One of VentureBeat’s biggest conferences kicks off today in San Francisco, Calif. — MobileBeat 2011. We’re convening the brightest minds from across all sectors of the industry to explore who will win what we’re calling “the 4G Nirvana.”
4G mobile networks have been talked about for some time, but this year they’re finally becoming readily available in the US. Verizon launched its LTE 4G network last December, AT&T is planning to get its LTE network up over the summer, and T-Mobile is steadily pushing up the speeds of its network into 4G territory. And let’s not forget that Sprint has had its 4G network up and running for years.
We’re betting that the plethora of 4G offerings will drive the mobile industry through an even more radical transformation: Joined with faster mobile chips, new operating systems and tablets, the promise of full mobile computing is now a reality.
Here are a few photos from the show so far. Be sure to check VentureBeat regularly for coverage of the two conferences, and follow the action on Twitter with the #gbconf and #mbconf hashtags.
VentureBeat’s gaming guru Dean Takahashi speaks with an attendee at the breakfast reception at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif.
VentureBeat’s lead mobile writer, Devindra Hardawar, registers for the conference in the reception area. He flew in from New York, N.Y., to cover the show.
MobileBeat attendees line up to pick up their badges. More than 900 people signed up to attend the conference.
MobileBeat 2011 includes speakers like Square’s Keith Rabois and Nolan Bushnell, the father of video games.
VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi speaks with Chris Petrovic, head of GameStop Ventures — the game retailer’s venture capital financing arm.