OREANDA-NEWS. October 19, 2012. This year, i-Free is the “Platinum Sponsor” and co-host of the 9th Mobile VAS & Applications Conference - a major international forum focused on the critical aspects of the mobile apps and content industry and mobile technology, which will take place in St. Petersburg on 22 and 23 November 2012.

The Mobile VAS Conference is an eagerly anticipated mobile communication industry highlight in Russia and Eastern Europe. For many years, this high-profile forum has remained a magnet for the leading publishers, mobile game and app developers, cellular companies, content and service providers, mobile phone manufacturers, investment and financial services companies, media groups, the foremost industry experts and analysts, and the leading general and specialized business media.

The Conference has changed its name and format this year, and is now named “Mobile VAS & Apps Conference.” The new name responds to the most prominent trend in the mobile content industry: exponential growth of the mobile apps market. The same trend accounts for the significant changes in the lineup of presenters and contents of presentations this year.

Presenters at the Mobile VAS & Apps Conference will include prominent analysts and top specialists from the Russian and international mobile content marketplace. The forum will be attended by such successful game and app developers as Creative Mobile (creators of the Drag Racing game), Herocraft, Aigrind, ProstoGames, Nevosoft, SPB TV, and others. These companies will make presentations and participate in roundtables and adlib discussions.

This year’s Conference will also be attended by the some of the leading mobile apps market analysts: AppAnnie, VisionMobile, and Xyologic; market infrastructure creators: Google, SponsorPay, and Marmalade; creators of technology and equipment: Qualcomm, Nokia, NXP, and Synqera; and cellular companies, one being MegaFon. The list of presenters at the 9th Mobile VAS & Apps Conference will continue to be enlarged.

The Mobile VAS & Apps Conference will discuss both the key trends that will define the industry’s progress in the near future, and more immediate matters, such as mobile app marketing, product commercialization paradigms, and current trends in the mobile games and apps industry. A separate section will be dedicated to the brightest Russian startup success stories, which are working on some new mobile product ideas.

“The Mobile VAS & Apps Conference was one of the first platforms that attracted key international mobile industry companies and media, as well as Russian market leaders,” said i-Free CEO Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, commenting on i-Free’s stronger role in this year’s event. “This year, the organizers will make sure the program is particularly meaningful and eventful, covering the most promising areas of the global mobile apps marketplace. The forum will feature both presentations with profound analytical insights, and discussions devoted to the most relevant issues and know-how of the creation, commercialization and marketing of mobile products. There will be roundtables and brainstorms involving the industry’s best and brightest. But perhaps most importantly, the Conference will be conducted in a warm and friendly atmosphere – something it is now famous for – and will offer a plethora of opportunities for informal networking, idea sharing and new business ties.”

The Mobile VAS & Apps Conference will feature an award ceremony for the winners of the Russian Mobile VAS Awards. Both mature players and beginners will enter the awards with their best products and projects in mobile content and value added services.

For the first time this year we offer a discount on the registration fee for participants. They will get 30% off their registration fee if they apply before 21 October.