So Rafe's off in the USA at Mobius for the week, while Ewan's in Paris for Le Web. Meanwhile, Ewan has been recorded by 'Cruel to be kind', chatting in depth about mobile social networking, a topic on which he'll be presenting at Le Web. You can listen to or download the 38 minute interview here.

In the podcast, Ewan chats about the changes happening in the mobile world and how social networking is coming to mobiles, the efforts of mobile manufacturers and networking companies to attract customers, with an emphasis on application development. Can the fractured nature of smartphones really replicate the PC development ecosystem? 

The interview covers:

• the mobile computing and PDA world of the 1990s growing into the modern smartphone world.
• modern social networks and how they have interfaced with personal handsets and the advantages that offers (such as location based profiling).
• the strengths of mobile, commerce, music, pictures, video, and the availability of a web browser wherever you are.
• the commoditisation of the handset, and the financial effects this can have on manufacturers and networks.
• the territorial factors that determine the best handsets for a country.
• the three areas that affect purchasing decisions; coverage, technology and service cost.
• why the Apple iPhone is not the game-changing platform that it first appears to be ? Steve Jobs backed away from something truly revolutionary.
• why the mobile phone is the most personal device in history, and why personalisation is important.
• the problems of developing for these platforms, and why Apple are winning in this area.
• and what he expects and looks forward to from Le Web.