This track explores a range of innovative ways startups are helping users leverage their mobile phones.

Moderator: Sean Wise, Wise Mentor Capital
Judges:
AOL
QUALCOMM
British Telecom

Companies:
EQO
Focus: Extend social web to your mobile phone
Funding: Series B
EQO untethers users from desktop so they can stay connected to online social networks and IM networks. First to extend skype to range of phones. Have a deal w/major carrier in China. When they started, they supported 27 handsets and now support 460 handsets. Mobile-to-mobile & mobile-to-web. EQO sees its sustainable advantage in that it bridges telecom networks and doesn’t rely on IP networks. Service aggregation is done across properties and across service networks.
Judges see that while it may be easy to install, users may not want to use it all the time. Execution is likely the challenge. User experience differs, taking it away from users having it on all the time. Judges also relayed offdeck concerns about how EQO will provide billing and handle integration issues.
Business Model: partner with social network sites to offer offdeck premium services. A hosted platform that operators can license.

Flurry
Focus: Pimp your low-end cell phone into a high-end one
Funding: Sequoia
Flurry provides access to email and RSS feeds on any mobile phone. It free service and ease of use helps it stand out from alternative offerings. Setup, access, and management is done via the website. Flurry’s service works from full range of phones (low end to high end phones) supporting more than 400 handsets and supports any kind of messaging.
It is phone-carrier-and-provider agnostic.
Biz model: ad supported free version. Premium services (international SMS and flurry +) Flurry will appeal to everyday, low-end cellphones for folks who don’t have to invest in a cell phone or high monthly fee. Some of the judges felt that this service is not novel and in a crowded space.

Loopt
Focus: Mobile and Web-based Social Mapping
Funding: Sequoia, NEA
Focused on answering the most asked question via IM— Where are you???
Allows one to send proximity-based messages and for user to be alerted to friends they didn’t know were nearby. Can send distance-based text messages to friends within a certain proximity. Enables geo-blogging. Targeting early adopters between 18-34 years old. While LBS friend-finding not a new idea, the privacy question had previously not been adequately resolved. Service safe and private that solves the privacy issue. Location APIs now available. Wireless carriers are still lagging until just now. Challenge remains of getting leading carriers like Cingular and Verizon comfortable with the concept of sharing where you are. Very viral service. Average customer invites average of 6 friends.
British Telecom judge loves Loopt’s idea. BT couldn’t make the business case work after 3-4 previous attempts. Demographically well targeted but limited. Kids don’t want to be found. Young urbanites are a group of people who become less interested in informing folks where they are. Loopt sees its barriers to entry in its technology patents, age of its founder (21) and its already establish operator relationships such as with Sprint. “These are these guys that control the APIs.”

Renzoo
Focus: Enable voicemail, email, and RSS feeds pushed to your cell phone.
Funding: Seed
Carrier independent–offdeck. Enables full attachment viewing (PDF/MS Office) within a cell phone. No download required. Users can receive all their voicemails pushed to (work/landline, etc.) pushed to their mobile phone. WAP-pushed voicemail messages are particularly appealing in Europe as it saves money over voicemail playback. Renzoo Push allows one to send from an email client or Renzoo’s web-based interface and push it to anyone. Viral potential. Content push and forwarding to friends.
Biz model: subscription based and premium services for mobile integration features. Rev-share for voicemail calls.
Judges see lots of competitors in this space with many touting usability as their advantage. Also question the WAP-based interface — since this is not the most friendly. Renzoo feels despite WAP concerns, their UI is very friendly and clean.