What’s in the Future for New Businesses in Mobile Computing: iPhone, Android, Blackberry? November 14, 2009

Whether it is the iPhone, the Blackberry, the Treo, or any one of a number of other hybrid cell phone/computing devices, the native device by itself isn’t enough. Apple tells us “There’s an App for That …” and tells us we can buy 75,000 different applications, a lot of which are offered for free, with or without advertising overlays. Blackberry has a lot of add-ons perhaps more suited to large enterprises. The Android platform is set to take off. Each of the devices has its story. What they all share, however, is the flexibility to install high value software add-ons and, in some cases, specialized hardware connected by cable, Bluetooth or other means. Applications currently in the marketplace range from high value-added business applications to the downright silly, developed by everybody from individuals with a quirky idea, to emerging companies, through to large media companies.

Where are the opportunities for entrepreneurs in that marketplace? What kinds of revenue structures are available? What are the idiosyncrasies of sales and distribution? What are the real barriers to new business? Where in the business cycle are we now? Are these new applications “flashes in the pan” or are there good ways to build a sustainable business? How will the landscape change in the next 9, 18 or 24 months?

Join us on November 14, 2009, when our program will focus on the business opportunities and challenges in the mobile computing environment

Official Website: http://www.entforum.caltech.edu/