“Virtual Worlds SIG – 3D Mobile Communities”

Gemini Mobile Technologies: eXplo 3D community platform

Although mobile and PC penetration in the US surpasses Asian levels, mobile Internet usage remains limited. Only 12 percent of Americans with cell phones use them to access the Internet. Asia has moved ahead of the US in mobile Internet usage by adopting 2nd and now 3rd generation community interfaces.

In this session, Rob Osborn, Gemini Mobile’s Director of eXplo, will explain how 3D mobile communities are stimulating the adoption of mobile phones and data use among global audiences. Osborn has led implementations of 3D Mobile Social Networks in Japan and elsewhere in the world, and will discuss the catalysts for adoption, and how the US can catch up to this market.

Attendees of this presentation will learn why Japan has outpaced the US in 3rd generation mobile communities and Internet usage, and how the US can leverage existing technologies and networks to convert more than 200 million users to the mobile Internet and mobile data plans.
Rob Osborn, director of eXplo bio:
Rob Osborn is director of eXplo at Gemini Mobile Technologies, a privately-held, US-based wireless software company specializing in mobile community and messaging products. Gemini was the first company to launch a 3D mobile community service, called S!Town, on SoftBank Mobile in Japan. Today, S!Town has over 250,000 registered users and continues to grow primarily through word of mouth. Prior to joining Gemini, Mr. Osborn was General Manager of the Radio Network Department at Vodafone K.K., Japan’s third largest mobile carrier. In that role, he oversaw the deployment and launch of the largest UMTS network in the Vodafone Group. Prior to that, he was Deputy General Manager of Supply Chain at Vodafone K.K. where he managed the world’s largest UMTS bid at the time – Project Big Bang, which included the installation of 10,000 base stations in a single year. Mr. Osborn has 13 years’ experience in wireless and fixed line telecommunications. He earned an M.P.I.A. from the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at U.C. San Diego and a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. He is currently a Next Generation Fellow with the American Assembly at Columbia University and is a founding member of The Dead Fukuzawa Society, an on-line Japan discussion board begun in 1993.

Location
Pillsbury Winthrop Office Silicon Valley
2475 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1114