Sony Ericsson » mobilegroove

The Netsize Guide 2010 is breaking download records and an increasing number of "fans" have even purchased a paper copy of this must-read mobile industry resource. In view of the phenomenal popularity of this content, MSG is joining with Netsize to showcase a "best of" selection of executive interviews and hot topics that have everyone talking. We start the series with a timely and telling interview with Christopher David, head of Developer and Partner Engagement, Sony Ericsson. Over the next weeks I'll expand the focus to include in-depth features and podcasts with the companies and influencers at the forefront of mobile and mobility.

Regular readers will know that a high point of my year is collaborating with the Netsize team to collect the information, ideas and insights from industry authorities and +25 c-level execs that make the Netsize Guide the industry's number one reference work. This year is no exception. To the contrary, I'm proud to report the Netsize Guide 2010 – the 9th Edition of the Netsize almanac– is widely regarded as the best edition ever (!).

One reason for the heightened interest could be the sharp focus on the future of mobile and mobility. The Netsize Guide, aptly titled Mobile Renaissance, pushes the boundaries and examines the

In the run up to Mobile World Congress 2010 MSG hosts a three part series dissecting the mobile developments impacting the mobile industry and our society at all levels, as documented in the Netsize Guide. This comprehensive annual analysis of what matters in mobile - often referred to as a mobile 2.0 reference work -- combines country telecommunications data, exclusive interviews with senior executives and insights from online surveys with mobile professionals and practitioners to provide the inside track on what's happening in mobile – everywhere.

Today we look at mobile entertainment. What issues/opportunities peg the needle? What models deliver? And what past industry events/milestones shape the future?

It's that time of the year again! This year marks the third consecutive year that I have been commissioned by Netsize, a global mobile commerce and communications enabler, to write the Netsize Guide. This comprehensive mobile industry almanac recounts the year's milestones in mobile and looks ahead to the future of mobile. A special focus this year is the impact of mobile on verticals such as healthcare and retails and the outlook (supplemented by interviews with GeoVector CEO John Ellenby and Layar Co-Founder Maarten Lens-FitzGerald).

I'm thrilled with the variety and caliber of this year's interviews.

Are you a company in a vertical industry (banking healthcare, retail etc...) that has implemented mobile in a new way to improve processes and achieve positive results? Or are you a vendor company with a compelling customer case study to share? If your answer to either is "yes," then reach out to me directly. For the third consecutive year I have been commissioned to research and write the Netsize Guide, a comprehensive mobile industry almanac published by Netsize, a mobile commerce and communications enabler. Following on from the phenomenally popular future-focused chapter that wrapped up last year's Netsize guide (a chapter I was proud to co-create with Stan Chesnais, Netsize CEO), this year's publication will continue to explore the personal experiences and business opportunities emerging as our virtual and physical worlds converge supported by 25+ interviews with C-Level executives and influencers.

In brief: App stores are hot, but what are the challenges and where is the opportunity? This analysis draws from a variety of sources - including a recent Airwide Solutions survey, an exclusive interview with Vodafone UK's Jonathan Kelly, and a thought-provoking post from Alfred DeRose, Co-founder & Managing Director of Tego Interactive, a Web and mobile product and services company providing development and integrated solutions for the needs of major brands, content publishers and mobile network operators - to provide some practical answers. App store frenzy? That's what comes across when you connect the dots in the raft of recent announcements. Mobile operators ranging from U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless (which has borrowed a page from parent company Vodafone to launch a carrier-wide app store based on Java ME that can target more than one device) to China Mobile (which tells TelecomAsia.net that it's moving full-steam ahead on its Mobile Market app store where it plans to take 50 percent cut of app sales revenues) are jockeying for position and a piece of the action. Interestingly, much of the operator excitement centers on the new mobile advertising opportunity app stores represent. As Jonathan Kelly, who heads up Vodafone UK Marketing, recently told me in a briefing: "I see some quite interesting opportunities in apps and widgets. A likely scenario could involve a sponsored widget, where the brand actually works with us to create a widget or application that we then prominently place in our app store." Beyond that, Jonathan sees other opportunities around actually embedding advertising within a widget. "You could have some sort of utility widget that's providing weather, and there's no reason why certain relevant companies may not wish to have some advertising embedded within that." At the other end of the spectrum, Apple's App Store, RIM's BlackBerry App World and Android's Marketplace may have been the first to the party, but they have company. The recent JavaOne conference kicked off its annual convention by opening the doors of the Java App Store, a global marketplace for Java apps headed by Sun Microsystems. It comes on the heels of other app store news elsewhere in the industry including Nokia's launch of the Ovi app store, a storefront offering available in Australia, Singapore, Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia, Ireland and the U.K, offering 20,000 titles (a fraction of which are apps) to an estimated 50 million Nokia devices globally.