It was my 6th CTIA, and that ain’t bragging, because going to Orlando is no thriller even if you like Disney.

As usual, I attended Jon Pepper’s great media schmooze event MobileFocus. I think more folks flaked on it last minute because of red-eye flights but we had some good interactions. Cliff Edwards of BusinessWeek came over to the Trolltech stand to check out the new Greenphone, which is the first open WiFi phone. I also stopped Ed Baig of USA Today in his tracks to ask if he might want to review the FON “social router” (he said maybe!). Another Sparkpr client EA Mobile was there to show off the latest multiplayer version of Tetris on a few handsets.

At the show itself, the buzz continued for the, what, 4th year on the rise of mobile video. But what most press cared about were all the tiny and sleek new devices coming out, especially the new Samsung UpStage, which is a phone on one side and when flipped around, can be used as a music device. Eric Lin of Phonescoop, my favorite mobile phone site, was bopping around madly to cover all the new devices and has a nice write up and images of course.

Everyone thought it would have been really cool if Apple showed up on the trade show floor, but all I noticed was lots of murmurs about the coming launch of the iPhone. SO yes, still lots of iHype at the show. Google was there, though. Anyone want to offer bets on when that phone comes out?

Candace

“Hello world”. Ok, just had to do that. Welcome to the Sparkpr blog. We are finally dipping our toe into naked conversations and fully believe in blogs as a great way to stimulate meaningful discussion. We will post all sorts of topics here, and not just focus on client news or pitches. We like the ValleyWag model of bringing colorful commentary to the conversation regarding the many audiences we deal with, but without being so salacious (um, we LOVE our jobs!).

PR is shifting for sure, as the recent cover story in Wired Magazine made clear. As everyone becomes a commentator, they become an influencer. And every one of these influencers is becoming a PR person of sorts. It’s pretty cool. This is a great read and one we will send to our clients who are just launching or considering blogs—though many are already blogging.

Please visit here and comment widely. We love to provoke and participate in the chatter around how technology affects our daily lives.

Cheers!
Donna Sokolsky
Founder, Sparkpr