In honor of our sixth annual Mobile Madness conference, here are six takeaways from Wednesday, to go along with photos from the event:
1. “Mobile” is redundant. Possibly no one under the age of 25 uses the word.
2. The rest of us should be more specific when we say “mobile.” Do we mean smartphones? Tablets? User behaviors?
3. Hot startup sectors around Boston: advertising, connected devices, app development, app testing and promotion, personal health.
4. Smart devices are getting both closer to our bodies and more distributed in the world. That dichotomy is driving the industry.
5. The emotions and psychology of users will always be key to who wins in a given sector.
6. Do one thing. Do it really, really well. Or, find something else and try again (like 90 percent of startups).
Thanks to our event host, the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, for making its space available. Special thanks to our event sponsors: BDO, IDA Ireland, Mondo, Turnstone, and UK Trade & Investment. And thanks, as always, to our great network of partners, underwriters, and venture capital members.
Big thanks to our photographer, Keith Spiro. You can check out his work at KeithSpiroPhoto courtesy of Kendall Press.
Enjoy the pictures, and see you next time.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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