The Week in Mobile:

Thanks Next Great Thing for this great sum-up post on some new, cool, wacky and momentus stuff happening in the mobile space

January 22nd, 2009 by NGT

• This Modern Age: The Youth Ball Welcomes Obama with a Sea of Digital Cameras [Gizmodo] - The image really speaks for itself here. Note that it is the Youth Ball. It paints a compelling picture for those companies and brands not sure whether or not to dip a foot in the mobile pool yet. If anything, they should be rushing to populate the space so that, by the time these young consumers reach full consumption potential, they are already used to interacting with those brands that capitalized early.
• I Am Here: One Man’s Experiment With the Location-Aware Lifestyle [Wired] - Another location-based feature from Wired - this time it’s freelancer Matthew Honan’s discovery of just how transparent the world can be through location-based applications. True, some care and some don’t - it’s more of a case study on the potential level of interaction and the decrease in privacy for those who choose to play.
• Sephora launches mobile service to assist shoppers in-store [Mobile Marketer] - Sephora recently rolled out a mobile service that allows in-store shoppers to check customer reviews re: products of interest on their mobile phones. It’s a perfect synthesis of relative and timely content and should ultimately serve Sephora by building customer loyalty.
• Time sensitive mobile contents - Day to Evening deco mail [CScout Japan] - This mobile mall from Gigno System changes its theme depending on the time of day. It’s cute in the morning and afternoon, but at night, the lipstick and eyeliner come out. It’s perfect for those who unwind from the more formal light of day by breaking out the leather and hitting the neon.
• The first live-tweeted surgery [Global Neighbourhoods] - The surgery wasn’t directed via Twitter (thank god, given its history of crashing unexpectedly), rather, the surgery updates were tweeted live to a conference of professionals interested in the procedure in question.
• Arsenal fans could catch replays, live action on Sony’s PSP [Engadget] - Sony is working to develop software that would allow live replays and, perhaps, real-time interaction between fans on their PSPs during Arsenal home games. (British soccer, for those who don’t know) However, given the rowdy nature of soccer games, PSPs brought into the stadium may only provide a high-tech beatdown for those in the way of portable-wielding fans.
• Inside the GPS Revolution: 10 Applications That Make the Most of Location [Wired] - Are you addicted to GPS? Does location-based content make you sweat? Do you spend your nights tossing and turning, wondering which celebrity has the largest chin? If you answered yes to the first two, Wired has got your hook-up for location-based goodness. For the insomniacs, see here.