We’re obsessed with all kinds of things here at BostInnovation; robots, Twitter, YouTube videos, augmented reality, foosball, and especially our cell phones. We’re an office full of mobile users, texting, photo uploading, and gaming, and we’ve taken our mobile activity to a whole new level this month because it’s Mass Mobile Month.
On Monday March 8, the BostInnovation team attended Mobile Monday Boston, a quarterly event that allows companies specializing in mobile products and technology to present their products to a huge local audience.
Organizers Matt Gross and Kate Imbach put on an impressive event last night or should I say “battle?” That’s right the lines were drawn between the U.K. and the U.S. to see who had the coolest mobile companies. It can’t really get much geekier then that, can it?
In case you missed the event, here is quick a recap of the companies who presented and a look at what they do:
Local Companies
Textaurant is everywhere these days, thanks to our boy, founder and CEO Josh Bob. If you haven’t heard about it already, Textaurant is replacing those annoying beepers you’re accustomed to getting at restaurants. Instead, the Textaurant system sends a text to your phone when your table is ready and also allows you to opt in for special deals and discounts.
Celtra, based in Cambridge, Mass., creates mobile marketing campaigns. They work with companies to create mobile experiences for their consumer base. Celtra focuses heavily on keeping their clients’ brands cohesive throughout each campaign. They’ve worked with companies like Heineken and Paramount.
Fluent Mobile developed what they call “App Store Optimization,” which is basically search engine optimization (SEO) for iPhone and iPod touch applications; they help apps “get found” in the app store. Fluent Mobile also has an app that aggregates news from websites like The New York Times and BBC and puts it in a mobile-friendly format.
Hello Vino is a mobile wine guide, which makes finding wines for meals easier, and makes shopping for wine a little less overwhelming. They take you step-by-step to help you find a wine based on the occasion, taste your looking for, or the country where the wine is from, They’ve been featured on Mashable and were Apple’s App Store staff pick twice.
U.K. Companies
Apollo Mobile, has developed a mobile technology called RE4CTOR, which allows for real-time user interaction with things like audio, video, text, and photographs. The cool thing about Apollo Mobile is that technology is not just reserved for smart phones; users can also interact using SMS (text messages).
Ustwo focuses on the user interface, or the experience the user gets from an application. One of their most successful apps is the Position App, an iPhone application made especially for marketers and developers to track the position of their app, all while on the run.
Tattu Mobile believes the word mobile doesn’t only apply to cell phones, but also to cameras, digital photo frames, medical devices, and cameras. Tattu has worked on projects internationally with companies like Telefonica. They also partnered with Disney to create a child-friendly phone that allows parents to manage their child’s cell phone activity.
With i-Migo you will never loose your cell phone or laptop again. I-Migo backs up all the data on your cell phone via Bluetooth technology, but even cooler, i-Migo will sound an alarm when you go 30ft from your phone so you don’t loose it. Saban Demirbasa gave the audience a demo by running out of the conference hall. As soon as he was gone, the alarm sounded.
Fluid Pixel is a company focused on mobile gaming applications. They’ve developed games like “Pimp Da Chimp,” an app that lets you dress up a monkey and watch him dance to installed music or your own voice. Their most successful game though is KamiCrazy, a puzzle-game where you have to navigate some crazy jungles.
Who won? The U.K. had cooler technology than the U.S., but the U.S. products seemed more consumer-friendly. You can’t compete with a company that eliminates waiting for a table or an iPhone app that picks your wine for you. We are calling it. U.S.A., you’re the winner.
Who do you think should win, the U.K. or U.S.A? Let us know in the comments.
A big thanks to UK Trade and Investment, who sponsored the event.
