A number of players in the Symbian ecosystem will be on hand at CTIA including Symbian (of course) with their ever-present Symbian pavilion. On hand with Symbian will be some key partners including the likes of EMCC, Zi Corporation  (who recently announced their Zi Predictive Text Solutions for New Sony Ericsson P990 Smartphone), UIQ Technology (who recently announced a new developer program), and Visto (recently launched Visto Mobile 5.5.

Some other noteworthy happenings at CTIA 2006

Nokia will be on hand as usual, as will the crew from the Forum.Nokia developer program. A little bird tells me that an evening session for Nokia developers should be loads of fun and will be a good chance to network with the Nokia developer program executives and some key partners and developers.

Location-Based Services... always a favorite topic of mine, LBS is huge and once again the annual NAvteq challenge will be wrapping up with presentations and awards for excellence in developing mobile location-based solutions. I'll be on hand at the awards reception Thursday April 6 to get the low-down on what's hot in LBS - see www.lbschallenge.com for more details.

Speaking of LBS, a special panel session is scheduled for Thursday afternoon... also a must attend on my list of things to do. The session promises to look at where LBS is going and what technologies are being used. Key industry players will be there - April 6 1:30 - 2:30 (room N119)

Another session that got my attention is one devoted to Mobile TV. This hour and a half long sessions on April 5 at 3:30 will look at technology choices available in the popular Mobile TV space... should be fun!

Mobile Imaging is the topic of another session of interest.. unfortunately I have a conflict and may not be able to attend... I'll do my best though. The session promises to look at the camera phone ecosystem and touch on how device makers can address the consumer demands placed on them.

Other stops of interest that are high on my list of things to do on the exhibition floor in Vegas include visits to the Developers pavilion, Finnish Pavilion, UK Pavilion, and a visit with the WIN BC crew. WIN BC will be announcing the winners of the WIC 2006 Contest recognizing excellence in the development of wireless technologies and solutions. See http://www.winbc.org/contest/overview.html

Some of the fun events taking place on the floor include the Fashion in motion fashion show where I can get a glimpse of the latest in wireless fashion! The PMA Camera Shoot out should be interesting as well as camera phones are put to the test in a contest to see who comes out on top in a shoot-out typically done with traditional cameras.

I don't arrive in Vegas early enough to attend the Smartphone Summit but if I could this event would be a must attend... too bad really! This event has been truly awesome in the past and if you've never been, plan on attending in the future. The day-long event provides some great sessions devoted to delivering the latest in smartphone enterprise solutions.

Exhibitors of interest:

EMCC’s Technical Consultants offer on-site workshops and advice clinics to your Symbian OS development teams, as well as flexible support contracts to provide the expertise you need, where and when you need it, over the entire course of your project.
http://www.emccsoft.com/

Zi Corporation (www.zicorp.com) is a technology company that delivers intelligent interface solutions to enhance the user experience of wireless and consumer technologies. The company provides device manufacturers and network operators with a full range of intuitive and easy-to-use input solutions, including: eZiText® for one-touch predictive text entry; eZiTap™ for intelligent multi-tap entry, eZiType™ for keyboard prediction with auto-correction, Decuma® for predictive pen-input handwriting recognition and the Qix™ service discovery engine to enhance the user experience and drive service usage and adoption.
http://www.zicorp.com/

UIQ Technology develops and licenses an open software platform to the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers and supports licensees in the drive towards developing a mass market for open mobile phones. UIQ based phones are powerful and give access to enterprise applications, email, multimedia clips and web pages. UIQ is, for example, used in mobile phones from Sony Ericsson, Motorola, BenQ and Arima. UIQ Technology, established in 1999 in Sweden, is a fully owned subsidiary of Symbian Ltd.
http://www.uiq.com

Visto delivers the leading global platform for mobile operators to provide wireless push e-mail to the broadest set of mobile devices. Visto's open solution enables e-mail for the mass market, targeting large enterprises, small businesses and mobile professionals. The company's patented Visto MobileT platform with ConstantSyncT technology works in real time with POP3, IMAP, Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino e-mail solutions for personal to enterprise use, providing maximum control and flexibility for the operator and choice for the customer
http://www.visto.com

Avantquest recently launched a new Connectivity Application Available to Users of Bluetooth Enabled 2.5G and 3G Phones. Avanquest Software is a global developer and leading publisher of best-selling personal and professional software designed for utilities, office productivity, communications and mobility worldwide. Avanquest Software products are marketed in over 100 countries, through e-commerce, OEM partnerships and IT resellers.
http://www.avanquest.com

Others expected to be exhibiting include Nokia, Handango, Navteq, Handmark, Ericsson, Route 66, Telmap, ESRI, and many others too numerous to list... hopefully I'll have time to visit them all!

I've been to numerous CTIA Wireless events in the past, with stops in Vegas, Atlanta, San Diego, and New Orleans. The one thing I have learned in the past is that I need to prepare for 3 long days, some amazing networking and socializing opportunities. I'll be sure to pack some really comfortable shoes, aspirin, Red Bull, and my trusty camera phone!  Since we're in Vegas I'll be sure to bring an extra $50 or so for a bit of gaming too!

See http://www.ctiawireless.com/

Care to see some images from past CTIA (and other) events? Check out this HUGE photoblog at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gisuser/sets/