It’s that time of year when CTIA Wireless, the big U.S.-based wireless show, is getting ready to kick off. I’ll be heading down on Sunday to Las Vegas to start covering the festivities as early as Monday when Billboard holds its annual Mobile Entertainment Live event. Rafat will also be in Vegas, heading over Sunday and leaving Tuesday…he is moderating a Q&A on VC money in mobile content, at the Billboard’s event this Monday.
The 2008 show marks my fourth straight year , and in that time, it’s changed a lot. In 2004, ringtones were characteristic of mobile content, Cingular was just launching its first streaming TV service with RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) hit big when Palm (NSDQ: PALM) adopted the Windows Mobile OS. In the last couple of years, the show has become more diverse, but it also has been a little anticlimactic. People have been speculating for some time that it’s because companies are still recovering from CES and Mobile World Congress (CNet did a good job of fleshing out all the various theories here), but unlike CNet, I think this year will be on the upswing. Next week, the stars will align for a few companies and some big deals and products will be announced just as the ink is drying (or so we can hope).
Here’s a few hot topics to watch for:
– Open, open, open: A big theme will be open-access. In the wake of the spectrum auction, the topic will be fresh on everyone’s mind and people will be asking the tough questions on what it means and how it will affect the mobile ecosystem. Verizon Wireless’s (NYSE: VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam will likely address the subject from the podium on Tuesday’s keynote, although he could adhere strictly to his role as CTIA chairman.
– Sprint (NYSE: S) Nextel will you please stand-up: Sprint’s new CEO Dan Hesse, who has taken charge in a hurry, disrupted the industry when it released an unlimited calling and data plan, prompting everyone to follow suit (we’ll see if other wireless execs start printing their email addresses in their commercials, too). Hesse will likely stir the pot more when he takes the stage Tuesday. Look for news on the WiMax front, and any potential deals with Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR), or news of new funding from any of the rumored sources — Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Intel (NSDQ: INTC), Google (NSDQ: GOOG), etc. A two-hour press conference following the keynote will probably cover it all.
– Microsoft Mobile OS Again: Speaking of convention fatigue, several reports are out saying that Microsoft is releasing the latest version of Windows Mobile. On Tuesday, Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s president of Entertainment and Devices Division, will keynote. Check back to see if he doesn’t have more to say. If reports are correct, and Microsoft is only releasing version 6.1, the conversation might turn against the company with people asking why they aren’t doing more while facing immense competitive pressure.
– Handset Wars: Motorola (NYSE: MOT) will be making a big splash. While it’s mobile devices division is going through a reality check, Motorola will probably try to have a variety of news, spanning from WiMax to other non-phone devices. An early look last week on a conference call (which clashed badly with its news that the mobile devices group will in fact be spun off), showed that they’ll be talking about everything from mobile TV handhelds to femtocells and other modem-like products. On the flipside, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), which is pushing hard in the States right now, will likely make a big deal about its upcoming entertainment and content side of the business.
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