I’ve seen TEDx events range from intimate settings of less than 100 people in the audience, all the way through to major exhibition halls and theatres playing host to TEDx events, most often selling out weeks before the event takes place. The ability to pack venues like these speaks to the power of the concept itself. However, there are inevitably those that would like to attend, but either can’t make the event, or simply didn’t get a ticket in time.

To solve this quandary, for the past two years MindMeister has been live mind mapping local TEDx events, as well as working with our Dutch partners World of Minds on covering TEDx events in The Netherlands. Live mind mapping events provide two key values:

1. Allowing participants that couldn’t gain entry a structured, easy to follow visualization of key points of a TEDx speakers’ talk.
2. Providing a living archive of the event, accessible as a reference for years to come after the final talk has been given.

To date, our live mind mapping event maps have received over a quarter million views, and continue to rank high in our analytics, proving that users from around the world are not only tuning in on the day of the event, but coming back to draw references from these mind maps.

To this end, we’re very proud to be a supporter of the TEDxVienna 2011 event, and will be providing live mind mapping all day. You can find our collection of TEDxVienna 2011 live mind maps here.

The schedule of confirmed speakers includes:

• Robert Trappl – Head of the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Professor Emeritus of Medical Cybernetics and Artifcial Intelligence at the Center for Brain Research at the Medical University of Vienna.
• Alexander Oswald – Head of Marketing at Nokia, covering several countries, including Switzerland, Cyprus, Israel and of course Austria.
• Klaus Stadlmann: In 2008 Klaus majored in industrial engineering at the TU Vienna. His degree thesis: “the development of an orthosis used in the supporting and measuring of a torque path of the ankle during rehabilitation” received special honors. He’s also part of the team that’s developed the world’s smallest 3D printer.
• Corinna Milborn: An Austrian political scientist and journalist. In her early career, she acted as expert in globalisation issues and spokesperson for the WWF. Former Editor in Chief at the human rights magazine Liga and political editor at the news magazineFormat, Mrs. Milborn is since 2010 Deputy Editor in Chief at News and host of the TV-talkshow “Club2” at the Austrian Public Television Network.
• Florian Brody: Florian Brody has extensive experience in marketing for start-ups and currently serves as head of marketing for Cimbal Inc. a company developing a mobile payment solution. He actively promotes to collaboration between Austria and the Silicon Valley and has initiated an incubator for Austrian companies.

Making their very first public appearance, the Table Connect Team will be on hand to do a live demonstration of their larger-than-life Table Connect for iPhone project. Think I can get them to demo MindMeister on this huge device?

I also live mind mapped last year’s TEDxVienna event, and will be located up in the tech booth high above the audience with a direct audio line, and multiple television monitors. It’s not the most “in the moment” seat in the house, (row 3, seat 12, if you please) but it sure is the most sensatory. If you’re at the event, swing by and say hi. If you’re following for afar, you can always reach me directly @MountainDan or @MindMeister.

As a reminder, MindMeister for Android has been specifically written for mobile devices supporting Android 2.x, and we plan on adding tablet (3.x) support in the future.

Get MindMeister for Android Today!

A quick rundown of the MindMeister for Android feature set:

As with our iPhone and iPad apps, your MindMeister data will be automatically backed up with your online account, ensuring that you’ll never lose a thought. From our award winning web interface you’ll also be able to take full advantage of:

• Unlimited undo / redo
• Import from MindManager, Freemind and text files
• Export as RTF, PDF and image
• Export as MindManager, Freemind, MS Word and MS PowerPoint (requires paid MindMeister account)

A hearty thanks go out to all that participated in our beta tests – without you none of this would have been possible.

So what are you waiting for? Go grab your free MindMeister for Android app, and get mobile mind mapping today!

Instead of a radically new different iPhone, we got the 4S, a phone that looks practically identical to it’s predecessor, but with beefed up internal specs. However, looking at the side-by-side comparisons, as well as where Apple wants to go in the future, indicate that this, in fact, an all-new iPhone.

If you’ve watched Apple’s mobile history, the move to an xS shouldn’t come as a surprise. Sure, we were all waiting with bated breath for Apple to skip the S line, and jump right to 5, but in hindsight, why should we have expected anything other than what Apple has previously done, primarily the iPhone 3GS? Much like the announcement of the 4S, the 3GS looked practically the same, but offered users an improved processor, wireless networking with HSPA, a better camera, and Voice Control. Any of this sounding might familiar?

Having a look at the rundown of iPhone 4S specs, we’re presented with the 2011 version of the 3GS; a (much) faster processor, speedier data networking that now works in more places thanks to both CDMA and GSM hardware, a massive 8MP camera with improved optics, more storage (up to 64GB – wow!), and dramatically improved voice recognition software, aka Siri. Understandably, iPhone 4 users are most likely to react with a resounding, “meh,” whereas previous generation users (I’m still on a 3G!) are over the moon. As a friend of mine put it last night, “If they’d called it the 5, you’d be just as happy.” Which presents a bigger question, “Does the physical design have to change in order to receive a number upgrade from Cupertino?” That question can only be answered when the 5 is introduced to the world. Next June?

So far, we have a beefed up specs sheet, an ever-so-slightly-modified physical case, a new fancy camera and my own personal assistant named Siri. Not exactly stop-the-presses news, as I can point to a handful of Android devices that offer competing, if not better, specs – where’s the LTE? Google Wallet requires NFC, another spec suspiciously missing. But what about those rumors of a high end phone, and a low end phone?

I believe this is where Apple has truly delivered something remarkable. Let’s let Apple CEO Tim Cook set the stage,

“Despite all the success and all of this momentum, the iPhone had a 5 percent share of the worldwide market of handsets. I could have shown you a much larger number if I just showed you smartphones, but that’s not how we look at it. We look at the entire market of handsets because we believe that over time, all handsets become smartphones. This market is 1.5 billion units annually. It’s an enormous opportunity for Apple.”

The very fact that Cook decided to take all handsets into account clearly signals Apple’s future plans. These plans are further demonstrated by the models that Apple will be selling alongside the 4S. Sure, Apple has a long history of dropping the price of last year’s model, but this time around, they’re clearly courting the lower priced market by continuing to offer the 3GS, and this time, it’s free – a first for Apple. Obviously, there’s the clear argument that you could purchase an older iPhone anywhere across the internet for a relatively low price, but the fact that this move comes directly from Cupertino indicates that the company is clearly after not just a slice of the pie, but the entire pie itself. So did Apple deliver with a lower priced/market phone? Absolutely! Offer subject to two-year carrier contract. Some restrictions may apply. Please contact your carrier for more spec….bla bla bla.

On the other side of the coin, while it wasn’t quite the tapered, 4” screen that we’d all been holding our breaths for, Apple’s new flagship, the iPhone 4S 64GB version steps into new territory by offering a top shelf price tag of $399. Personally, I’m not even sure I would need 64GB in my pocket, but that 8MP camera sensor with 1080p full HD video recording capability could eat of a sizable chunk of memory, so perhaps the full monty is in order. Additionally, this newly available plethora of data storage options offers Apple a much higher margin when it comes to the cash register. So did Apple deliver on a high priced/market phone? Yes. But is it enough to get those that previously purchased an iPhone 4 to jump aboard? That remains to be seen.

And speaking of sales…this is where Apple clearly shined yesterday. We could look at the, “iPhone has seen 125% growth year-over-year for iPhone sales,” figures, or that according to a ChangeWave survey, the iPhone enjoys a 70% customer satisfaction rating” (HTC resides in second place at 49%), etc., but that’s looking at the past. By opening up a variety of configurations, Apple has effectively doubled their offerings from previous sales cycles, now offering users 5 different models to choose from, each with a price point that suits just about every consumer under the sun. Compound these pricing options with Apple’s announcement of new partnerships with carriers including Sprint in the U.S. and KDDI in Japan, and let’s stand back and watch the numbers speak for themselves.

So was this the earth-shattering event we’d all hoped for? Did Apple change the game again? Not so much. As noted above, there are a number of handsets that can measure up, and actually beat the iPhone 4S in a specs race. However, it’s clear that with the upcoming iCloud, iOS5, and iMessage launches, Apple is banking on creating the “Entire Experience” for end users. By providing a feature rich back end complete with a number of Friends, Family, and Community based hooks, both long time iPhone owners, and an entirely new market should, in Apple’s opinion, now have even further reason to join the party in the iCloud that Apple is creating.

Thoughts on the new iPhone 4S? Are you a 3G or 3GS owner that’s chomping at the bit? Are you an iPhone 4 owner that would rather hold off until the next version? Let us hear it!