Thanks to all of you who stopped by the Microsoft Sandbox booth at NXTComm last week!  It was fun to listen to your ideas for new services, mashing up all sorts of options from vertical applications to audio and TV and back through mapping and social networks.  I can’t wait till I see some of these ideas turn into services I can buy.  Great ideas!

 

 

The first project under the Accelerator Program – the one sponsored by SingTel, with a Mobile focus – is nearly closed – Sign Up Now to be considered for this great opportunity!

 

Aptly named, the Accelerator Program is not wasting any time getting going.  With the new service being demonstrated September 24, there is no time to lose.  The first milestone of this project is the deadline for ISVs, Developers, SIs, etc. to sign up at http://www.networkmashups.com/Content.aspx?TopicId=mobile&TopicTitle=Microsoft%20is%20driving%20the%20development%20of%20the%20next%20generation%20of%20mobile%20services  by June 28^th.  If you have a mobile project in mind that SingTel will be interested in adding to their service offerings, don’t miss out on a chance to work with a major Operator – sign up by Saturday!

 

• Artilium
• Schakra
• Tech Mahindra

all demonstrating what they have been able to accomplish with Sandbox.  We have a pretty broad viariety of demos for just 3 companies that are on the booth with us this year.  Come take a look at what is being done this year and who knows - you may come up with the next big thing in Sandbox and receive an invitation to join us in 2009! 

 

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced the launch of the Connected Services Accelerator Program at the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Marketplace – Americas event in Atlanta. The Connected Services Accelerator Program encompasses a series of operator-sponsored projects designed to incubate, and ultimately commercialize, new types of consumer, business and mobile services through collaboration with independent software vendors (ISVs) and developers. Microsoft is partnering with SingTel on the program’s first project, the Mobile Connected Services Accelerator, to develop a new, cutting-edge mobile application for a vertical industry, which can be supported on Windows Mobile-based devices as well as Windows Vista-enabled mobile broadband PCs.

 

SingTel will make its state-of-the-art infrastructure and resources available to participants for development and testing purposes and as with all Accelerator projects, the Mobile Accelerator will utilize Microsoft Connected Services Sandbox as the platform for the creation, development and testing of these innovative new services.

 

The project will run from July 1 to Sept. 24 after which time the chosen application will be entered into the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition in the Most Innovative Mobile Application in a Vertical Market category, with the winner to be announced at the Mobile Asia Congress in Macau Nov. 18–20.

 

For more information on the Connected Services Accelerator Program, visit www.networkmashups.com

 

 

Don’t take my word for it – there were 93 news articles generated from the recent announcement by Microsoft and SingTel for the first project under the Connected Services Sandbox Accelerator Program, (made at GSMA- Atlanta, June 3).  Not just any announcement would generate such a buzz…this is truly a great opportunity!  ISVs, Systems Integrators, Developers, Mobile Gurus – anyone with a great idea and an interest to pair up with SingTel to develop an innovative service should consider being part of this first round of the Accelerator Program.

 

Interested?  Check it out yourselves!

 

 

Lots of new Premier members to welcome to Sandbox!

 

are all new sign-ups since my last blog entry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for an Application Session Controller in Sandbox?  Network Migration Technology?  Application Connectivity Solutions?  You may want to check out AppTrigger - one of your colleagues in the Connected Services Sandbox!

 

Or maybe you want to read a little bit about them in some recent media clips...

 

 

http://www.ecocoma.com/news.aspx?id=406332919

 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/24123268/

 

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/04/15/3387183.htm

 

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080415/20080415005349.html?.v=1

 

 

Microsoft Corporate Vice President for World Wide Communications, Martha Bejar shows off the award Sandbox picked up from NXTComm '07. 

Are you going to attend to see what Sandbox does this year?

If you don't plan on attending NXTCom '08, be sure to check the Blog for an important announcement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As noted earlier, there will be a Live Meeting on April 10 at 9:00 AM (new time - please note)

 

 

 

 

 

Have you thought about mashups INSIDE the box?  The TV 'box'?  Picture yourself watching a political debate.  The candidate you do not like takes a verbal swipe at your favorite candidate. You feel the remarks are not even true, but what can you do about it?

 

Consider making a mashup with the broadcaster to enable text messages to be displayed across the bottom of the screen, (like sports scores are sometimes displayed).  If the race is really tight, you could charge $20.00 per one line of text to go across the screen and still get many takers.  You'd need to filter for FCC type regulations, but according to overseas broadcasters who have done this sort of thing with a close replica of a popular US reality TV show, the audience became more engaged in the show, watched more often and the revenues from the text messages were substantial.

 

How many people would be willing to pay to speak their mind about a political debate?  Critical sporting match up?  Reality TV show? 

 

This may not work in the USA, but it has already been successfully used in at least one country.

 

Interesting...

 

 

Here’s an interesting idea…

Interested in public works projects?  This was not done in our Sandbox, but it’s an interesting idea from Scandinavia that has potential to work elsewhere.  And it could work in related situations, too. 

 

In today’s “green” world, you can help make public transportation more practical.  Passengers would know exactly when to leave their office or home to catch their bus without catching a cold in the process.  Rather than have the fine people of Chicago or Iowa or elsewhere get frost bite while waiting for the bus or trolley, make a mashup!  Enable a mobile or smart phone to accept a signal from the vehicle as it passes by each stop.  Mr. Smith will get a ping from his smart phone, telling him the bus is two stops from his.  He has just enough time to leave his warm office and walk to the bus stop.

 

Ms. Jones sets her smart phone to give her 5 stops’ notice.  She has worked it out so that she has a minute to finish and save what she is doing, catch the elevator and meet her bus.  This maximizes her time, even if it isn’t freezing outside.

 

How do you get paid?  Sell a license for the service to the city of Fargo or the state of New York, or wherever your new product will be utilized.

 

What else could you do in public works?  Tornados tracked on maps, accessible via smart phone?  Hurricanes?  Tsunamis?   Maybe FEMA would be interested in tracking floods or a pandemic.  There are many more ideas out there for those who don’t want to get bogged down in billing millions of people for only a few dollars a month…sell it once for the greater community. 

 

Take 20 minutes of today’s commute to ponder…what ideas can you come up with?

                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll bet a lot of you have wondered about the Connected Services Sandbox, but didn’t get any farther.  Let me ask you this…

 

Is your company a leader in INNOVATION?  

Do you have a great technical team? 

Do you have experience with telco?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, join us for a technical or business (or both) webinar! 

Business – April 10, 2008, 8:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time.

Technical – May 15, 2008, 8:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time. 

Details to follow when we get closer to the events!

 

 

Greetings to the blogosphere from the Connected Services Sandbox!  We’re coming up on springtime – a perfect time to get back into the Sandbox …without the Participation fee 

Honest!  We have waived that fee, we’ve added more MS products, more promotional activities, were updating our website, adding more benefits (including a multi-tier tech support plan designed to fit a wide range of needs), adding scenario-based RFS/RFIs, and more.

  

If you’ve already decided to join the Sandbox, click

here csmashups@microsoft.com to request a Participation Agreement!

 

 

We've launched the first of the Microsoft sponsored competitions in the sandbox. More information at http://csf.topcoder.com/?module=Static&d1=assembly&d2=msSessionManifestDetails. The idea this time is to use Microsoft Silverlight to build a cool tool for service assembly using the Microsoft Connected Services Framework.

 

Log in and participate to win over $4500 in prize money!

 

Sandbox Team

The next edition of the design competition has been launched. The scenario this time is around Wireless Cities. To participate, visit:

 

Good Luck!