So far, the promise of the mobile web has been just that — a promise. Despite big plans and grand visions, the untethered Internet has eluded us all, largely due to the slower-than-predicted rollout of 3G wireless technologies. But just like the world of wireless, that is all set to change, as many wireless industry insiders believe that 4G Wireless (also known as LTE or WiMAX) might arrive faster than expected.
Indeed, with the recent convergences in design, user experience, handset technology, and location and wireless network technology, the promise of the mobile web is finally about to be unleashed. Faster network speeds are powering devices with bigger screens, newer interfaces and an emphasis on delivering a new kind of wireless Internet experience. The standard operating systems — RIM’s Blackberry, Apple, Google Android, LiMo, Windows Mobile & Symbian — are opening up opportunities for new applications and new ideas. It’s hard not to get excited about the possibilities. In order to understand the implications of all this, we’re planning a new conference in August 2008: Mobilize.
Mobilize will be a one-day conference that brings together the thought leaders and practioners of what is essentially the mobile web. Through talks, demonstrations and debate we hope to get a better sense of the future and at the same time define opportunities for both entrepreneurs and those looking to back them.
Stay tuned for details on the schedule, location and speakers. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in speaking at the conference, email mobilize@gigaom.com. For sponsorship details, email sponsors@gigaom.com.
4 trackbacks so far
7:38 AM PT
[...] From the post: [...]
1:13 PM PT
[...] screen sizes increase, we are going to see a further upsurge in the innovation of the ecosystem. It is the central thesis of our conference, Mobilize 08, which will be held on Sept. 18th at the Mission Bay Center in San [...]
9:35 AM PT
[...] August 13, 2008 at 9:12 AM PT Comments (0) We are working hard to prepare for our Mobilize 08 conference scheduled to be held on September 18 in San Francisco. You already know about Rich Miner (Google), [...]
6:13 AM PT
[...] This August, Get Up & Mobilize [...]
6 comments so far
6:30 PM PT
Are you sure those e-mail addresses work? I’m getting a bounce…”user does not exist”…
10:32 PM PT
Sorry about that. We corrected the addresses. Thank you!
1:16 AM PT
You should have been at Informa’s LTE World Summit in Berlin this week. They will really start to market LTE at the end of 2009. 150 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload speeds are no problem, the hardware interoperability testing shows it. Especially T-Mobile is keen on it because it brings down their costs per bit by factor four to ten.
11:06 AM PT
So this is regarding the mobile web only? Not native mobile apps (ie, BREW, Java, .NET, Symbian, Obj-C, etc.)?
3:56 PM PT
Sounds like a good idea for a conference. I used to work for CTIA, and every year it was “next year” for the explosion in data traffic. But things do seem different finally.
Are you interested in a mobile backhaul opinion other than Nortel’s?
12:55 PM PT
This is definitely worth a discussion, but I wonder if a public discussion will really solve the real underlying problem of greedy carriers trying to hold on to a currently lucrative model.
The potential as showcased in the Moorestown MID project and others like it require a under the radar disruptive approach to bypass carriers altogether in my humble opinion. I’m not sure that is possible or attractive to the mainstream players at this point.
The “disruptive” models I’m talking about may be services and business models that offer things like virtual concierge services enabled by WiMax enabled cities that can offset the costs of the device and incentivize cities to roll out Meraki like repeaters and more… Thoughts?