Mobile Developers off to Vegas for another CTIA Wireless Event
Written by LBSzone
Thursday, 23 March 2006
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... well, not always! LBSzone is one of the few LBS focused publications with a North American-based representative. As a result, we'll be on hand once again at CTIA Wireless 2006 (North America's largest wireless event) and the Navteq LBS Challenge to report on what's going on in Vegas.
A number of key mobile technology solution providers & enablers will be on hand at CTIA including Symbian (of course) with their ever-present Symbian pavilion. On hand with Symbian will be some key partners including the likes of EMCC, Zi Corporation (who recently announced their Zi Predictive Text Solutions for New Sony Ericsson P990 Smartphone), UIQ Technology (who recently announced a new developer program), and Visto (recently launched Visto Mobile 5.5.
Some other noteworthy happenings at CTIA 2006
Nokia will be on hand as usual, as will the crew from the Forum.Nokia developer program. A little bird tells me that an evening session for Nokia developers should be loads of fun and will be a good chance to network with the Nokia developer program executives and some key partners and developers.
Location-Based Services... always a favorite topic of mine, LBS is huge and once again the annual NAvteq challenge will be wrapping up with presentations and awards for excellence in developing mobile location-based solutions. I'll be on hand at the awards reception Thursday April 6 to get the low-down on what's hot in LBS - see www.lbschallenge.com for more details.
Speaking of LBS, a special panel session is scheduled for Thursday afternoon... also a must attend on my list of things to do. The session promises to look at where LBS is going and what technologies are being used. Key industry players will be there - April 6 1:30 - 2:30 (room N119)
Another session that got my attention is one devoted to Mobile TV. This hour and a half long sessions on April 5 at 3:30 will look at technology choices available in the popular Mobile TV space... should be fun!
Mobile Imaging is the topic of another session of interest.. unfortunately I have a conflict and may not be able to attend... I'll do my best though. The session promises to look at the camera phone ecosystem and touch on how device makers can address the consumer demands placed on them.
Other stops of interest that are high on my list of things to do on the exhibition floor in Vegas include visits to the Developers pavilion, Finnish Pavilion, UK Pavilion, and a visit with the WIN BC crew. WIN BC will be announcing the winners of the WIC 2006 Contest recognizing excellence in the development of wireless technologies and solutions. See http://www.winbc.org/contest/overview.html
Some of the fun events taking place on the floor include the Fashion in motion fashion show where I can get a glimpse of the latest in wireless fashion! The PMA Camera Shoot out should be interesting as well as camera phones are put to the test in a contest to see who comes out on top in a shoot-out typically done with traditional cameras.
I don't arrive in Vegas early enough to attend the Smartphone Summit but if I could this event would be a must attend... too bad really! This event has been truly awesome in the past and if you've never been, plan on attending in the future. The day-long event provides some great sessions devoted to delivering the latest in smartphone enterprise solutions.
Exhibitors of interest:
EMCC’s Technical Consultants offer on-site workshops and advice clinics to your Symbian OS development teams, as well as flexible support contracts to provide the expertise you need, where and when you need it, over the entire course of your project. http://www.emccsoft.com/
Zi Corporation (www.zicorp.com) is a technology company that delivers intelligent interface solutions to enhance the user experience of wireless and consumer technologies. The company provides device manufacturers and network operators with a full range of intuitive and easy-to-use input solutions, including: eZiText® for one-touch predictive text entry; eZiTap™ for intelligent multi-tap entry, eZiType™ for keyboard prediction with auto-correction, Decuma® for predictive pen-input handwriting recognition and the Qix™ service discovery engine to enhance the user experience and drive service usage and adoption. http://www.zicorp.com/
UIQ Technology develops and licenses an open software platform to the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers and supports licensees in the drive towards developing a mass market for open mobile phones. UIQ based phones are powerful and give access to enterprise applications, email, multimedia clips and web pages. UIQ is, for example, used in mobile phones from Sony Ericsson, Motorola, BenQ and Arima. UIQ Technology, established in 1999 in Sweden, is a fully owned subsidiary of Symbian Ltd. http://www.uiq.com
Visto delivers the leading global platform for mobile operators to provide wireless push e-mail to the broadest set of mobile devices. Visto's open solution enables e-mail for the mass market, targeting large enterprises, small businesses and mobile professionals. The company's patented Visto MobileT platform with ConstantSyncT technology works in real time with POP3, IMAP, Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino e-mail solutions for personal to enterprise use, providing maximum control and flexibility for the operator and choice for the customer http://www.visto.com
Avantquest recently launched a new Connectivity Application Available to Users of Bluetooth Enabled 2.5G and 3G Phones. Avanquest Software is a global developer and leading publisher of best-selling personal and professional software designed for utilities, office productivity, communications and mobility worldwide. Avanquest Software products are marketed in over 100 countries, through e-commerce, OEM partnerships and IT resellers. http://www.avanquest.com
Others expected to be exhibiting include Nokia, Handango, Navteq, Handmark, Ericsson, Route 66, Telmap, ESRI, and many others too numerous to list... hopefully I'll have time to visit them all!
I've been to numerous CTIA Wireless events in the past, with stops in Vegas, Atlanta, San Diego, and New Orleans. The one thing I have learned in the past is that I need to prepare for 3 long days, some amazing networking and socializing opportunities. I'll be sure to pack some really comfortable shoes, aspirin, Red Bull, and my trusty camera phone! Since we're in Vegas I'll be sure to bring an extra $50 or so for a bit of gaming too!
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
