It will be particularly interesting to hear how Verizon sees the mobile wallet space now that it offers the Google Wallet app, though it still lacks tap-to-pay. And how secure does Isis, a mobile payment system supported by all major U.S. carriers, feel with Google Wallet's recent expansion?
Day 1 could hold a few insightful, and terse, sound bites.
Isis inbound?
Speaking of Isis, Abbot reportedly showed off a refreshed Isis app during a mobile payments show on Oct. 8. Though his demo was said to be plagued by glitches, we could be in for a glitch-free demo or at least more details on Iits plan to launch nationwide with the retooled app.
"In a few weeks," Abbot, as reported by Credit Union Times, "we will introduce consumers to Isis in thousands of locations." Are we in for more specifics at MobileCon, Mr. Abbot?
The CEO went on to claim that, "By the end of 2014, there will be 30 million Isis devices in the U.S."
According to Fierce Wireless, Isis plans to launch an NFC-capable iPhone case (iPhones aren't NFC-capable) and an iOS app to bring tap-to-pay to Apple handsets.
MobileCon could be the place to bring these cases and iOS app to life.
A new something from Sprint? Probably
It's been par for the course that Sprint announces a new phone, tablet and/or hotspot joining its lineup during the spring and fall editions of CTIA. We don't expect this year to be any different.
We don't expect a flagship device but rather something like a new mobile hotspot or a solid first or second tier phone. New rumors point to Sprint getting its own Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini as well as the Galaxy Mega 6.3. Perhaps the week of MobileCon is the perfect time to unleash these beasts, big and small?
Facebook addresses mobile engagement
Rose Yao, senior product manager at Facebook who worked on Open Graph, is due to take part in an all-female panel discussing "innovation through mobile engagement." We don't expect any FB news bombs, but Yao should give us some insight into how it views its current mobile strategy and perhaps even give us an idea of the social network's vision for future mobile engagement.
Privacy, always an issue that follows Facebook everywhere, will hopefully find itself on the table as well.
Digressing ever so slightly, seeing an all-female panel tackle mobile engagement issues and solutions should provide a unique perspective on the perma-hot topic. We expect some astute insights not worth missing.
