The Greater Boston Mobile Cluster Quiz

Note to readers, August 27, 10:20 pm: Since our site was down for virtually the entire day, we are leaving the quiz open over the weekend. Instead of posting the results on Friday, August 28 as planned, we will post them the following Monday.

Boston is home to one of the country’s top clusters of mobile technology companies. Depending on who you listen to, or how you count, it’s either number one or number two (just before or just before after the Bay Area—but don’t tell folks in San Diego or Seattle). However, you count it, the field is big—and growing. We’ve looked at the Boston mobile cluster in several stories—here and here—and we held a forum on The Future of Mobile Innovation in New England in April that brought together many of the region’s mobile leaders. We even posted our Mobile Innovation Showcase that, well, showcases New England mobile companies. Now, a few months down the road, we thought it would be fun to test how much you’ve absorbed about this important cluster.

For folks who have been reading my occasional X Factor quizzes on the venture industry, I promise I have not become a total quizmaster. But I do have fun with these little tests of knowledge—and hope you do, too.

Virtually all the data in this quiz comes from Mobile Monday Boston, and a lot of it is already on their site (so go ahead and cheat if you want). But we’ve added a few more details from MoMoBoston coordinator Kate Imbach and our own files. As you take the quiz, remember that mobile technology covers everything from hardware (such as handsets or even batteries) to applications to voice services and mobile advertising.

With that bit of background, let’s get started. I’ll have the answers and hopefully a bit of perspective tomorrow.

Question No. 1

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Question No. 2

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Question No. 3

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Question No. 4

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Question No. 5

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Remember, answers and some context and commentary tomorrow.

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.