I'd be very interesting in someday reading about what it took to make these partnerships happen. And what actually comes of them.
When Boost got Loopt they created an entire ad campaign about it. Sprint got Loopt almost a year ago and the only mention on their site is a paragraph in a Word document.
I'd also love to know how long it took Loopt to convince Verizon to let them in. Or maybe I'd hate to know.
You have no idea about the drama that occurs to get placement in a WAP deck. So many stakeholders, so little space, and everyone firmly believes their priority should have top billing. Cutting a deal with ANY telco is a herculean feat.
I've heard much the same, although I think this will start to change for the better after the iPhone App Store goes live.
My prediction (and hope) is it ushers an era where consumers expect to have the ability to install any application they want on their mobile device, without having to go through their carrier to do so. I think carriers will start to lose that power and Apple will drive the change.
The best solution is still to stay off deck in the sense of offering a WAP-based web application rather than something that is installed. But this obviously wont work for some type of applications (Loopt is one of them). Loopt is doing great though, I am excited about their success.
The WAP deck will only be important as long as the current handset install-base is present. The iPhone changed the industry from day one, but the realities of mobile web are still present, at least for the next year.
Loopt is in a position to be on the cusp, with a leg-up over all the new comers BECAUSE they wrangled the WAP deck before the turnover.
The "WAP Deck" represent the idea that people should find their mobile services or "content" from a startpage when the go online on their phone. this make no sense for anyone who know how the internet grew. Google overtook Yahoo when they still believed that the internet should be organized like a directory, like there were a limited "shelf" space. That wasn't true and it wont be true for mobile either.
Admob, one of the largest mobile ad network has a monthly reach of 50 million unique users, that's about the size of one of the largest carriers in the world.
I'm certain that the concept of "Carrier WAP Deck" will not grow in the same pace as the open mobile web....
Agreed. (Plus Admob is amazing. We see fantastic results with them) My one rebut to your Google-Yahoo metaphor is that there is less specific input with a phone, it's more contextual. With a keyboard and mouse its easy to navigate the web, but a number pad (or touch) and limited screen space means your navigation takes a hit and relevance becomes all the more important. For that reason the WAP deck is still clinging on and even players like Google and Yahoo are striving for a portal strategy in the mobile world.
I don't know Sam personally. I wasn't intending to downgrade Sam here.
Never meant to imply that getting into YC was like a silver-spoon, charmed-type experience for business success. When I said "Loopt", I meant Sam and his co-founders.
I think we could see Loopt in MSM (Time magazine).
Oh yes, I did not take your statement in any negative light. I was just responding to the claim about how much of a role YC would have played in establishing a lot of these relationships. My guess is it was Sam's hard-work and business acumen (at least early on) that created all these opportunities.
(Ntw, I don't know a lot about Sam personally, and I am not basing this on PG's judgement of Sam either.)
pg's instinct that Loopt is the biggest YC success story so far looks to have been spot on. (I think there are a couple of others that could catch up, though.)
This is going to be an interesting point in Loopt's history. How this verizon deal comes around and how they embrace the iphone, android, facebook and myspace platforms will determine their success as a company. I think there is a ton of potential here, and the people working at loopt are smart guys, but that doesn't mean this is a slam dunk.
I think it will come down to money. How long can they go on what they have, how much new investment can they gather in the current economic conditions, and how they can monetize these new platforms where the market will bear advertising but not subscription fees.
I think Loopt will be able to put mobile networking on the map if they build out their web presence and integration.
That is, as long as they don't have a privacy gaffe. Beacon on FB is one thing, being perceived as spying through people's mobiles is a company killer.
The scary thing is that most people who will use Loopt will never know that a small team of co-founder/hackers around their age created it. They'll just use it.
