lift08 – Opportunities in the mobile space

One of the most interesting talks last week at the Lift08 conference in Geneva came from David Marcus, CEO and founder of Echovox. He had much to say on the current state of affairs in the mobile space, and the opportunities that are arising as a result. Here’s a summary of what he said:

Overview of mobile space

• 1.3bn net users, 3.2bn mobile users
• Every second in china, four babies born, 25 new subscribers
• Mobile content far more profitable (you pay for everything) – otoh web content generally assumed free
• Higher value perception on mobile – people are comfortable with this.
• Web and mobile – two very different worlds – software build and ad structure different

iPhone

• New paradigm shift from carriers to web companies
• Carriers have no choice – $150bn spent on EU 3G licences, $70bn rollout costs. And now 4G investment…
• Built on the premise of rich content to 100s of millions. But on iPhone, carrier doesn’t see bulk of transaction (iTunes) – just the start…

Qik

• Stream video live from mobile to web – multicasting (many peeps communicating to many others)
• Users can participate / add to questions pool ‘during the interview’ – a remarkable facility!

GPS / Assisted GPS

Location-enabled systems will change the way we communicate – will be the killer app of the future (Nokia says this also – has invested $6bn in mapping company navTeq)

Mass-market mobile monetization…

• iPhone, qik not mass-market
• 2.3bn sms sent this year. The figure is growing, and won’t be replaced by email just yet.

…through innovative Mobile Advertising / payment systems

• Faceparty – text service for users to advertise their profile on the front page for few mins for £1.50 – highly successful.
• TheCloud – zero-pain transactions – wi-fi access time now sold via sms. Much quicker than physically getting credit card or money out of wallet.

ZONG

• Open mobile development platform, reduces barriers to entry
• Spawned out of age-old opinion on mobile software: “we can’t do this…it’s too complex…too many variables (handsets, sizes, platforms, carriers etc)”
• Still expanding the API but looking to have 1bn mobile content subscribers by EOY 08.