On behalf of DotOpen and WIP who have partnered to bring you Mobile Jam session – thanks to all the participants, the speakers, the sponsors and Teresa Ostman for making things work smoothly.  Watch the website for upcoming opportunities to Jam On! And check out the photos on Flickr.  

Here are notes takes from the Mobile Jam Las Vegas.  Some of these were taken during the sessions, much were taken directly from the flipchart notes made during the Improv Sessions.  If you see a mistake or something taken out of context – correct it with your comments! 

The 2nd Mobile Jam Session was held the day before CTIA in Las Vegas.  We had 100 folks attend throughout the day, mostly developers from North America, but a good sprinkling of folks from Europe and Asia as well.  Thanks to our sponsors, session speakers and all the participants. The most common comment heard at the end of the day was: “I’ve run out of business cards, I didn’t think I’d meet so many people”.  Excellent – that’s what we wanted to hear! 

We started off with an UnPanel of Developer Programs featuring James Pearce of dotMobi, Claudia Backus of MotoDev, Mikael Nerde of Sony Ericsson, Thibaut Rouffineau from Symbian, Amy Bang from AT&T and Steve Glagow of Orange Partner.  They got the opportunity to ask the audience questions.   

On the question of Barriers to Development, the top issues for developers were:
- access to devices- the need for more platforms such as Flash on devices
- accessibility to good market data and use cases- certification
- lack of business models (most thought big revenue was still 5 years off).
- Lots of questions and discussion on web vs native apps and how the devices and operators are dealing with these.   

There were supposed to be 6 Improv Session in the afternoon, but really on 5 happened.  The Session on Developing drew limited interest, which as mentioned above was far different from the session in Barcelona where it was full all the time.  The session that drew the most interest were Mobile 2.0 and Go to Market and Channels.  

Session 1 Mobile OS and Platforms
We weren’t able to get notes from this discussion, so let’s encourage the leaders Vincent Berge from Mobile Distillery to share a few with us.  

Session 2 Mobile 2.0
Lively discussion led by CellSpin – Vince Laviano, Rococo – Sean O’Sullivan and Idean - Santtu Toivonen
 - Voice or Text- what are the demographics
- Service discovery still an issue , the willingness of users to download and install, and actually use social networks
- What is the definition  Mobile 2.0 
 - social networking in a broad sense
  - integrating web services and mobile 
How to attract users:- share data plans
 - viral marketing- increase awareness among users 
How to filter content
- status messages
- circles of friends
- location based Barriers
- carriers
- handsets 
Success= take the best of the Web 2.0 and respect the features of mobile (presence, location ec) 

3.  Testing & Certification was led by: GetJar – Bill Scott, Mob4Hire – Paul Poutanen and Device Anywhere – David Marsyla
Agreed there were many approaches but in general T&C offers no value added, seems to be for insurance only Variables include:
- manufacturers
- carriers
- testing solutions
- porting platforms
- browsers- certification
- user agent blocking  On Signing Apps- third parties certify, if you want to call it ‘cert’
- how to simplify
- 3^rd parties are not perfect, susceptible to human error and commercial motivation
- self certification – would like to see this taken further as an option, with 3^rd parties doing the final check
- really hard for small companies, how can this process be democratized
- concept of intermediate development layers to help
- will open OS and handsets help???? 

 4.  Channels was led by: Cellmania- Peter Baldwin, AORTA- Chetan Sharma, and Astraware/Handmark – John Philips
Direct to consumerAdvertisingPersonalizationMarketing
– evangelists and viral work best 

6  Open Source was led by:  Aplix – Stanley Kao, Motorola - Asokan Thiyagarajan (Ashok) and Funambol - Greg Gamp
Consensus was not to be on open source in the short term 

Here’s the list of the companies attending as of now. If you’d like to participate, hurry up and register now… there are only a few seats left! Check also our agenda and bio’s of speakers.

See you on Monday… Jam On!

3Screens.tv
Accenture
Airsource Ltd
AOL
AORTA
Aplix Corp.
Arena Mobile
Astraware/Handmark
AT&T
AuthenTec
Avot Media Inc
Bango
Brilliant Expos
Buzzd
CellSpin
ComVu Media, Inc.
Corrigo
Crisp Wireless
deCarta Inc
Device Anywhere
Dilithium Networks
Direct Mobile Partners
dotMobi
dotopen
Drop In Media / Ojingo Labs
Face Cake
Funambol
GamearraY
GenMobi Technologies Inc.
GetJar Networks
GW Hannaway & Associates
Handi Mobility Inc.
HI Corporation America, Inc.
HookMobile
I-Com Mobile
Idean
Innoscape
IntoMobile.com
ipsh!
IUGO Mobile Entertainment
Javaground, Inc.
Jibe Mobile
Keynote
La cuisine des papas
Lab Shanghai International
Limbo
Litefeeds
MangoMOBILE
Mark Space, Inc.
Microsoft
MIT/Stanford Venture Lab
Mob4hire Inc.
MobHappy
Mobile Distillery
Mobileslate
Mobopia
Motorola, Inc.
MPOGD.com
MX TELECOM
MyStrands
Mywaves
NII Holdings, Inc.
Nokia
Novatel Wireless, Inc.
OnDeego Inc
OnPR
Openwave Systems, Inc.
Orange Partner
Powernet Global
Qipit, Inc.
Quattro Wireless
R Systems
Recom Research
Redwood Technologies
Rococo
Sage COnsulting
Scigliano Group
Sipcall.com Inc.
Socialight
Some Bazaar
Sony Ericsson
SoonR
Staffing Elements
Symbian Ltd
TBD
Teradata Corporation
Textopoly, Inc.
Tira Wireless, Inc
UIQ Technology
Vibes Media
Vindigo
vringo
Walk The Talk Media
Wavefront
YYZ Technologies

Here’s the schedule of what’s happening:

Monday, March 31, 2008 (day before CTIA)
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Las Vegas Convention Center – N255
Free to attend.

Sponsors: dotMobi, Motorola,Symbian, MyStrands, Mobile Distillery, SEEDA
Producers: dotopen, WIP

Rules: No prep, No PPT, No Ties

Mobile Jam Session Agenda
Registration / Networking 8 :30am – 9 :30am
Developer Pitches - share you ideas, projects 9 :30am – 10 :30am
Opening UnPanel – Developer Programs 10 :30am - noon
Lunch/networking Noon – 1 :00pm

Improv Sessions
6 choices x3 1 :00pm – 4 :00pm
1:00- 1:45 – Chose one
1:45 – 2:30 – Choose One
2:30 – 3:00 – Short break
3:00 – 3:45 – Choose one
3:45 – 4:30pm – Wrap up of Improv

Essence Reception & Networking 4:30pm – 6:00pm

Speakers & Discussion Leaders

DEVELOPER PROGRAM REVIEW
10:30pm – 12:00pm
So what’s gives with the mobile ecosystem. Everyone talks a good line about the “F” word, of course we mean fragmentation, but what’s really being done. Are the big guys really working together? Does ‘open’ really mean its going to get any easier. Give your humble opinion on the priorities that will help get applications or technology to market faster, better, stronger. It’s about devices, platforms, operating systems, channels and partnerships. This session will be led by a panel of developers programs and enhanced with a few developers. Lots of questions and opinions from all participants.

Panelists:

dotMobi - James Pearce
Motorola – Claudia Backus
Symbian – Thibaut Rouffineau
Orange Partner – Steve Glagow
Sony Ericsson - Mikael Nerde
AT&T - Amy Bang

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 O’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

How 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!

4:30pm – 6:00pm
Essence Reception & Networking
Let’s end the day raising a toast – Salut! Other player’s will join us.

After a very successful first Mobile Jam Session during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Caroline Lewko of the Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP) and Rudy De Waele of dotopen / mTrends are ‘jazzed’ about working together again to bring you the second Mobile Jam Session at the Las Vegas Convention Center – N255 on Monday, March 31, 2008 (9:00 am - 6:00 pm).

But first we wanted to thank all participants for their contribution to our first event, as a sponsor, a speaker, a session leader, or as an active participant. In the morning, we welcomed +50 developers to set the tone for the rest of the day, during lunch more attendants joined us for the afternoon session which ended up packed with +120 participants. This exceeded by far our expectations!

The event is free of charge for all participants, coffee breaks, lunch and networking cocktail included. We’re looking for passionate, exciting and talented developers. If you’d like to participate, let’s us know why you’d like to attend and add your name and suggested topic to the invitation list. Candidates who sign up for Mobile Jam Session before March 15 will receive a free CTIA pass!

What’s it all about…

• Infused with the spirit of the early days of Jazz, the Mobile Jam Session is a day to inspire new ideas and innovate solutions to existing challenges. The purpose is focused, but the agenda is improvised along the way.

• It all starts as we open up the mobile ecosystem and connect experienced and talented developers, with industry experts and decision makers. We all know this is often difficult at big conferences, but the Mobile Jam Session makes it possible. We propose an invitation and referral only to get the right mix of participants.

• Most importantly this event is 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!

Speakers & Topics & Format

Topics are chosen ahead of time by the participants when they register. We match that to industry leaders and include developers as discussion leaders too, to get the right mix of big company expertise and hands –on experience.

The format includes a mix of developer only mixing; an interactive panel; and our unique “Improv” sessions where 5-6 discussion leaders facilitate small groups of participants.

See the agenda and pictures from the session in Barcelona.

We’ll get back soon with more details on this. Drop us a line at info AT mobilejamsession DOT com if you’re interested in sponsoring our next event.

We are passionate about fostering a free environment for collaborative creation among all the different players in the value chain. We know streamlining communication will make it easier for our young companies to innovate and get to market faster and smarter.

New tunes often come from unlikely associations, so… Jam on!

Caroline and Rudy.

Here’s how you get to Mobile Jam!

Address: 20th Floor
C/ de la Marina, 16-18 (at Port Olimpic)
08005 BARCELONA

Everyone knows where it is and the two towers are easy to spot.

Mapfre is located right down at the Marina and. Mobile Jam Session is held on the 20th Floor – wait until you see the views!  You’ll be required to show id and check in when you arrive.

For maps and directions from The Mobile World Congress (Plaça Espanya), click here - all directions with public transport visible in 2D and 3D. (currently available in Spanish only)

Google maps  link here.

Via taxi:  Tell the taxi driver to take you to:  Torre Mapfre, at C/ de la Marina, 16-18.    It will take only 5 minutes!

Via Subway less than 20 mintues:  CIUTADELLA STOP
From Mobile World Congress take line 1 (red line) from Plaça Espanya direction HOSPITAL DE ELLVITGE/FONDO after 5 stops you must get off at URQUINAONA. Take the line 4 (yellow line) direction TRINITAT NOVA/LA PAU at station URQUINAONA after 3 stops you must get off at CIUTADELLA. Coming out of the metro on your right you’ll see 2 tall buildings one of them is Torre Mapfre.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008
20th Floor (planta 20ª), Torre Mapfre

This is an event focused on developers – what you want to hear, who you want to talk to, what you want to say….. But of course we want to hear from the big companies and experts too - so what’s the hot topic for you? Well you spoke and we listened! Thanks to everyone who gave great suggestions and even offered to speak.

Check out the Speakers and Topics designed on your feedback:

• OPENING PANEL
• IMPROV SESSIONS
• CLOSING ENCORE PANEL

Check out the Topics and Speakers:

1. UserRelevant Content
2. Mobile Web Development Frameworks – Widgets/Ajax etc
3. Mobile OS / Platforms
4. Usability / UI / Localization / Mobile Interfaces
5. Mobile media / Web Convergence
6. Open Source in Handsets

10:30am – 12:00 noon
Pre-Session for Developers Only

Come early to grab some talk time, croissant and coffee with your peers about what you are developing and your important issues. These will then be brought forward for the rest of the day.

12:00 Noon – 1:00pm
Registration, Lunch, Networking

OPENING PANEL – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
We have a complete line-up of players to open up our Mobile Jam session. A great combination of big and small companies; a carrier, a device manufacturer, an aggregator, a platform, reps from developer programs and two great small companies with BIG experience. What a great way to get started – don’t miss this one!

The Players:

• Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist at Vodafone Group
• Carl Uminski, CTO, Trutap and formerly of Yahoo!
• Souheil Gallouzi, Vice President & General Manager, Mobile Products & Development, Intrinsyc and formerly of Qualcomm
• Terrence Barr, Technical Evangelist, SUN Microsystems
• Tom Libretto, VP of Forum Nokia
• Ray Anderson, CEO, Bango

See Speakers and Topics page for more details.

IMPROV SESSIONS 2:30pm – 4:30 pm

The Six (6) Improv discussions are designed for more one-on-one discussions and a deeper dive on topics. Also a better way for you to meet the speakers and your fellow participants.

Note: As this is about improv and flexilbity, so the speaker list still has room for some last minute additions! And we mean last minute – we may even choose YOU at the Jam session to lend your expertise as a discussion leader, because that’s what jamming is all about.

1. User relevant Content
Discussion Leaders:

Oliver Bremer, Vice President, Product Management & Strategy, MyStrands

2. Mobile Web Development Frameworks – Widgets/Ajax
Discussion Leaders:

• Ganesh Sivaraman, S60 Marketing Manager, Nokia
• Dominique Hazael-Massieux, W3C

3. Mobile OS / Platforms
Discussion Leaders:

• Vincent Berge, Co-Founder & General Manager, Mobile Distillery
• Rich Killmer, Sr. Sales Director, Mobile Complete
• Oscar Gutierrez, Vodafone Betavine
• Terrence Barr, Technical Evangelist, SUN Microsystems

About this topic:
From Mobile Java to other platforms like Symbian, BREW, FlashLite, Android, PalmOS, Access Garnet and Windows Mobile.

See Speakers and Topics page for more details.

4. Usability / UI / Localization / Mobile Interfaces
Discussion Leaders:

• Mikko-Pekka Hanski, Idean
• David Mery, Editor - Developer Program, UIQ Technology
• Morten Hjerde, Senior Interaction Designer at mBricks

See Speakers and Topics page for more details.

5. Mobile Media / Web Convergence
Discussion Leaders:

• Carmen Sales - Product Development Coordinator, Kimia
• Mik BRY, mobile gran Guuru - Seesmic 
• Jakub Danilewicz - Alembik project architect

About this topic:
Return of Prometheus: bringing the web to mobile devices. Giving the power of free media transcoding and web rendering to the mortals.

6. Open Source in Handsets
Discussion Leaders:

• Bill Lee, Developer Relations, ACCESS
• Luca Passani, Admob and founder of WURFL

See Speakers and Topics page for more details.

CLOSING PANEL: MOBILE JAM SESSION - ENCORE 4:45pm – 5:30pm
What have we learned today that will guide us into the Mobile Ecosystem of the future?? We’ll start off with some opening remarks from our panelists and then add in other players from the audience to ‘jam’ with them.

The Players:

• Fabio Ricciato, Mobile Handset Evolution, Telecom Italia, Mobile (TIM) Access and Terminals in Technology Division
• Bill Lee, Developer Relations, ACCESS
• Karel De Beule - co-Founder, Kimia
• Open seats to rotate audience members.

Jam - gather and play without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements.

5:30pm – 7:30pm
Reception
Let’s end the day raising a toast – Salut! Other player’s will join us.

Rudy and Caroline will choose their favorite Jazz picks for a perfect cocktail mood. Sign Up here if you’d like to attend!

Here’s a list of developers of companies attending Mobile Jam Session so far:

Admob
Accenture
Access
Agil Eight Oy
Airsource Ltd.
Apple
Austin Technology Incubator
AuthenTec
Avaya
Bango
Barcelona Media - Innovation Centre
Betavine
BBVA
Bebo
Binaria / Innovative Science
biskero
Brand2hand Media
Carrier IQ
Catachmedia
Cellictica
Cloudmark Inc.
Daem Interactive
Kyte.tv
Dell Mobile
eBuddy
Facebook
Fundación CTIC
Future Platforms
Gameware Development Ltd.
GetJar
Google Inc.
Handi Mobility
Idean
IntoMobile.com
Intrinsyc
iWeekend
Kimia
Kizoom
Kuneri
LemonQuest
Les Explorateurs du Mobile
mBricks
Microsoft
Mippin
Mob4hire Inc.
Mobevolab Project
Mobile Complete
Mobile Distillery
Mobile Media Consult
mobilead
Mobileslate
Mobimag
Momail AB
MyStrands
Nokia
Nuance
Nulaz
OpenID
Penrillian
Peperoni GmbH
PixSense Inc
Promptu
Qualcomm
Recom
Reuters
scanR
Seesmic
Six Apart
Shozu
Skyfire
Skyhook Wireless
Sun Microsystems
Telecom Italia
Telefonica I+D
TexoMobile
The 3G Dating Agency
Treedia
Truphone
Trutap
UIQ Technology
VectorMAX
Vertu
Vodafone
W3C
Wake3
Wavefront
wirelessmoves
WURFL
Yahoo!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at Torre Mapfre in Barcelona

Infused with the spirit of the early days of Jazz, the Mobile Jam Session is a day to inspire new ideas and innovate solutions to existing challenges. The purpose is focused, but the agenda is improvised along the way.

Caroline Lewko of the Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP) and Rudy De Waele of dotopen / mTrends are ‘jazzed’ about working together to bring you the first of many Mobile Jam Sessions. We are passionate about fostering a free environment for collaborative creation among all the different players in the value chain. We know streamlining communication will make it easier for our young companies to innovate and get to market faster and smarter.

It all starts as we open up the mobile ecosystem and connect experienced and talented developers, with industry experts and decision makers. 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!

Most importantly this event is driven by developers – what you want to hear, who you want to talk to, what you want to say….. But of course we want to hear from the big companies and experts too - so what’s the hot topic for you? Let’s us know by adding your name and topic to Invitation List. New tunes often come from unlikely associations, so… Jam on!

The event is free of charge for all participants, coffee breaks, lunch and networking cocktail included. We’re looking for passionate, exciting and talented developers. We have confirmed participations from Telefonica, Vodafone Group, Telecom Italia, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo!, Mystrands, Mobile Distillery, Trutap, Kimia, …

Be prepared to be an active participant in the session.

The event is hosted in the new MyStrands Barcelona offices in the Torre Mapfre at the Villa Olympica. MyStrands generously offers us the superb 350 square meter space on the 20th Floor of the building with a breathtaking view on all Barcelona, the city, the Olympic port and its beaches.