Mobility, Monetization and Mass Market Adoption All Hot Button Issues at VentureBeat’s MobileBeat 2008

(SAN JOSE, CA - July 25, 2008) - Yesterday, VentureBeat, the leading news source on tech business and venture capital in Silicon Valley and beyond, held its first annual conference, MobileBeat 2008 at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, California. The sold out conference attracted top executives from AT&T, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, Nokia, CBS Mobile to name a few, as well as the top venture capital (VC) firms in the country.

The first annual conference was split into four moderated panels and presentations by eleven specially selected leading startups. The conference sought to examine current issues as well as focus on the best companies in mobile landscape, which is the next frontier of the tech industry, according to VentureBeat founder and co-host of the event Matt Marshall.

“The chokehold of the mobile carriers is finally loosening, as new, exciting platforms like the iPhone and Android emerge,” remarked Marshall, “New and unique applications are being developed for the mobile platform and consumers are embracing it with open arms. Now the question is, how do you monetize this?”

Monetization was the main theme of the day, with panels including top executives in the wireless, media and VC industries.

Speakers on the panels were chosen through a voting process on the VentureBeat website where readers voted from a list of the top companies in mobile, from a group selected by VentureBeat.

“We’re beginning the golden age of mobile,” said Jed Stremel, director of mobile at Facebook. “People will find a way to get tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of users, and monetize them.”

The iPhone 3G and Google’s Android Platform were common topics throughout all sessions which begged the question, of developing for specific devices and platforms or focusing on the mobile web itself.

Rupert Young, Director of Stategic Business Development at AT&T, acknowledged the “impressive” early success of the iPhone and said that AT&T continues to invest in its network.

“Although mobile has proven to be a challenging area historically for investors and entrepreneurs alike, the energy at the conference is infectious,” stated Tim Chang, Principal at Norwest Venture Partners and co-host of the event. “There’s a feeling of optimism in the air that signals the opening up of the mobile value chain, triggered by the adoption of consumer smartphones and new platforms such as iPhone and Android.”

The Honorees
In a brief ceremony at the end of the conference, VentureBeat honored the following companies.

Audience award (selected by MobileBeat attendees): AdMob

Best overall application: Loopt

Best overall infrastructure: AdMob

Best CEO: Dan Shapiro of Ontela

Best mobile person under 35: Sam Altman of Loopt

Most controversial move: Mig33

Boldest idea: Skydeck

MobileBeat2008 was hosted by VentureBeat, PlugandPlayTechCenter and sponsored by Forum Nokia, BlackBerry Partners Fund, Sun Microsystems, Norwest Venture Partners, Zanox, MicrosoftStartupZone.com, Orrick, GreenburgTraurin, Augmentum, My247.mobi, Mozes, Amiando, Mippin and mTouche.

For a complete list of speakers, selected companies and the agenda, visit http://www.mobilebeat2008.com

Contact Information

Vijay Chattha

Public Relations

VSC Consulting

Contact via E-mail