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Dear ,
CTIA wrapped up last week, where we were wrapped up in meetings, events; and a busy trade booth with our association partners (see ARC below). What struck me were the number of application companies, where I caution on the word 'company', as many appeared to offer features, rather than a sustainable company. There is also now a proliferation of channel aggregators offering these companies an 'easy' route to market. I question the validity of many of these aggregators; as well I don't see many differentiation points amongst them. Watch for consolidation on all of the above.
I also spent time in collaborative meetings with developer programs who are genuinely interested in working together to address issues like fragmentation in the ecosystem and evangelizing to developers the importance of smart development including proper business planning and technical design up front. I heard several 'horror' stories where a lack of simple design features up front allowing for features such as localization, cost companies several man months and missed revenue opportunities. Developers: Don't try this at home!
We had lots of fun at the WIP Essence Event that was sponsored by Orange Partner see photos below. Many said it was the best party of CTIA due to the quality of networking, and the beds at the Supper Club made for a really interesting venue.
WIP is hosting several events at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona in February including a BarCamp and an Essence Event. If you are interested in sponsoring - let me know soon.
In November you'll find WIP:
I'll be in Europe November 4-14:
· November 5, London - Canada/UK 2010/2012 Games Partnering Event
· November 6, London - Orange Partner Mashup event
· November 7, Glasgow for meetings
· November 8 /9 - back to London including the MotoDev Summit event on the Friday.
· November 12/13 - Paris for meetings.
Richard 'Jasper' Mardon will be in the Bay area of California the week of November 13 & 14 in Palo Alto to attend Nokia's Technology Days.
Contact us if you'd like to meet during this time.
Best, Caroline
Caroline Lewko, CEO and Founder
Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP)
The 'Connector' for the mobile and wireless industry
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Quick Links |
WIP MEMBER DIRECTORY - ADD your company to the FREE listing to pinpoint your next customer, partners, investment.
WIP RESOURCES - find technical organizations, standards bodies, research labs and more....
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| The Essential Elements of CTIA |
Beyond the parties and events, Richard 'Jasper' Mardon, WIP's VP of Developer Partnership shares his views on CTIA.
The biggest 'Presence' at CTIA - Apple and the IPhone.
The IPhone made it into every speaker's presentation, and all that without Apple even having booth space on the show floor! Not bad for a company that has managed to sell as many phones in six months as Nokia sells in one day.
Has Apple created a new phone class "The Touch Phone" where you don't actually make calls with it, but rather just walk around touching it?
People that had one were happy to show it off and its great interface concept. But funnily enough, I did not see anyone actually using it as a phone or in any other mode of communication. IPhone users seemed content just to touch it, rather than actually try to use it. As a contrast most Blackberry users were either typing on the device or had it jammed up in their ear, the two prime purposes of a smart phone.
Sell a phone, keep a customer
Keep in mind that when Apple sells a phone, they get to keep the customer and revenues from that customer just keep coming in long after the cash from the phone sale is in the cash register.
Apple and Nokia - two players in a class of their own.
I attended an excellent analysts briefing presentation by IDC. Lots of very useful facts and figures, and of course, opinions. One of the most interesting slides put up (btw, someone must have come up with a better metaphor than the 'slide' for info presentation, can you let me know what it is?) was one by Shiv Bakshi. In talking about whether the network has the intelligence or not, Dr. Bakshi divided the space into two groups, those "regulated players who think the network is smart" (Sprint, Vodaphone, Nortel Networks etc.) and " unregulated players who think that networks are 'dumb pipes' (Yahoo, Google, Cisco, HP etc.) . Positioned right between the two groups were Nokia and Apple. What's next? a merger with Apple and Nokia to fight off the evil Google? You heard it here first.
Best Line at the show - Cold dead fish or sushi?
Carriers - People who sell sushi and put up a sign saying "We sell cold dead fish", courtesy of Shiv Bakshi in his IDC briefing at CTIA Oct 2007
Lots more thoughts on CTIA, so contact me if you are interested via jasper@wipconnector.com Richard 'Jasper' Mardon
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WIP - Alliance of Regional Clusters (ARC) |
Many thanks to CTIA who supported the WIP-ARC booth and meeting room, giving our members an opportunity to showcase themselves and have a meeting place on-site . WINBC (Vancouver, British Columbia), WCA (San Jose, California) and AWA (Austin Wireless Alliance, Texas), participated. Join us during CTIA Spring in April 2008.
 WIP welcomes WiTEC to the Alliance.
WiTec Alberta is an industry association focused on supporting the Wireless & Telecom industry in the Province of Alberta. The aim of the Association is to help link and leverage organizations, events, resources and projects that are helping to grow and strengthen the Wireless & Telecom sectors in that Province.
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 Reach, Information, Contacts
ARC is available for networking and research projects.
ARC is a group of industry organizations and trade associations that develop, promote and facilitate economic growth in the wireless industry in specific geographic regions; playing a crucial role in strengthening our industry globally. From our vantage point, we know what is happening on the ground floor of the wireless and mobile industry.
WIP is pleased to facilitate the Alliance of Regional Clusters.
Contact us today to include your organization.
  
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| Orange Application Shops - A channel to over 100m subscribers |
Are you looking for a new distribution route for your mobile application?
· Is your product the next best-selling app?
· Is it innovative and quirky delivering clear user-benefits that customers will want to snap-up right away?
· Do you want to sell direct to potentially 100m plus Orange customers?
If so, then submit it to Orange now!
If they think it will sell you can have it on the market in a matter of weeks.
What is the Application Shop?
The Shop is an exciting new distribution route for your mobile applications, aimed at customers who want to buy applications for personal use.
The Shop sits within existing sales distribution channels ie: http://www.orange.co.uk/ and it's populated by your products that have been submitted to the Orange Partner programme for commercialisation.
How do Orange customers access it?
Customers will be able to view and buy applications either from the Orange World wap portal on their phones or on www.orange.co.uk
The WAP site is currently live in the UK and can be accessed on a range of devices.
Right now Orange Partner is building their portfolio of applications, to be able to offer Orange customers the best (in terms of innovation and quality) applications in the market. Once this is done the Shop will be more visible, easier to access and well promoted - to gain maximum exposure to the applications within it.
The WEB site will launch in the UK by the end of Q4 2007 and Spain, Belgium
and Romania will follow in 2008.
What are the commercial benefits to you?
· It's free to join the Orange Partner programme.
· The Shop is a low cost, low barrier to entry distribution channel for your products in the UK (Belgium, Spain and Romania in 2008) - reaching millions of Orange customers.
· As part of the commercialisation process you receive free Orange Compatibility Testing (with an opportunity to receive the Orange Compatible endorsement) and discounted industry standard testing and signing.
· There is no cost associated to submitting your application for consideration.
· Once your application is accepted, the revenue generated will be split between you and Orange..
· You'll get a streamlined commercial settlements process including daily online sales reports.
· Orange Partner manages sales, marketing, and distribution via the Orange World WEB site and on device WAP site plus other future channels.
What types of applications is Orange looking for?
If you have applications in the following categories then submit them to Orange now for consideration and possible distribution via the Shop.
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Category |
Examples |
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Communications |
Email, instant messaging |
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Lifestyle |
Health & fitness, sport, food, hobbies |
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Utilities |
Productivity, security |
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Education & reference |
eBooks, dictionaries, guides |
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Travel |
Maps, languages, travel guides |
Find out more at:
http://www.orangepartner.com/site/enuk/work/consumer/shop/p_shop.jsp
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| Upcoming Events and Discounts for WIP Members |
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2008 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge ®
Registration for the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is once again under way, offering developers the chance to compete for a share of a global prize pool valued in the millions (USD), as well as priceless exposure for their LBS application. Now in its fifth year, the LBS Challenge has expanded into three regions: The Americas, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Registration for The Americas region ends December 7, 2007. For more information, go to www.LBSChallenge.com
 November 13-15, Boston
WIP attendees will receive $100 discount.
The Mobile Internet will allow consumers and businesses to connect to others, access new types of applications, and download new forms of content from anywhere. The Mobile Internet World Conference & Expo will, for the first time, bring together all the key players in the emerging mobile Internet ecosystem. Please visit: http://www.mobilenetx.com/
Java Mobile & Embedded Developer Days Conference
January 23-24, California
This is a 'first ever' conference is devoted solely to the technologies of mobile and embedded Java platforms and will be a unique opportunity for application developers of intermediate and advanced skill levels, platform developers, and technical experts at tool vendors, OEMs and carriers to get introduced to the community, to join in and collaborate. Register today and reserve your space.
 January 13-16, Hawaii
WIP attendees will receive 15% discount
PTC '08 will focus on the dramatic impact of interactive video and user-created content on telecommuncations networks, markets and regulatory policy throughout the Pacificic Region and worldwide.Digital video and IP have blurred industry boundaries, redefining who produces content, how it is distributed and where and when people choose to watch.PTC'08 will bring together a diverse range of seasoned experts to explore the impact of digital video on all aspects of telecommunications.
January 21-22, London
WIP members will receive 10%discount when you quote promotional code 939WIP
IP Telco World is the most interactive, operator focused, telco networks and strategy event of 2008. MAke sure you reserve your tickets today.Offering over 60 operator presentations to choose from and attracting over 300 senior attendees from fixed & mobile operators, ISPs and content providers, IP Telco World 2008 is the pace to be.
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