Mobile Madness 2011 is happening next Wednesday, March 9, at Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA. Be there or be square.
A couple of quick updates, before I return to the raging news-osphere. You can see the updated, detailed agenda for the conference here.
—We’ve added Microsoft enterprise mobile specialist Anthony Kinney to the program. Here’s hoping he can tell us what’s up with the Nokia deal, and what the future holds for Windows phones.
—One of our two stealth startups has decided to remain stealthy (we won’t call them out just yet). And SCVNGR has pulled out of the location smackdown—they are all heads-down over there on an intriguing new project and send their regrets. Which, of course, makes them fair game to talk smack about on the panel. Except Rich Miner, one of their investors, might come to their defense, or kick your butt, not necessarily in that order (he’s on another panel).
—As for what the venerable Stephen Wolfram will say in his keynote, my answer would be “your guess is as good as mine.” Here’s a scientist who is searching for the lines of code that might underlie the workings of the entire universe. In his spare time he runs a growing and profitable software company, Wolfram Research, and is on a quest to understand what makes knowledge computable (Wolfram Alpha). I think it’s safe to say he’ll have a unique perspective on the future of the mobile industry. What I can tell you is his handlers want to know if the podium can fit an iPad and a MacBook side by side, so he’s definitely a gadget geek (he loves his iPhone too).
—If you’re in the mood for a little homework before the event, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of my colleague Wade Roush’s list of seven key unanswered questions about the future of mobile. We’ve invited speakers who can shed light on every one of Wade’s questions (and yours too, we hope).
We look forward to seeing you there on Wednesday.
