Layar Augmented Reality-Now Open for Developers

I first came across Layar at Mobile 2.0 Europe when I met Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald (aka DutchCowboy to Twitterers) and he demo'd the latest version of his augmented reality software on a G1 Android device.

I had previously taken a look at all the companies entered into the Mobile 2.0 start-up competition and, out of all of them, it was Layar that had really captured my imagination.

Why? Firstly, because it was something new (though not the first of its concept, it is certainly the best marketed augmented reality mobile software to date) that immediately brought to mind the famous Terminator movie, where Arnold Schwarzenegger, as The Terminator, scans the street and an overlay of information about the height and weight of people ahead of him is projected onto his vision.

Secondly, because I believe that the future of mobile is all about interacting intelligently with the surrounding environment (or location) and information overlays on street-view maps point in the right direction of this.

Today, Layar announced that it is opening up for business with developers, allowing access to its platform to a new wave of digital map layer pioneers. 50 developer keys are to be provided to interested companies from around the world.

You can see the full press release about this here: http://bit.ly/RgwTP

Mobile 2.0 Europe-Future of Mobile Explored

BARCELONA- Mobile 2.0 lands in Barcelona once again next month courtesy of Rudy and Carles of Dotopen and is set to pack a real punch with the main conference on the 19th June being supplemented by a Developer Day the day before.

The main themes of what is now the 5th Mobile 2.0 event in the series (after the initial event in San Francisco) will be: Openness, Beyond Free, Play, Cloud, Context and Sense. Based on the various events I attended this year and the current phase of the global economic cycle, I anticipate that the whole area of new business models within the Beyond Free track of the event will stimulate the most debate.

The thinking up to last year was 'what is free on the web, cannot be charged for on mobile', but perhaps it is time to update this credo as the quality and performance of the mobile experience improves (and not just on smartphone devices).

The speaker line-up features the larger than life founder of Zyb, Tommy Ahlers and Marco Ahtisaari, CEO of Dopplr. Marco was in Barcelona last week to speak at the SIME Barcelona event, and announced there the future release of a Dopplr app on the iPhone and a re-orientation of their business to more of a 'Social Atlas' (read Social Network). It will be interesting to get his views on the future for mobile social networking..

You can find more info on the event here

Plugg-Dopplr and Google to present on European innovation

Brussels-Plugg is a one-day conference on March 12th in Brussels with a clear focus on celebrating entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe and raising global awareness for those European start-ups in the Web / Mobile 2.0 field that stand out in the crop.

Plugg aims to provide a hands-on view on what's happening in Europe, what the continent's (dis)advantages are compared to other regions and what the future will hold for its digital industry.

This year, Robin Wauters has assembled a great line-up of speakers, including Mike Butcher from Techcrunch UK, Lisa Sounier from Dopplr and Anil Hansjee from Google.

There is also the Start-up Rally for web and mobile start-ups with European roots where innovative new players can showcase their wares.

The first 3 readers to register via my blog (blog code AW6TZ24U) get 10% off the ticket price-don't miss out!

GeoMe in the Press-Mobile LBS Feature Article

BARCELONA- GeoMe was featured in the Economic Section of Sunday 11th January's edition of Avui newspaper, with an article by Jordi Garriga.

The article gives a quick tour of the GeoMe story up to today, from the first prototype developed for the Mobile World Congress in 2008, to the imminent release of the public beta version.

An important differentiating factor of GeoMe from the multitude of me-too applications out there, is the fact that GeoMe does not display people on the map but displays messages instead. That way, privacy of the user is safeguarded.

While GPS on high end phones is set to become a ubiquitous technology, incoporating alternative technologies like CellID will extend the reach of GeoMe to the wider public, especially in the target group of 15-24 year olds.

The full article (in Catalan) is available by clicking here

The Evolution Of Mobile Web

I'm going to Seoul for the KoreaComm 2008 hosted by the Korean Communication Commission with over 2000 professionals expected to attend over the two day event on 30-31st October.

I'll be giving a talk on the evolution of mobile web broaching such subjects as 'are we at Mobile 2.0 yet' and picking out a few key trends I've noticed over the last year.

I'll be dedicating some time to discussing the evolution of Location Based Services and the convergence between Mobile Social Networks and LBS's. Not only are services based around location quintessential to what makes up Mobile 2.0, but the whole area of LBS is going mainstream as it navigates its way through the famous hype curve..witness Loopt's sponsoring of The Middle Show in the US.

I'll post more from the event over the next few days as well as share my presentation online.

Why now is a good time to invest in mobile start-ups

Global financial meltdown...credit crunch...government bailout...fiscal tightening...all these words will be very familiar to everyone following the unfolding of financial events on both sides of the atlantic. The picture for stock holders and bond holders, from private investors to pension plan owners, is not pretty.

That small proportion of wealthy individuals around the world are faced with some stark choices for making the most of their capital...look to preserve it by adopting a risk-averse approach (and buy gold bullion) or sit on their cash and ride out the storm, wary of potential bank collapses.

Neither of these two options offer the true capitalist a decent return. But, as always, there is money to be made in times of crises and parts of the economy that will fare better than others. The mobile sector is by no means immune to the downturn, and while operator revenues are likely to stay flat (guarded by inelastic demand), other parts will grow.

Mobile web is at an inflection point in terms of its global growth, moving from niche to mainstream, from Mobile 1.0 to Mobile 2.0, and there will be a number of competent start-ups that, though small today, will be huge tomorrow.

The great news is that the relative risk of investing in these start-ups has decreased compared to a year ago, given the drastically reduced equity returns from quoted companies. In addition, many of these quoted companies have either cut or withdrawn their dividend, and so look and feel more like growth stocks.

Fancy a flutter on an equity investment? My advice is, look at the opportunities out there to fund a mobile web start-up: it will be not much riskier than a blue-chip investment, will certainly be more fun to follow and, you never know, could be your next mobile equivalent of Facebook.

Mobile 2.0 Europe -Wrap-up

The Mobile 2.0 Europe event at ESADE in Barcelona delivered against expectations -a good selection of European start-ups, some early-stage, others more advanced, presented their projects to an audience made up of mobile entrepreneurs and enthusiasts.

The discussion panels were animated, with much time dedicated to how the iPhone is changing the playing field and disrupting existing business models. The highlight was undoubtedly the after lunch discussion panel on the Operator Perspective, which featured a heated debate around what operators should or shouldn't be doing to help stimulate the development of the mobile 2.0 industry. Mobile entrepreneurs were keen to hang the operators for blocking innovation, though others came to their defence on the grounds that they were caught in a trap between rising infrastructure investment and decreasing data rates.Given that 90% of the operator profits still come from voice, this seemed to be a weak excuse for inertia.

The Early Stage Startup Sessions was won by Zipipop, with their 'Intention Broadcasting' concept allowing you to see what your friends are planning to do. The Pre-Series A Startup Sessions was won by Rummble, with an interesting recommendation process based on an in-house algorithm developed in partnership with an Australian university.Finally, the Post Series-A Startup sessions was won by Nimbuzz, a communication platform for social networks incorporating mobile IM.

Overall, congratulations to Rudy de Waele and Carles Ferreiro for pulling off a great event, and successfully transplanting the Silicon Valley event in the increasingly innovative Barcelona area.

Blue Ocean Strategy in the Mobile Sector

2008 will be an exciting year for developments in the mobile sector, a year in which we will witness the narrowing of the gap between traditional and mobile web, the so-called mobile convergence.

It is also a year that promises to offer economic challenges to new and existing start-ups, particularly in the mature western markets, as the trickle down of the US-led credit crunch will be begin to make its presence felt, especially to the middle-class consumer.

I would argue that this offers a perfect opportunity for companies in the Mobile 2.0 space to go for so-called ‘Blue Ocean’ strategies (W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, first published in HBR 2004) and seek new markets with little, if no, competition. This would represent a shift from today’s preference for competing in the ‘Red Ocean’ space, where competitors abound and intense fighting between them leads to much ‘blood spill’.

Examples of web-based companies that succeeded in developing a blue ocean include e-bay and skype (their shared philosophy makes it easier to understand how they are now both under the same roof).

If we look at skype’s value proposition compared to that of the best voice communication alternative at the time (toll-free international calling cards), we can better understand the strength of its positioning (Value range, 0=lowest, 5=highest).

Admittedly, skype may not be as convenient as a calling card (easily available at retail points and used on traditional phones) but for all other value elements, it set itself completely apart and rendered its competition irrelevant. Not surprisingly, skype now gathers together around 10 million subscribers worldwide.

So, how can companies involved in Mobile 2.0 adopt Blue Ocean strategies?

1. Stay clear of crowded markets –yes, they are tempting (other people are making money there!) but success is less likely than in the calmer waters of the blue ocean
2. Think carefully about what value you are adding to the consumer above what is currently available to him/her –and make sure that value gap is as wide as possible!
3. Ignore existing demand for existing services –dare to be different! Look at areas where existing products or services fall short of expectations and then offer something completely new to potential consumers. Turn that non-consumer around to bring him/her back into the market.

Applying these types of questions to existing business models will at the very least provide a litmus test of the intensity of competition a company may face. Applied using a bottom-up approach, it has the potential to generate genuinely new markets or industries we cannot yet even imagine.