Conor O'Neil of Louder Voice (www.loudervoice.com) pointed this one out to me, and it's well worth watching. The video highlights the evolution of the mobile from 1985 until today, illustrating all the key milestones along the way. It's an amazing testament to an industry that didn't exist 23 years ago, and has now spawned thousands of companies, giving employment to hundreds of thousands of people, and more importantly - connectivity, closeness and a voice to over half the worlds population.

Required watching for anyone in the mobile space...

Madonna, somewhat of a serial earlier adopter in my view, and although heading towards her fifties, shows she's in touch with her audience by doing a live concert from New York, available exclusively via mobile.

Press Release -

Madonna fans in the UK and 13 other countries will be able to watch her perform live in in New York - on their mobile phone. Streamed live from the Roseland Ballroom, exclusively outside the US to Vodafone customers, the concert celebrates the release of the pop queen's new album, Hard Candy. Wednesday's performance will be the first time Madonna plays live songs from her new album. Vodafone customers in Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain and the UK will have access to the show via their mobile phones on Vodafone live! and streamed via their PCs at www.vodafone.com/music. They will also be able to interact with other online show-goers and select camera angles to move around the stage to get the best view. "Offering millions of fans around the world live, interactive access to a unique, intimate Madonna show is a powerful way to showcase a new album," said John Reid of Warner Music Europe. Madonna's latest hit, 4 Minutes, featuring Justin Timberlake, stayed at the top spot in The Official UK Charts Company's singles chart this week.

The concert went out a few days ago, and is still available to view on some operators portals. The carriers said it was the first time a live concert was broadcast simultaneously on mobile around the globe as fans sang along in unison at the venue. The four songs performed by Madonna have also been archived on Verizon Wireless' Vcast Performances channel, which will be available to Verizon Wireless customers throughout the month. Exclusive video footage of Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake's remix recording session is also available on the carrier's video service. Wonder would she like to send video highlights out via Bluetooth at her concerts? If so Madonna, you have my details...

At the World Economic Forum in DAVOS, Switzerland last week, Reuters reported the following under the headline "Google CEO bullish on mobile Web advertising"

The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a "huge revolution", Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday.

"It's the recreation of the Internet, it's the recreation of the PC (personal computer) story and it is before us -- and it is very likely it will happen in the next year," he told a panel at the World Economic Forum.

Something must have rubbed off on him when I passed him in the canteen line at Google last December on the Paddy's Valley tour - he's speaking my language! He also went onto say...

"...the mobile Web was reaching a tipping point."

and the article continued -

Google aims to be a prime mover by bidding for coveted airwaves to launch an open U.S. wireless network, pitting it against established telecommunications players. The move will take the Silicon Valley-based company well beyond its core Web search and online advertising franchises. Some analysts are worried at the high costs involved but Schmidt said he was confident location-based advertising -- which could, for example, direct hungry travelers to nearby restaurants -- would be "a very, very good business".

I'm right there with you Eric, so you know where to call next time you're in the Google office in Ireland. Only too glad to meet with you - if I have a free slot in my schedule that is ;-) You can read the full Reuters article here