Mobile is becoming redundant: in technology, everything is mobile. It’s not just location-based services, or devices, or advertising—it’s networks, consumer Web apps, business software, social commerce, human-computer interfaces, you name it.
Every company and every tech entrepreneur is touched by this revolution. That’s part of why the future of mobile is so exciting—and so very hard to predict. And that’s why we’re going to have a blast on March 9.
That’s when Xconomy is convening our next forum, Mobile Madness 2011, at Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (NERD) in Cambridge, MA. You can see the full agenda here and registration details here (saver rate ends today).
Just a sampling of what’s on offer: We’ll put Qualcomm, Clearwire, and Ruckus Wireless together to hash out the future of 4G. We’ll have Google Ventures, Swype, and Vlingo talk about how your phone is making you smarter. We’ll have interactive panels on the maturation of mobile payments and enterprise apps.
Add two mystery startups that will emerge from stealth at the event…Throw in a “location smackdown” in which SCVNGR, Skyhook Wireless, Where, Locately, and others will debate the future of location-based software and how to actually build a sustainable business there…
And just to make things really interesting, we’ll ask Stephen Wolfram, the creator of Mathematica, A New Kind of Science and Wolfram Alpha, to give his perspective on where mobile is really headed—and how it touches software companies like his (Wolfram Research).
My colleague Wade, who will be in town from San Francisco to emcee the event, has been previewing some of the key themes in the mobile industry. He has compiled a list of seven questions that will decide the future of mobile.
One that caught my eye in particular: who will be the new mobile gatekeepers? Look for Part Two of his column tomorrow, where he’ll tackle questions about the future of physical commerce, business IT, whether context and location-based services are a legitimate business (or just a feature)—and the ultimate question, what comes after mobile? (OK, before we get to that, I also want to know what’s going to happen with Microsoft and Nokia.)
We look forward to seeing you on March 9 to help us get to the bottom of these questions.
