As a piece of technology the mobile device has had an incredible affect across the world. The geographical nature of Africa as a continent and the lack of previous fixed line telecommunication development has meant the mobile device’s status has multiplied compared to more emerged continents and countries. For the many citizens of the many countries that make up Africa, the mobile device is not the 6th screen but in fact the 1st screen – an illustration of its importance and its potential. This has been covered in many different articles, papers, presentations, interviews, tweets and conversations. As facts go this is right up there with ‘the world is round’.

The upcoming Mobile Entertainment Africa (23 – 24 August 2011) is about potential, it is about the technology of choice, it is about consumer behaviour, it is about monetisation, it is about what people actually do on their devices.

Consumers like to have fun, they like to play, they like to entertain, they like to be entertained, they like to be creative, they like to interact, they like to use the 10 minutes they have waiting for their friend, they like to catch up, they like to share. They like to consume (which is probably why they’re called consumers…)

As an event Mobile Entertainment Africa is going to break down the mobile entertainment market into key sections – gaming, film/broadcast/TV, football, music, big players perspectives, publishing. These will form the backbone of the conference. Selected thought and business leaders will present their views in compact presentations – they’ll discuss their experiences through case studies, how they’ve monetised the opportunity, how they’re looking to expand, the issues they’ve overcome and their thoughts on the future.

Each mini session will have a distinct subject. Presentations will be delivered. The delegation will then have the opportunity to discuss what they have heard amongst their peers. This will be followed by a traditional panel discussion. Then there’ll be some informal networking, before we do it all again – tackling another distinct subject.

It’s going to be a packed, informative and progressive two days. BandwidthBlog will be there to cover the event as well.

For more info visit the Mobile Entertainment Africa website:

http://entertainment-africa.com

For a list of the speakers:

http://entertainment-africa.com/wp/speakers/

Free WiFi for Tech-Ed Africa? You’d better believe it, thanks to an agreement between Microsoft and MTN Business that will effectively see a 50Mbps international pipe being bolted onto the side of Durban’s ICC for the duration of the event later this month.

Tech-Ed Africa 2010, Microsoft’s premier event for IT professionals and developers, runs from 17-20 October at Durban’s iconic International Conference Centre (ICC) – and is expected to attract 2 500 hard-core geeks for three days of in-depth workshops, demos and insights from an array of top local and international speakers.

MTN Business’ participation means users will be able to access websites and applications using the WiFi provided, as well as take part in presentations that will be done using video conferencing. Microsoft will be splitting the connectivity between free browsing and streaming international presentations.

“We’re proud to demonstrate our highly resilient, low latency technology capabilities to such a tech-savvy audience,” said Angela Gahagan, Managing Executive at MTN Business. “We look forward to making their experience at Tech-Ed a fantastic one.”

Tech-Ed delegates will also get the unique opportunity to get hands-on and personal with the two jewels in Microsoft’s consumer crown, the upcoming Windows Phone 7 and the controller-free Kinect gaming system.

Katrien De Graeve, a Developer Evangelist at Microsoft BeLux, will be showcasing the Windows Phone 7 platform for developers. She plans to make her sessions interesting, practical and above all hands-on.

“I want to show all the capabilities of the phone. In these sessions, we will actually build sample applications end-to-end. After all, Tech-Ed is as much about fun as it is about learning,” said De Graeve.

Windows Phone 7 is a completely new offering when compared to Windows Mobile 6.5: the new device offers a music player, social network integration, Xbox Live games, Office applications, as well as the typical e-mail and contacts integration.

The one thing I cant wait to see is Kinect, Microsoft’s new control scheme for Xbox games:

The highly-anticipated Kinect brings games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways, with full body play – no controllers. Microsoft believes the natural, intuitive interface will herald a new era in how people interact with devices in the future.

More details on how to attend the event, as well as links to videos, blogs, product downloads, and other information about this year’s event, can be found at www.teched.co.za. You can also follow the pre-event activities on Twitter on @MicrosoftSA or @TechEd_Africa, using the hashtag #TechEdAfrica.

Expect a lot of updates from TechEd, right here on BandwidthBlog.

This year’s Tech-Ed conference is once again in Durban, and is one of the premier training oppurtunities for just about anyone who works with Microsoft’s suite of products, technologies, solutions and services. If you are a technology professional involved with building, deploying or maintaining IT solutions, Tech-Ed Africa is a great conference that will give you many insights into dealing with present and future challenges.

I attended last year, and I have to say it is one of the most well organized, informative conferences I have ever attended. The sessions are informative, and I really appreciated the information on upcoming products, and how businesses should ready themselves.

This year there is more than 200 technical solutions, all delivered by Microsoft and industry experts. These technical sessions are very open, and attendees always get an oppurtunity to get there questions answered.

Tech-Ed is running from 17 to 20 October, and if you book within the before 30 July, there is a super early bird special.

If you want more info on Tech-Ed 2010, click here.