Mobile Groove

In brief: Gearing up for the Open Mobile Summit, the deal-making mobile industry happening and conference taking place tomorrow in London, with a sneak preview of the key points Alisa Bowen, featured

In brief: A run down of some significant mobile search stats and studies in the run up to Exploring the Future of Mobile Search, an exploratory expert workshop organized by the European Commission, where MSG will give the keynote address.

It’s encouraging to see a much sharper focus on mobile search and a growing realization among mobile operators, content providers and publishers/developers that there is a lot more to mobile search than the universal model we know from the online Internet. Mobile phone form factors push companies to develop new mobile search services that deliver us relevant results in tune with our intent and context. All the better if these services make use of features and functions such as voice recognition, image recognition, location-awareness and Augmented Reality.

Another development that makes search essential is the avalanche of apps and app stores, and the drive by all the players in the ecosystem to make these content and services storefronts a commercial success. Case in point: Apple’s decision to snap up Siri, a voice-activated digital personal assist that takes the concept of search to a new level (allowing us to find not search!)

First, a round of thanks to all the companies and individuals that have reached out to become part of The Mobile Movement, a coalition of entrepreneurs, humanitarians, artists, academics and other industry leaders committed to bringing mobile capabilities to non-profits.

In the last weeks since the launch several members of the advisory board (which includes MSG and Laura Marriott, consultant and former global President of the Mobile Marketing Association) got together for the first board meeting in Boston to evaluate and prioritize the flood of requests from non-profits and companies.

In brief: Details of this week’s commercial launch in the Netherlands from Pekka Ala-Pietila, CEO and Co-founder of Blyk, PLUS an update on activities elsewhere and a look at the social media marketing approach that the company has chosen to stand out from the crowd.

In brief: Europe’s first-ever Augmented Reality (AR) business conference is the perfect jumping-of point for a look at Dutch Augmented Reality (AR) company Layar, an interview with Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, Layar Co-founder & VP of Distribution and Marketing, and some updated company news & stats.

The overwhelming positive response to Europe’s first-ever Augmented Reality Business Conference and Developer Camp (ARBCon) speaks volumes about the new direction and vast potential of AR. The event – which was organized by my esteemed colleague Dan Romescu, an AR pioneer, to bring together companies across the emerging business ecosystem including developers, VCs and researchers. It attracted over 155 participants and featured over 30 speakers/keynotes from 17 countries.

In brief: As many in Europe embark on a long weekend, here is some required reading in the form of a detailed summary of the best in mobile blogging covering the top posts from the last month. From iPhone stats to the size of the mobile market, from the business value of location to the potential dangers of social media, it’s all here.

This time the Carnival of the Mobilists – the line-up of the best blogs and bloggers on all things mobile – comes to us via Holly Kolman. Holly a first-time host, who – true to her blog title – is a real mobile enthusiast brings us COM #221. Kudos for an excellent job and I hope Holly will host another COM soon (!)

The line-up of blogs includes: