In the final morning keynote, Louis Gump, VP of Mobile, CNN, offered a brief history of mobile apps and advertising, going back to 1996 to the trusty old PalmPilot and early app developers like
AvantGo. But it wasn't until the arrival of the iPhone and Android in recent years that apps really exploded on the scene. Putting aside the ongoing debate about apps versus the mobile Web, Gump says
companies need both--like two wheels on a bicycle--to meet the needs of different consumers. His rule of thumb guidelines: start with the consumer in mind; build a mobile Web site; build apps as
necessary (starting with iPhone and Android; and monetize mobile properties in a consumer-friendly way.
He also encouraged people to think both about the convergence and divergence mobile
represents--how mobile can be integrated with other media but also keeping in mind how individual devices differ. So tablets are mobile devices, but have different capabilities than mobile phones.
It's a paradox the industry has to live with.
