MOTODEV Summit

Hey guys, meant to get this up yesterday but I was having trouble getting pictures up.

So on Tuesday, Dave and I went down to San Diego for the MOTODEV Summit, which was a one day event covering all things Android. 

Now, we here at MobilityWare are always looking out for new opportunities and we do try and keep up to date on the latest technology in the mobile space, so what better place to learn about the latest Android technology than to go to the MOTODEV Summit, where developers and Android experts could collaborate, network, and share knowledge about Android!

As promised, I did get some pictures taken of our time at the event but unfortunately, Dave and I each had forgotten to bring our own cameras. D'oh! However, I did manage to snap some pictures with my phone camera to help document the event, and you can bet I will definitely bring my camera to the next tradeshow/summit/conference/etc.

Click past the jump to read about our experience in San Diego (complete with pictures!)

So early Tuesday morning, Dave and I hopped in the car and drove down to San Diego, making the trip in a brisk hour and a half.  Upon arrival and check-in at the venue, the Hard Rock Hotel, we were ushered our way upstairs where we were immediately greeted by a large hallway filled with people bustling about. 

On the sides of the hallway were booths filled with representatives from different Android service providers, ready to answer questions and explain how their services would benefit an Android developer.  There were representatives from companies like Flurry, who provide great mobile application analytics to developers, and TeleAtlas, who provide valuable geographic data to developers, and we eagerly conversed about the positive opportunities these services could potentially offer an Android developer.

After making our way through the 10-12 booths, we gathered in another room, where bowls and bowls of breakfast food lay out for the picking.

After helping ourselves to some fruit and muffins, we sat and watched as more and more people filed in.

A short while later, we all gathered into a large room and awaited the keynote speech.

During the speech, the speakers talked about the potential opportunities that awaited if one were to go into developing an Android application.  They talked about how people were becoming more and more attached to their smart phones and that Android is a way to really capture this audience and provide for them an experience unlike any other platform today.

Being that the whole summit was provided by Motorola, of course a Motorola phone using Android was demoed.  The Motorola Cliq was shown by one of the speakers, who made note to point out that it slid open to a full QWERTY keyboard.  On the home screen, there were a bunch of applications or widgets available.  He showed a couple of these, most notably the game Labyrinth (a very popular app on the iPhone) which made use of the accelerometer, as well as an exercise app that showed the functionality available on the Android platform.

 

 

He then showed the phone in portrait mode and showed us how comprehensive the status update functions were, as well as how contact information was exhibited on the phone.  Some very interesting stuff and it definitely caught my attention.

At the end of the keynote speech, one of the speakers told us to check under our seats.  Apparently, out of the hundreds of seats in the large auditorium, there were 75 seats with a card underneath.  If a card was found underneath your seat, you had just won a Motorola Cliq!! Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find that there was no card under mine, and I was further aggravated when I watched the person in front of me and the person to the my left pull out cards from underneath their seats!

After the keynote speech, I had the pleasure to be able to try the Motorola Cliq first hand.  It had a very firm feel to it but I had a little bit of trouble trying to duplicate the swift maneuvers the speaker had shown earlier.  However, I think this is just a matter of me being unfamiliar with the phone.  Overall, I enjoyed my short time with the Cliq and I only wish I could play around with it a bit more.

An important part of the Motorola Summit was the many sessions available throughout the day, ranging from sessions for a beginner developer seeing if Android was worth pursing, to information sessions for experienced developers who wanted to take full advantage of the software Motorola provides.

Being that I have had no experience with Android, I took a seat in one of the sessions appropriately named "Why Develop for Android."  

 

This 50 minute session talked about how so many people use smartphones these days, not only for pictures and text messaging but for application use and social networking.  The speakers talked about how many of the features available on the Android platform could create applications that these people would undoubtedly embrace and that the time to pursue Android app developing was now.

We then broke for lunch, where another set of bowls and plates filled with food waited in the food room.  I thought the food was delicious and I happily helped myself on return trips (Shhh don’t tell anybody! Haha). 

 

After lunch was over, we returned to more sessions.  I sat through a session that detailed the main features on the Android platform and how they could be utilized together to create an effective Android application.  Being a person in the MobilityWare marketing department, I obviously had no clue as to what some of the engineering stuff being discussed was about,  but it was interesting to be able to make out bits and pieces of some of the technology was being discussed.  Some of it was pretty interesting to me. The others, not so much =] . 

After some other sessions, I took a break and visited the Developer Playground, advertised as a place to "relax, create, dabble and play."  There was a bunch of clay lying around and apparently there was a contest to create the funniest or most creative "droid,"  where the winner of each category would win a Motorola Cliq.

Here is everybody's submission so far:

I did take my chances and worked on my own droid.  It was a refreshing moment to be able to play with clay again.  I don’t think I've touched it since elementary school.

Here's my entry in the funniest category (those are weights in his hand =] ).

 

 

After I built my droid and submitted it for approval, I returned to a session titled "Targeting the End Customer with Android."  Finally, a marketing session that could be of interest to me!

For the next 40 minutes, I listened intently to a series of panelists who talked about the current trends in several technology markets and explained some ways of targeting the end consumer.  Though MobilityWare currently is not involved in any Android projects, it was interesting to learn about the vast number of opportunities that could be exploited if a person were to hit the right spot.  I thought this was the best session of the day by far.

A session later, everybody gathered outside on the 4th floor for the MOTODEV Summit Party.  It was so refreshing to finally be outside after sitting indoors for the majority of the day.  There was music, free drinks, and waitresses walking around with plates of hors d'oeuvres, making for a great way to relax and interact with other people and talk about the day.  It was a pleasure to meet some people who had flew in from places like Minnesota, Detroit, San Jose, and we all shared a laugh when we discussed the terrific weather we get to enjoy year round in California.

Everybody's droids were also out for display.  This was where everybody would get the chance to vote for a droid in each category, funniest and most creative. 

 Here's my droid begging to be chosen!

 

 A short while later, the winners were announced.  Unfortunately, my entry did not win although I did see a person giggle and point at my droid to show to his friend.

After this, it was starting to get late and people began to disperse, so Dave and I got up to leave back to Irvine.

It was a very informational day to say the least. We definitely met some great people and learned a great deal about the Android platform and the opportunities it provides.  A big thank you to Motorola and all the service providers on hand; it was a great learning experience and perhaps we will return next year!