Paul Poutanen

I just found out I am going to be an improv panel for MobileJam in Las Vegas Mobile Jam

How does the Improv Session Work?
Based on Mobile Jam Barcelona – they work well! See the photos.

Chairs are placed in six (6) circles around the room, with each topic designated to a circle. Each group has it’s own flip chart for discussion and to mark down comments for later.
Each topic area has 2-3 discussion leaders.
Participants choose which circle to drop in to.
Every 45 minutes the discussion stops, and participants move to another circle.
Discussion leaders start each session by introducing themselves and some brief commentary on the subject based on their expertise, experience, opinions. The participants introduce themselves too! The leaders answer questions and facilitate discussion ensuring everyone gets an opportunity to participate.
Why the Improv Sessions Work?

This is a chance for developers to get up close and personal with industry leaders and experienced developers, something often difficult at big conferences.
It’s driven by developers – what they want to hear, who they want to talk to, what they want to say. It’s no secret that the industry needs the emerging companies to lead with innovation, to leverage resources and to help change the game. With the right beat, let’s get ready to listen!
It’s like a box of chocolate, each session is different based on who joins in, so you never know what’s going to happen!

IMPROV SESSIONS
1:00pm 4:30pm – (45 minutes / session – choose 3 too attend & Final Wrap Up)

1. Mobile OS and Platforms

Discussion Leaders: Mobile Distillery - Vincent Berge

2. Mobile 2.0

Discussion Leaders:

AOL- Jai Jaisimha
CellSpin – Vince Laviano
Rococo – Sean Sullivan
Idean - Santtu Toivonen

3. Testing & Certification

Discussion Leaders:

GetJar – Bill Scott
Accenture – Jeff Wang
Mob4Hire – Paul Poutanen
Device Anywhere – David Marsyla

4. Getting to Market / Channels

Discussion Leaders;

Cellmania- Peter Baldwin
AORTA- Chetan Sharma
Astraware/Handmark – John Philips

5. Development – JSRs, MIDP3 and more

Discussion Leaders:

Aplix – Stanley Kao

6. Open Source in Handsets

Discussion Leaders:

Motorola - Asokan Thiyagarajan (Ashok)
Funambol - Greg Gamp

Should be a good session.

I thought the Mobile Jam was the best event at Barcelona!

I look forward seeing you there!

“Google Inc. has seen an acceleration of Internet activity among mobile phone users in recent months since the company has introduced faster Web services on selected phone models, fuelling confidence the mobile Internet era is at hand, the company said on Tuesday.”

Google sees surge in Web use on hot mobile phones

I think we are going to see a move to more internet traffic as handsets and infrstructure gets better.

Holy cow!

Apple is teaming with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to launch a $100 Million iFund for iphone and ipod touch applications.

“A revolutionary new platform is a rare and prized opportunity for entrepreneurs, and that’s exactly what Apple has created with iPhone and iPod touch,” said John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “We think several significant new companies will emerge as this new platform evolves, and the iFund will empower them to realize their full potential.”

This is gonna attract some attention! 

http://www.smartbrief.com/news/ctia/industryPR-detail.jsp?id=EE6C0006-50B9-48B7-A912-0BD13817EAC4

Openmoko is raising the ante not only by offering a free operating system and software, but is its handset design as well. Openmoko has posted the computer design (CAD) files on its website and people are invited to muck about with them to make personalized cases.

http://http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080304.WBcyberia20080304133308/WBStory/WBcyberia/

This is super cool. I might have to get one those 3d printers. 

There have been a couple of events recently which have showcased the Calgary hi-tech scene.

 Check out Stephen King’s blog on techvibes.

As well check out the list of Alberta startups on techvibes as well.

I pleased to announce that Mob4hire is on that list.

There will be a press release today at Macworld.

How will Roger’s price the data package is the interesting part of this story.

This didn’t happen…. Expect late spring for a new announcement from Rogers.

As i predicted, Google will bid on the 700 Mhz spectrum through the FCC.

More here and here

This is an important move for google. They will have competitors such as Verizon in the bid but I think the carriers must be shaking in their boots.

I have this feeling they will bid in Canada as well.

With the Android project, Google is aiming to be come the big player in the mobile space. It will be hard and they will have to be hardcore because the carriers will be cut throat to try to stop them.

I predict that a numbers of carriers will group together to try to beat off Google in this bidding.

Look for more consolidation. 

Well it is in directly from the official government website  Canada is going to allow 40 MHz of bandwidth to be picked up other than the 3 major carriers in Canada. (Rogers, Telus or Bell Mobility)

From the Canadian Press 

In its submission to the industry department, MTS Allstream noted that Canadians pay up to 79 per cent more for wireless services than Americans, a key reason they say that cellphone usage in Canada lags far below that in the U.S. or Europe.

Foreign corporations by themselves will not be able to pick up the bandwidth.  They will have to joint partner with a Canadian Company.

HMMMM

I have a Canadian company…. If you want to partner up, Google, I have a company. I do not have the capital to bid on this spectrum but you do. yah… I’d like that…. Let’s talk.

Boy Howdy! Things are moving fast.

Just in from the Globe and Mail

All eyes will be on whether Ottawa intervenes in what would otherwise be a free-market auction by preventing the big players — Bell, Telus and Rogers — from bidding on part of the spectrum.

Mr. Prentice has so far been mum on whether Ottawa will set aside part of the frequencies up for auction in order to allow new entrants to bid on these without competition from Bell, Rogers or Telus.

Such a move would be contrary to pure free market principles but would be in keeping with the Conservative government’s avowedly populist approach and its focus on consumers. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, for instance, has pressed banks to cut automated banking machine fees and has lobbied retailers to cut prices to reflect the strengthened Canadian dollar.

A potential block of bidding on new spectrum from the big guys!….. Stay tuned….

More here 

Testing of handsets to make sure they make the grade can be tricky and political.

From business week this morning..

For starters, Verizon Wireless will need to test any new device model before letting it connect to its network. The degree of openness will hinge on how difficult Verizon Wireless makes it for products to get a green light. Columbia University law professor Tim Wu, a leading proponent of wireless open access, points out that the old Ma Bell-era phone companies often used testing requirements as a way to control their networks. “There’s testing requirements and there’s testing requirements,” says Wu. “One is routine—and there’s another thing of deciding what products they don’t want on their network. It can become a black hole from which products never emerge.”

Developers have to have a clear picture of what will be accepted and what will not be accepted. If a developer spends 6 months on a project and then finds out a carrier blocks them on a technicality because it does not meet their business needs, this will further close the whole system.

Further more if the delay in testing handsets amounts to months, the same objective has been fullfilled. 

Openness is like being pregnant. There is no half being pregnant.