The first-ever AppNation conference kicks off Monday morning at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. AppNation promises to be a very interesting event, focusing on the role of apps in the mobile world: Are apps just a trend, or are they reshaping the entire industry for consumers, developers, and executives alike?

I'll be covering the event and also co-hosting the official closing night party along with our pals at IntoMobile and pariSoma. The Tuesday night (9/14) party will feature food, drink, an "App Idol" contest and lots of the latest smartphones and gear for you to get some hands-on time with. So definitely plan to come by on Tuesday night if you're in town:

Free tickets and party details available right here

Also, AppNation has provided a discount code good for 50% off of full conference passes. Just use the promo code DIFC50 when you register online.

And developers, if you're interested in showing your stuff off at the conference, we've also got a line on a few show floor "pods" to giveaway. Drop us a line if you're seriously interested and available to be at the show in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday.

And oh yeah ... AppNation is partnering with us to give away a few iPads! More on that in the coming weeks ... So stay tuned for that, and definitely Like us on Facebook for the latest (hint, hint).

For more on just what AppNation is, check out the official conference site and this list of featured speakers:

(San Francisco) Mayor Newsom, the Nielsen Company, and APPNATION Founder and Executive Director Drew Ianni join an esteemed line up of over 125 speakers at APPNATION including:

•       Bob Bowman, CEO, Major League Baseball Advanced Media

•       Ilja Laurs, Founder and CEO, GetJar

•       Mark Kvamme, Partner, Sequoia Capital

•       Matt Freeman, CEO, Mediabrands Ventures (Interpublic)

•       Simon Khalaf, CEO, Flurry

•       Gurbaksh Chahal, CEO, gWallet

•       Alex St. John, President, hi5

•       Michael Gutkowski, President, LMK, Hearst

•       Albert Cheng, EVP, Digital Media, Disney-ABC Television Group

•       Jessica Steel, SVP, Business Development, Pandora

•       John Kosner, SVP & GM, New Media, ESPN

•       Igor Pusenjak, Founder, Lima Sky Studios (Doodle Jump)

•       Matt Murphy, Manager, iFund, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

•       Gina Bianchini, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Andreessen Horowitz

•       Ed Ruth, VP, Business Development, Verizon Wireless