Consistency is Key to Owning the Mobile Stack: Q&A with mSpot CEO

Kristen Nicole
SiliconANGLE

Consistency isn’t a word often associated with today’s mobile scene. With fiery mobile OS wars, a battle for the very soul of every consumer and an emerging string of marketplaces designed to store your personal media, the mobile realm is one seemingly reeling with constant change. But Daren Tsui, CEO of mSpot, anticipated much of the volatility we see in mobility, and created a platform that acts as a constant bridge between rivaling OS’s and disparate devices.

Consistency isn’t a word often associated with today’s mobile scene. With fiery mobile OS wars, a battle for the very soul of every consumer and an emerging string of marketplaces designed to store your personal media, the mobile realm is one seemingly reeling with constant change. But Daren Tsui, CEO of mSpot, anticipated much of the volatility we see in mobility, and created a platform that acts as a constant bridge between rivaling OS’s and disparate devices.

The result is a cross-platform, cross-device service that revels in the mobile entertainment space, surviving nearly a decade of carrier upheavals, the introduction of mainstream cloud services from Apple and much, much more. In today’s Profile Snapshot series, Tsui discusses how things have changed for mSpot since the launch of Apple’s iCloud, his secret to owning the mobile stack, and his most satisfying project to date.

How have things changed for mSpot since Apple’s launch of iCloud?

Apple has really helped to educate the market about what the Cloud can offer consumers, especially, the convenience of immediately accessing your digital entertainment, wherever you are. The timing has been great for mSpot to extend our offering across platforms – whether you’re using Apple products or Android – we’re making it easy for you to enjoy your content on whichever device you’re using, anytime, anyplace.

What’s the key to owning the mobile stack?

Mobile has become the most important medium that not only includes phones, but now also tablets and laptops.

When it comes to the mobile entertainment stack, it requires years of experience optimizing technology to consistently provide an excellent experience across many different kinds of devices, and all different carrier networks. Over the years, we’ve worked very closely with all four major U.S. carriers, providing both mSpot and white-labeled services. For example, we were the first to offer streamed movies in the U.S for mobile phones. We’re constantly adapting our optimization methodology – which has resulted in being able to provide the fastest movie downloads in the industry – in as little as 3 minutes per movie on 4G LTE networks.

You’re on smartphones, tablets, netbooks and TVs. What device comes next for mSpot?

Right now, we’re excited to be working very closely with some of the world’s leading OEMs on some very exciting new devices. We want to provide better access in homes and cars.

You’ve anticipated mobile distribution trends for nearly a decade. What’s balancing the future mean to you?

The big technology providers are really moving towards removing the barriers between devices and content: mSpot is continuing to help bridge the gap. I think we’re moving towards a real freedom of entertainment for consumers (mobile and beyond), and that the companies pursuing this goal are going to be best positioned.

Fun & Personal

1. Tablet or PC?
PC ­ need keyboard

2. Your most satisfying project?
Success of mSpot with only a small round of financing.

3. Dream car?
1954 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing

February 22nd, 2012
SiliconANGLE