place to go to for all things Mobile. Just like becoming the verb for web search, they would want the same with mobile applications.”

On an unrelated(?) note, Google denies reports that it wants to be a telecom.

I thoroughly enjoyed “attending” a match of Layer Tennis presented today by Coudal Partners. What is Layer Tennis you ask? Layer Tennis involves two designers facing off, lobbing designs back and forth in fifteen minute intervals, complete with a play-by-play commentator. The opening serve.

I do wonder, did the commentator miss something on this picture?

Are the lines separating the wolves from the sheep some sort of security measure? Why else would the scene have been labeled “wildlife refuge?” (See the previous volley to understand the source of the lines.)

Google is 9 years old today. It still makes most of its revenue from Ad sales. But its strategic thinking in moving from traditional Internet to everything mobile is clear from its many mobile initiatives. The moves range from the Muni-Wifi to partnership with Sprint on their WiMax network and even the possibility of being a MNO (Mobile Network Operator). Google is shaping the upcoming 700Mhz auction and has pledged a minimum bid to coax FCC to auction of a slice for open access.

In the connected Internet world, no one really owned the Internet and Google thrived on it, especially since all its applications are web based (software as a service). In the mobile internet arena, the are owners to the mobile network. The MNOs had bid big amounts to own the spectrum and invested considerable resources to rollout and maintain a wireless network. So Google is making a strategic move to partner with a MNO and also position itself to be a MNO.

It is not easy to become a MNO overnight, especially given that Google (in simplistic terms) a software centric business. Being a MNO requires acquiring mobile infrastructure, acquiring spectrum, building cell sites and maintainng this network (Can you hear me now! type work), subscriber acquisition, billing etc.

However all these are almost routine work (essential but already perfected by others) that doesn’t require Google’s innovation. With infrastructure providers like Ericsson and Nokia taking on these mundane tasks from MNOs. For example India’s Bharti-Airtel outsourced their network operation to Ericsson, so did 3 and Orange. Google could do the same and focus on intelligent services delivery, which it does best.

With its immense resources Google is going to play a decisive role in shaping the Mobile communications of the future.

Here is a nice summary of Google’s mobile initiatives from the Telephony magazine:

GOOGLE’S WIRELESS INITIATIVES

• Xohm: Google has partnered with Sprint to be the portal services provider for its upcoming WiMAX service. Google will supply a suite of communications and organization applications, as well as collaborate with Sprint on location-based and presence services.
• 700 MHz: Google has expressed a surprising amount of interest in the upcoming auction, which will allocate new broadband wireless licenses in the U.S. Not only has it lobbied the FCC to include open-access rules for certain licenses (against Verizon Wireless’ opposition), it has indicated it may bid in the auction itself.
• Muni Wi-Fi: Google has launched its own free citywide Wi-Fi service in its hometown of Mountain View, Calif. It also has ambitions to be the service provider behind other cities’ municipal wireless launches, although many of those projects have been canceled.
• Google Mobile: Google has recreated many of its most popular Web applications and services for mobile devices, launching Java versions of its Gmail and Google Maps programs and expanding its search capabilities to the mobile Web and short message service. In some cases, it has succeed in placing specific applications as core services on handsets and mobile devices, such as Google Maps on the iPhone and Google Talk on Nokia’s Internet tablets
• Google Phone: Almost a foregone conclusion, the Google phone is the most anticipated device since Apple’s iPhone, even though Google has not officially confirmed its development. The big question is whether it will be a Wi-Fi-only device using Google Talk or one with a cellular chip.
• AdWords: Google is optimizing its core text-ad-delivery technology for mobile, serving up ads for mobile-optimized sites on specific phones when conducting a mobile Web search.

Here is a nice, snack-size media bite about >play. This media file is meant for all those who get their news through iPods. Please pass the link around. This is a sort 30 second version.
A bigger 5 minute version with more details is coming soon.

Here is the 30sec-spot.mp3, you can play on iTunes or Windows Media Player.

David Pogue writes about Cubic Telecom, a service dedicated to cheaper international calls. Cubic was featured at TechCrunch 40 two weeks ago, and their muted pitch went over not really with a bang, but with a “you’ll get acquired” whimper. Goes to show you that if the product works, good PR can go a long way. The Times’ global readership will certainly help this company get off the ground. Enough, even, to not get acquired but stand on its own.  Read the article here.

I’m delighted to introduce our first panel moderator for the 2007 >play conference. Kelli Richards, president of the All Access Group, will be moderating the digital music panel, which will explore the changing rolls of the major players in an industry that seems to be evolving from week to week. Kelli has served at the top levels of major entertainment and technology companies, and recently co-authored the book The Art of Digital Music.

Kelli writes this on her blog about moderating at >play 2007:

I’ve been asked to moderate a panel on the shifting roles in the digital music space as business models evolve. Joining me will be representatives of the different players in the ecosystem from the artist, label, device, distribution, and social networking communities. We’ll look at the power shifts between artists and labels, consumers and media companies, and more. It should be a fun and engaging dialogue; please come and “play” with us if you’re able.

Thanks Kelli, we look forward to the panel on October 27.

Berkeley DMEC’s >play conference is about a month away, and I can feel the energy on campus beginning to crescendo.  One of the many aspects I’m excited about is the quality and breadth of our moderators and panelists this year.  Our student organizers have already lined up many industry experts, and as the list of luminaries nears completion, you can read about them on the >play site.

However, I thought it might be even more engaging to give you all a first introduction to the panelists right here on the blog.  I’m pleased to start a series of conversations with our 2007 >play conference moderators and panelists that will give you an idea of the expertise of the participants, and the topics they will discuss at the conference.

I’ll introduce the first panelist in an entry tomorrow… don’t miss it.

Hey DMECers, it’s Danae again.. Co-Founder of IndieGoGo.

If some of you were wondering why I wasn’t in class last week, it’s because I was in NYC for the IFP Filmmaker Conference. My partner, Slava Rubin, sat on a panel entitled “Filmmaking 2.0 - Turning Your Viewers ‘On’” The panel discussion focused on how filmmakers could and should build their audiences BEFORE they make their films, rather than after. It was a perfect panel for us since IndieGoGo is a social networking platform to help filmmakers to do exactly that so that their fans and supporters can help the filmmakers with fundraising, marketing and even recruiting. By the end of the day, industry veterans and filmmakers alike were “buzzing” about IndieGoGo. I was certainly smiling! Check out a panel recap here.

One highlight of the conference was taking some of the biggest leaders, filmmakers and influencers in the DIY filmmaking space out to dinner. Attendees included the directors of Four-Eyed Monsters (Arin and Susan), Mdot Strange, Lance Weiler, CinemaTech blogger Scott Kirsner, Founder of Open Source Cinema Brett Gaylor, and the distributor of “24 Hours on Craigslist.” Kirsner even gave a brief shout out to the event in his blog.

In sum, it was a fruitful week of marketing, networking and learning for IndieGoGo. The filmmaking 2.0 space is like the Wild Wild West. And it’s certainly fun to be a cowboy… or cowgirl, rather

“Tally-ho, IndieGoGo!!”