In case you aren’t conferenced out yet, Xconomy Boston is convening a pretty special group of tech leaders a week from today, on Tuesday, March 19.
It’s our fifth annual Mobile Madness event in Boston, and it’s all going down at Microsoft NERD in Kendall Square. I’m told there are just a few tickets left; you can peruse the full agenda here.
A few items of note. The premise of this year’s event is “The Next Revolution.” That implies the current mobile revolution is coming to an end (or at least is somewhat tired). Will the next stage of mobility involve wearable computers, like smart watches and glasses? Or will it look like nothing we imagine today?
Speakers like Dave Icke from MC10 will shed light on the future of wearable devices for consumer and health applications. Jonathan Bush from Athenahealth (which just completed its acquisition of Epocrates in mobile) will talk about the broader significance of mobility to medicine, daily life, and his business. Ben Einstein from Bolt and Dan Ryan from ByteLight will speak to the role of connected hardware in the future of both computing and business innovation. Throw in Eric Giler of WiTricity, and you have quite a discussion of where wireless could really go.
To get at the crux of “what’s beyond mobility,” a deep software guru like Dan Bricklin—who has done it all, from the original spreadsheet to the latest iPad apps—can help us step back and think about where the computing industry has been, and where it might be headed. Angus Davis of Swipely can tell us once and for all how software and analytics will impact local businesses and marketing—and where mobile payments and commerce fit into that. (His experience with Internet high-flier Tellme Networks, bought by Microsoft, doesn’t hurt.)
What are the wireless carriers doing to keep up with the software titans? The Verizon Innovation Center’s Gagan Puranik will present Verizon’s vision for the future of connectivity. He’ll also have on hand about five new products from the center, across the fields of smart sensor integration, wearable computing, near field communication, machine to machine (M2M) technology, and video.
And what about the mobile platform wars? How does Android vs. iOS vs. Samsung vs. Microsoft vs. Amazon play out in the future? What are the pressing issues for both developers and enterprises in the era of BYOD? Apperian’s Chuck Goldman is convening a panel called “Apps in the real world” that will feature the experiences of Timbre, MediaMob, Verivo, Kinvey, and Apptopia as they all find their way in the app world.
How can the Boston area boost its leadership role in the world of mobile gaming and advertising? We’ll hear from The Tap Lab, Lookout Gaming, Kiip (a little West Coast never hurt anyone), and others on the gaming front. As for advertising, we’ll showcase Boston-area firms Jumptap, Adelphic, SessionM, Nexage, and hopefully Celtra (still working out logistics), to talk about the next wave of mobile ads. And how everyone from Facebook and Twitter (and other media companies) to Google and Apple (and other software and device companies) will depend on that for the future of their business.
Looking forward to seeing you on the 19th.
