In brief: The Carnival is up at MSG with a balanced mix of must-read posts and rants. Topics include: Apple’s reign, Android’s gain, video how-to, SMS voting and a campaign that could have been in Slovakia.

Thanks to Communities Dominate Brands we get a great update on the numbers that play in the zero-sum game involving smartphone makers worldwide. As the inimitable Tomi Ahonen sees it, it’s a bloodbath – and he has the stats to back it up. It’s a meaty, must-read post that recounts shipments and sales by all the major players. It also claims “Apple’s market share has indeed peaked and we’ll see gradual market share decline for this year 2010 compared to 2009.” Is Tomi right? Read on, find out… (and bookmark!)

While Tomi argues with numbers, Ajit Jaokar gives invaluable insights (with a nod to Sun Tzu) in his post into why Apple is no longer the one to watch. Now it’s all about Android. In his view, Apple’s obsessive and un-open approach to mobile has stunted its growth. Android is gaining traction and “it is now a race for Nokia, LiMo and others to compete against the rate of change of Android and that will be hard.” Who will win and why? Read on and find out…

In the run up to an exciting event — Mobile Future Forward (September 8th) — Chetan Sharma’s new post gives us the opportunity to download a worthwhile white paper that outlines the themes/ trends impacting mobile at all levels. It’s a great way to get us all thinking about the big-picture issues that define what mobile is and will likely become. The white paper also gives us a good idea of the topics senior execs from a wide range of top-notch companies will discuss during the path-breaking event. (Shameless plug: MSearchGroove is proud to be the newest media sponsor, so check back here for more content in the run up to the event, including an exclusive podcast (!) with Paul Palmieri, Millennial Media CEO.) What are the trends that matter most? Read on and find out… (Download the PDF here)

Registration for the event is open now. Early Bird expires June 30th 2010.

Mark Bridge over at Fonecast showcases a podcast with Hans Eriksson of mobile video streaming service Bambuser, which lets you share streaming video in real-time and even add chat. Hans tells us about the service and innovative ways people are using it. For one, the service was used to cover Jukka Mutanen’s 1,000 km cross-country drive through Finland. Hans also discusses some of the problems (and solutions) associated with live video streaming. A useful podcast – particularly in view of the traction video is getting on microblogs. How can video amplify your message? Read on and find out…

We know from the Obama campaign that SMS messages encouraging people to vote can have a profound impact on people’s perceptions of candidates and key issues. This post from Alfred DeRose over at Tego Interactive connects the dots in recent research on the topic and walks us through a campaign (combining Web, social media and mobile) his team developed for a Slovakian political party. Why can a well-integrated multi-channel campaign influence voter’s perceptions and participation? Read on and find out…

Participation of another kind is the focus of this post from C. Enrique Ortiz over at About Mobility. He reflects on some of his recent work and insights about the rampant spread of mobile broadband that cause him to wonder if developers (or operators) will have to carry the burden of app support. He asks: Is app-specific support a real issue today or one that is coming? More importantly, can developers even handle the hassle? And he also wants your input on these questions, which is why he asks us all to participate in a simple survey. What are app developer responsibilities and where should we draw the line? Fill out the survey and make your voice heard!

BEST OF THE WEEK

My pick this week: Ajit’s excellent explanation of why Android is pulling ahead of – well – everyone in the smartphone space. His perspective – backed up by multi-disciplinary common sense — is a pleasure to read. And don’t miss his nod to an excellent post from another author on why Apple’s secrecy may also be its undoing.

That’s a wrap until next week – when I hope someone will step up to the plate. At the moment Tomi – always the gentleman – has agreed to be our host. However, I would like to hear from some of you lurkers out there! With over 100 “members” and counting – I sure hope one of you will give a shout….

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 6:28 pm and is filed under Carnival Of The Mobilists, Events, Mobile Content, Mobile Social Networking, Usability, White Papers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.