The relationships with the companies in DotMobi is a quasi-keiretsu like effort. They all have agreed to back and put resources into the DotMobi effort of getting the TLD off the ground as well as support the DotMobi's organizational and marketing initiatives. Each member of the organization has a say in the TLDs future path as well.
My opinion from what I am hearing:
Leading the Pack: .......Google.
WSJ has indicated that Google is pouring millions into mobile in order to get a leg up in advertisement. DotMobi is a small part of their efforts. My engineering buddies say that Google has a slam dunk plan.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118602176520985718.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news
Next in line: ........Nokia
Nokia has been a little more covert about their efforts. They have been soliciting mobile content providers to develop content for their existing and future phones. Nokia wants to provide content to their customer base that is exclusive to Nokia phones.
http://www.intomobile.com/2007/07/1...n-their-handsets-launches-forumnokiamobi.html
Running a close 3rd:....Microsoft.
Microsoft decided to take a different approach by focusing on their core strengths....make kick-ass ASP & .NET tools, give the tools away, and control the environment through licenses. This what they have done with the Windows OS platform so this is what they will do with Mobile development. Microsoft knows that Google is spending big bucks on Mobile and they are not about to loose ground to them again. Being involved with ASP & .NET has brought a good deal of information about the old Bill Gates company. Microsoft will be a player in the mobile space.
http://reddevnews.com/news/devnews/article.aspx?editorialsid=319
In 4th place:.....Vodafone.
They had a slow start but has recently picked up the pace once they saw the top 3 spending money into this space. Vodafone is focusing on the business to mobile services and relationships which is where they have skills in. Vodafone feels by locking up various products and services tied to mobile, they will gain share in all mobile regardless of DotMobis success or not.
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/8623/9647/Vodafone-MONILINK-mobile-phone-banking.phtml
Maybe tied for 5th: would be.......T-Mobile and Samsung.
They were caught off guard recently with the introduction of several new handsets this year that took focus off of their products. T-Mobile and Samsung are focusing on handset technologies and services that will enable them to get more share of customers for their devices. They both are putting in a small amount of money into DotMobi but their efforts is minuscule compared to what Google, Nokia and Microsoft are doing.
After this point:....it gets really muddy. Some of the carriers such as Telecom Italia Mobile, Hutchison 3, Orascom Telecom and Syniverse have been working on locking up markets in South America, Africa, Asian & Asiatics regions. These companies are working on their plans which is to control more territory and then develop for the Internet.
There is a lot going on behind the scenes with mobile and the Internet. DotMobi is just a small part of a much larger picture.
Something to keep in mind......well back to the dev-ing..
