The mobile app market is expected to hit $30 billion by 2015, creating one of the fastest growing areas in technology today. How have these apps changed the way consumers play games, interact with music and connect with each other?
Though Apple dominates today's app marketplace, how will Android and Windows Phone 7 provide user value and steal valuable mindshare? How will application compete with the mobile web? What areas are investment hotspots in the app space? Join the Commonwealth Club's panel of mobile industry experts to answer these and many more questions.
Bio
Timothy Chang
Timothy Chang, principal at Norwest Venture Partners, focuses on investments in mobile, gaming, digital media, and also leads NVP's investment practice in China and Asia-Pacific. Chang led NVP's investments in and joined the boards of directors of ngmoco, Lumos Labs, Brite Semiconductor and 3jam. He also led NVP's investment in Playdom, a leader in social gaming, and PCH International, a turnkey global supply chain services firm based in Shenzhen. Chang is a board observer working closely with Borqs, deCarta, Double Fusion and Veveo.
Chang began his career in venture capital in 1999 during his time at Stanford Business School as part of the founding team of CTR Ventures K.K., a venture accelerator in Tokyo focused on seed and early-stage mobile consumer applications for the Japanese market.
Chang currently serves on the advisory boards of the Silicon Valley Telecom Council, Dealmaker Media, Digital Hollywood, TiE Wireless SIG, MIT/Stanford VLAB, VC Task Force, and Silicon Valley Chinese Wireless Association. He was also listed on the AlwaysON Hollywood IT List recognizing technology leaders in the entertainment industry, as well as by The Deal as one of five emerging VCs to watch.
Yukari Kane
Reporter Yukari Iwatani Kane joined The Wall Street Journal in 2006.
She has covered Japanese consumer electronics, video games, and telecommunications companies. She currently covers Apple and consumer entertainment companies.
Lisa Marino
Lisa Marino is the Chief Revenue Officer for RockYou, overseeing all business functions and leading all brand and ad sales initiatives for the company. Prior to this role she served as RockYou's Vice President of sales where she created and led a team which generated more than $6 million during its first year. Prior to joining the RockYou executive team, Marino was the National Sales Manager for eBay Motors, calling on major automotive original equipment manufacturers as well as their franchise dealers.
Marino co-founded Cima Systems, a leading fixed operations customer relationship management provider for auto dealers. She began her career in Silicon Valley as a technology mergers and acquisitions investment banker for Montgomery Securities. Marino is a thought leader in social media marketing and has spoken at leading conferences and events including, OMMA, iMedia Summit and Digital Hollywood.
She holds an Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University's School of Business and a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Shervin Pishevar
Shervin Pishevar is a technology entrepreneur, published researcher and technology incubation expert. Prior to SGN, he was Co-Founder and COO of Webs.com (formerly Freewebs). As the second largest web hosting company in the world empowering millions of users, Webs is positioned to help lead the web presence space as more and more people flock to the web and organize and share their digital lives.
Pishevar was a member of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications policy working group that helped create the Obama Technology and Innovation Plan. His achievements have been highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, LA Times, CNN and CNBC.
Krishna Subramanian
Krishna Subramanian is co-founder of Mobclix, the industry's largest mobile ad exchange network.
Wireless telephone that permits telecommunication within a defined area that may include hundreds of square miles, using radio waves in the 800–900 megahertz (MHz) band. To implement a cell-phone system, a geographic area is broken into smaller areas, or cells, usually mapped as uniform hexagrams but in fact overlapping and irregularly shaped. Each cell is equipped with a low-powered radio transmitter and receiver that permit propagation of signals among cell-phone users.
The interesting thing about this panel is that the general notion that mobile apps are overtaking desktop apps is actually true... most users do not need the full power of desktop apps and the ball and chain of functionality that comes with them! It's the same reason that makes people choose crappy mp3s over 24 bit high def CDs (which require a $30k speaker system and a specially designed listening rooms to hear the difference to 16 bit CDs...). mp3s are simply good enough! And most mobile apps are not only good enough, but they are are much more interesting than a desktop app that comes with an "X for Dummies" book...
But I still believe that games are actually an exception. There are plenty of people who are willing to spend years of their life on climbing level after level of the hardest and most demanding desktop shooter and fight games. To the casual user, like me, dying after eight seconds on level one of any of these makes these things utterly unappealing... about the same as skateboarding in the real world would be, I guess, since I just don't find any fun in visits to the ER and OR with three months of rehabilitation for serous injuries... yet, to the kids (and young at heart), who can master these physical challenges, the skateboard, just as the latest desktop games give an enormous amount of satisfaction. I don't think mobile apps are competing for these users.
Two easy ways to spot a douchebag: (a) refers to the general public as "consumers"; (b) speaks like a historian when discussing the future. The mission of this forum is, as stated, "to inspire debate around civic issues", yet I see no debate here, let alone anything about civic issues.
Yet I had to watch, because their lack of ethics is perversely entertaining... on the subject of gambling: "talk about addiction -- this mobile device in your pocket is the perfect place to gamble all the time." He goes on, as far as I can tell, to say that social gaming is the legal equivalent. Wow. Keep in mind, this whole discussion would be unchanged if you replace "gambling" with "heroin".
It's an open secret on the internet that those who criticize other people's spelling have nothing else to criticize. Sorry they didn't give you the memo.
As for that threat of "stimulation"... I indeed do not detect that you would have the faintest capacity to provide any.
But give it another try... maybe the third time is the charm?
Alikar - I disagree with you. This is probably one of the worst comments in the history of the internet. You can not even follow simple grammar rules: its != it's.
Also, the video editing on this clip is superb.
Hello usernumber304. I apologize for the quick response, as I have a life and am busy with many things, thus I will miss the occasional grammatical error. Perhaps you could explain further your disagreements with my post, beyond the intellectually stimulating "I disagree with you."
This is foolish. I'm sure this guy doesn't even own an Xbox.
The casual gaming market is and will continue to be dominated by the devices and platforms discussed. True gamers will never abandon the level of sophistication and depth that the XBOX and even PS3 along with its developers can offer. As the game market continue to grow to the size and scope of cinema there will be room for many different genres within the market.
Well, let's see... a high end graphics card plus a top of the line PC come in at 300W of power consumption. A portable device at maybe 1-3W. Graphical game complexity is roughly proportional to CPU power consumption. So, I would like to think, unless everyone likes their games graphically simple, high end games requiring hundred times the computing power won't go away anytime soon.
Having said that, there is a market for both and one can see some serious innovation coming from the low complexity game developers. If some of that can be used to rejuvenate the high end sector, the better.
Alikar - I disagree with you. This is probably one of the worst comments in the history of the internet. You can not even follow simple grammar rules: its != it's.
Its an odd thing to say that the XBox is dead. This is just another TV killed the radio story. Apps for mobile devices will never reach the sophistication of their counter part consoles. Just like consoles are not as detailed as PC games or then PC games are not as detailed as good old Pen and Paper.
People will be making games for all of these platforms. To say one is going to die is very odd. Especially when the industry that he is refering to makes more money then the movie industry and is only growing larger.
member. 
