CTIA WIRELESS: "Cool" Stuff

Regardless of the trade show, you'll always find "cool stuff" that makes you say "now that's a great idea!" CTIA WIRELESS was no exception when it came to cool factor.

First, Yahoo! is launching its new onesearch 2.0 for mobile phones that promises to offer easier search, better results, and voice integration. The latter point is the most interesting, in my view. With this feature, you can not only type in your desired search words, but also dictate them orally. Say the requested search term, like "restaurants, las vegas" or "ctia show", and Yahoo! will search its server, while also sending back a confirmation note to double check that it heard you correctly. If you want to try it out, the service is already available in trial for owners of select Blackberry devices at www.m.yahoo.com/voice. I haven't been able to try it out just yet (since I don't own a Blackberry), but it'll be interesting to hear some feedback on how well it works.

Did you ever think a mobile phone could be used as a medical alert device? If not, you'd be surprised to hear about MyRapidMD, which provides an application that can be sent to your mobile phone, and includes all of your pertinent medical information in case of an emergency, like blood type, known allergies, and serious medical conditions. The company is working with mobile phone carriers and manufacturers, as well as first responders, in an effort to deploy the technology globally. Here's how it works: sign up for an account online: a lifetime subscription is US$19.95 and there's a US$5.95 renewal fee every year. Enter all of your details, and upload a recent photo. Then enter your mobile phone number, and send to any Java or Web-enabled phone. The information arrives in the form of a Web link as a text message: click the link, download the app, and away you go! It will either appear as an icon right on the home screen (it looks like a little asterisk); or may end up in the "games and applications" folder, depending on the particular phone. In the event of an emergency, first responders can find this information on your phone and use it to both identify and treat you accordingly. How will they know that you're a subscriber? When you sign up, you receive a slew of items, including a sticker that can be adhered to the back of your phone, a wallet card, keychain, car window sticker, and 'fridge magnet. If you're weary about leaving your private information "out in the open", so to speak, you can set the details to "private", at which point a first responder will be given a 1-800 phone number to call. Once he provides your subscriber number to the call centre rep, he'll gain access to the pertinent information. If this system saves even one life, it makes sense.

Another neat product that caught my eye is the backup pal (US$49.99), a little circular doo-hickey that, as the company's signgage indicated, is so simple, "even a monkey can use it". What does it do? Backs up up to 4,000 contacts from a mobile phone so that, if you switch phones, or your mobile gets lost or stolen, you can easily import the information back into a new phone. The device comes with six adapters, including ones for Samsung, Nokia, and Motorola phones, as well as a mini USB connector, which lets you connect other popular handsets, like the BlackBerry. All you need to do is connect your phone, hit the large "back-up" button, and wait. When you get a new phone, connect it and hit "restore to phone" to upload all the contacts from the device. backup pal is powered by 3 "AAA" batteries, and uses flash memory so that the information always remains safely stored, even when the batteries have depleted. $50 for peace of mind makes sense!

Finally, I was strangely drawn to a display called PetsMobility, which claims to be the first cell phone for your dog. Huh? What it really is is a waterproof GPS collar that uses the CDMA network to provide tracking information on your pet's whereabouts. Using computer software, you can establish a "geo-fence", i.e. a perimeter in which your beloved creature is not permitted to go beyond. If it does, you can be notified via your mobile phone, then use the PawTrax tracking system to find the animal. As strange as this device sounds, I can somehow manage it flying off store shelves.

As for the image above, it really has nothing to do with anything written here, but I had to give the company kudos for finding a unique way to get people's attention at the show. Yeehaw for wireless!

CTIA WIRELESS: A Handful of Handsets

Investigating "cool" new handsets at a show like CTIA is somewhat difficult for a Canadian company simply because we often don't know which models will be coming to the Canadian market, let alone when. Despite this minor roadblock, there were plenty of neat handset designs to see.

Before I get into the handsets, it's worth noting some consumer-friendly improvements that Microsoft has made to its Windows Mobile operating system, which is included in many smartphones. In fact, a Microsoft rep told us that this year, there will be 20 million Windows Mobile devices on the market! Although the majority of Microsoft's emphasis was placed on enterprise-level upgrades, Windows Mobile v. 6.1 provides some handy improvements for consumers that help simplify the user experience. The most notable improvement is such a small, yet appreciated feature: automatic Bluetooth pairing, which will not only turn Bluetooth on and search for nearby devices upon one-button activation, but will also enter the required four-digit pairing code (in Canada, it's typically "0000") for you! The rep noted that the adjustment was made based on consumer feedback. In a test group, he claimed that the change resulted in a 100% success rate for Bluetooth pairing, compared to the previous method, with was a bit more time consuming, and potentially confusing for the non tech-savvy individual. Future versions of the Bluetooth standard will likely do away with the four-digit pairing code altogether, but for now, this is certainly a handy feature for smartphone users.

Other Windows Mobile improvements include an e-mail wizard that contains a database of e-mail ISPs from all around the world that can automatically enter your incoming and outgoing server to save you the trouble. There's also support for e-mail services like Yahoo! Mail and Gmail. The Internet browser has also been optimized to improve Website rendering; and WiFi support has been ramped up.

Now, what about the handsets?

I was pleasantly surprised at the HTC booth. Recently, I reviewed the HTC Touch for here's how! magazine, and noted that what this touch-screen phone really needed was a slide-out keyboard. Lo and behold, situated right beside the HTC Touch in the company's booth was the new HTC Touch Dual, which is virtually identical but for a, you guessed it, slide-out keyboard. It's not a full QWERTY, but rather includes two-letters per key, so there's 20 function keys in all. HTC Senior Account Manager Brent Stephenson also confirmed that the TouchFLO technology, which I found a bit finicky in the original version, is continually improving. The Touch Dual operates on the GSM network, which means that should it come to Canada, it will be available through Rogers or Fido. Although Stephenson couldn't confirm Canadian information, he told me that the Touch Dual will be available in the U.S. in May, and will sell unlocked through Best Buy stores. Is this unlocked, direct-to-the-customer strategy an indication of a new direction for the wireless market? Something to think about....

Two other neat "touch" type phone (which is apparently all the rage these days) are LG's Venus and Vu, which officially launched into the Canadian market just prior to the show. I'm not a fan of dedicated touch-screen models, but after playing around with these two models for a few minutes, I found them really easy to manipulate. A slight vibration emits as soon as you activate a function with your finger, which I found oddly comforting. The Vu will automatically rotate the screen to fit a full QWERTY keyboard when typing, which is pretty neat. These are definitely two handsets worth keeping an eye on.

There were several new phone introductions from Samsung, but one of the most notable was the miCoach phone. As the product of a collaboration with sporting goods manufacturer adidas, the miCoach is designed for sports enthusiasts. In addition to doubling as music player while you're working out, it also provides personal training features, including a stride sensor and heart rate monitor, and can track data like time, distance, speed and calories burned. All you need is the adidas sensor, which can actually be attached to pretty much any running shoe on the market. Once connected, your virtual "coach" will motivate you to get in shape, letting you know audibly when you need to increase speed, or slow things down. The miCoach is currently only available in Europe, while pricing details and availability dates for North America have not been announced. The Instinct, which many are calling Samsung's "answer to the iPhone" also caused a stir at the show, even though it wasn't even on display. Available exclusively in the U.S. through Sprint, the phone includes features like touch-screen functionality with tactile feedback, a "favourites" menu for your most-often used functions, Visual Voicemail that lets you listen to messages in the order that you wish, and fast operation using the EVDO Rev A network.

From a Canadian perspective, there really wasn't anything new in the BlackBerry arena (bummer), but the company did highlight some neat, new applications for the device via third-party company partnerships. The one that seemed to garner a lot at attention was the ability to play the popular video game Guitar Hero on the phone. Now that is cool!

Finally, I must have popped into the Sony Ericsson booth about five times trying to get a look at the Xperia X1 in the flesh, which is the company's first Windows Mobile device. The Xperia X1 initially launched at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and it won't be available in Canada until Q3 or Q4, nor in the U.S. until Q2. Given this, there were only a few demo units available, and I could never catch up with the one guy who had them! However, I was able to see the slick-looking device under glass, so I can speak to its attractiveness as an objet.

That's just a small cross-section of the phones on display at the show. Stay tuned to the April issue of Marketnews Magazine for more information on these, and other models specific to the Canadian market.

[Photo: LG Vu].

CTIA WIRELESS: This Show is HUGE!

Today was the first official day of CTIA WIRELESS, which takes place until April 3. Attending for the first time, my initial expectation was that I'd see a moderate selection of booths, many of which would be at the enterprise and developer level rather than the consumer and retail area. Boy, was I wrong on both accounts. CTIA WIRELESS occupies both North and Central halls in the Las Vegas Convention Centre, making it bigger than even the annual PMA photo industry show, which typically just fills South hall. In terms of applicability, a quick run through of the show floor brought forth the realization that there are a lot more companies that fit the consumer and retail audience than we thought. And a trip up 180-feet in the air to demo a new product (nope, I'm not kidding) put the icing on the cake that proved to me that the wireless folks really mean business.

I felt pretty patriotic when, immediately upon entering North hall, I was stopped in my tracks by an oversized red-and-white display with signage that read: "Canada". Hmm, I guess I should take a look! There I found, among many other companies, Ancaster, ON-based Solutions in Motion (SIM), which makes the neat BlackBerry Digital Pen, which we covered on our sister Websites when it originally launched late last year. This neat pen lets you handwrite notes on a special pad of paper, then converts them into digital text that's sent as an SMS to your BlackBerry. From there, you can do things like e-mail the note to a friend or colleague, or save it to the device. I had never tried out the Digital Pen live, so it was neat to get the opportunity to do that. Although it's accuracy on my one try wasn't 100%, you can edit notes on the phone once they've arrived; and it really is a neat way to jot down information, and create an automatic digital copy of it.

Moving on and throughout the show, it was apparent that tracking software, asset management, and RFID via mobile devices is a burgeoning market. Basically, such technologies help companies better manage inventory, installation professionals, delivery trucks, and such by being able to track, and keep a live log of data. Stay tuned to the next issue of Marketnews Magazine for more information on some neat companies offering such services in Canada.

Bluetooth headsets are, of course, all over the place. The trend seems to be toward designs like Jabra's BT8040 (reviewed in the February 2008 issue of here's how! magazine) that fit in your ear, and forego a hook altogether. This sounds like it might be uncomfortable or unsecure, but many companies use advanced rubber pieces in varying sizes that make the fit perfect. And, of course small, sleek, and sexy devices are all the rage. I haven't yet seen as many Bluetooth speakerphones as I expected to see, even though I think this category makes so much sense. "Sales guys often times don't understand Bluetooth speakerphones, and so they have a hard time explaining their benefits to customers," said a rep from Jabra. He also noted that California and Washington would be implementing new laws this summer that will require a Bluetooth device be used at all times when driving. Once these laws come into effect (not to mention that similar laws have already come into effect in Quebec and Nova Scotia), sales of Bluetooth speakerphones (and Bluetooth devices, period) will likely skyrocket.

After hours of walking the show, it was time to head off to the second intimate press event (the first was last night), which was held in the Bellagio Hotel. Here, navigation seemed to be a big focus. One stand-out product was the Garmin nuvifone. Set for Canadian availability in Q3, this device, which was kept under wraps in a glass dome, is sort of like a portable navigation device first, and a 3G mobile phone second. Using HSDPA data connectivity (which means it will likely be available through Rogers Wireless, although this hasn't actually been confirmed), the nuvifone acts as a phone, navigation unit, and Internet browser. The device has a generous touch-screen, and can also play back music and videos, and even take 3 MP images. In my eyes, the nuvifone clearly represents where the industry is going: if your portable device isn't a phone, you'd better add phone functionality. And if your phone is just a phone, you need to start looking at some advanced secondary functions, like navigation and music playback.

Another company that stood out was Miami, Fl-based BlueDasher Technologies, who introduced themselves to us by announcing that it was their "birthday". The brand spanking new company is adding a new twist to navigation by providing street-level photography of streets all across the U.S. (Canada and Europe coming in future) so that mobile phone and PC users can not only find out how to get to a destination and navigate to it via a map, but also see the roads as they actually look in full 360-degree rotation, complete with surroundings, road signs, trees, etc. How do they do it? The company sends vehicles out on the road to capture photos every 10 feet. The technology could be especially useful for those in the real estate market, but there are other viable situations as well. For example, a company rep noted that one could consult the images to find out exactly where a restaurant's parking lot is; or a couple with kids could easily look for housing close to a school. To demonstrate the way it works, BlueDasher typed in the address of my vacation spot in their hometown of Miami, and instantly, there it was. Neat!

Flash memory leader SanDisk really summed up the essence of the show by explaining why the company views the wireless industry as one of its primary drivers going forward. SanDisk's current campaign centres around the idea that we need to "wake up" our phones and use them to the max of their capabilities. So much content can be placed onto a mobile device, and with 8 GB microSD cards already on the market, SanDisk is making sure that, as more and more functionality becomes available, it can in turn be supported by flash (and even embedded) memory. As more and more people bring their phones out of perpetual slumber, we'll only see advancements in the category become greater.

After today, I see that there's more ground to be covered at CTIA than I could ever have imagined. It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings. As for my comment earlier about being 180-feet up in the air, well, you'll have to stay tuned for our video footage to find out more! Visit www.marketnews.ca/videos.asp or www.hereshow.ca/videos.asp to see what went down. You'll also find video demonstrations of various products introduced at the show, including those mentioned here.

CTIA WIRELESS: Am I in PC Land?

I realized after the "pre" show event, which took place in the Wynn Hotel on Monday night, that CTIA WIRELESS is really just as much a computer show as it is a wireless one. As I peek at badges as people walk by (come on, you all know you do it!), I notice tons of media outlets that have either the word "computer" or "laptop" in it. And really, don't wireless and PC go hand in hand? Often times, they do.

So much content and accessibility is available on mobile phones these days, from music to movies, games, e-mail, Internet browsing, etc. Much of this will either originate from a PC, or will be something you also enjoy on a PC. So it's no surprise that many of the technologies on display at the event help you better connect a mobile phone with a PC.

Take a company like mspot, for example, that offers a slew of mobile music services (the company works with both Bell and Telus in Canada). Using mspot's new subscription-based Remix application, customers will be able to take music from a PC (DRM-free, of course) and instantly transfer it to a mobile phone. The customer just needs to download software onto his PC, then he can simultaneously download tracks to his phone while they're being played back from the computer. mspot has already forged its first partnership for the service in the U.S. with AT&T. Another neat service (which I can imagine plenty of teens and "tweens" enjoying) is called Make-UR-Tones, which lets you take pretty much any song and make your own cut of it to become a 30-second ringtune for your phone. mspot has partnered with EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, INgrooves, and IRIS to offer a selection of over 250,000 songs. Talk about personalization!

Meanwhile, on the more business-oriented side of things, French company Gemalto, which focuses on digital security, is offering a way for traditional wireless carriers to compete with the burgeoning VoIP category. More and more consumers are moving toward VoIP services like Vonage and Skype for making phone calls when they're out of town, mainly because it's cheaper. Gemalto offers a neat doo-hickey called the Upteq Smart Dongle that contains the customer's mobile phone information, and plugs into a PCs USB port. Once inserted, incoming phone calls will ring on both the handset and via a virtual dialpad on the customer's PC screen. He can then choose to pick up the call using the computer rather than the mobile phone, and thus circumvent a hefty long distance bill. Since Gemalto is a security company at heart, you can bet your bottom dollar that password authentication is required to actually use the dongle, since it contains all of the owner's mobile phone information. Gemalto already offers the Upteq Smart Dongle through Orange Business Services, the leading mobile network operator in France. It really is an ingenuis idea, and the perfect answer to the question: how can one compete effectively against VoIP services. Now, if someone could find a way that the traditional landline phone could better compete against VoIP...but that's another issue altogether...

When you really think about it (and I mentioned this in the previous post without even realizing it), mobile phones really are just like mini computers. In that respect, I'm preparing myself to see a whole different breed of propeller heads on the CTIA WIRELESS show floor.

As an aside, the Wynn Hotel truly is the classiest looking hotel in all of Las Vegas. I can't help but feel like I'm in an old Vegas movie when I walk in there!

CTIA WIRELESS: Viva Las Vegas!

Although it’s my third time in this city this year, Vegas never gets old to me. There’s something about the air that rejuvenates you the second you arrive, even considering the three-hour time difference between Toronto and here. The weather is gorgeous, and the city is full of talk about the CTIA WIRELESS show, which officially begins tomorrow. Tonight is a big “pre” show event where a group of companies will exhibit in a smaller, more intimate venue (which is often times much more appealing than the crowded and loud show floor). I’ll have tons of great information from that show tomorrow. But before the event has even begun, I’ve already seen my first demo!

Nokia cleverly arranged a car service that gave the company the opportunity to show off its new Nokia Maps 2.0 software (now in beta version) by actually navigating us to the hotel. Although the functions the software offers aren’t new in the portable navigation category, per se, it’s amazing to see how quickly the mobile phone category is ramping up its offerings. Powered by Nokia, the service offers the standard address searches and favourites, but adds a new walking mode that does things like avoid one-way streets, and displays little “bread crumbs”, described the rep, as you walk along your route. The mapping software itself is more robust, with over 15 million Points of Interest (POI), and various viewing modes. It’s worth noting that Nokia showed off the software on the U.S. version of its new N95 handset, which is quite a nifty looking device; not to mention that it includes a whopping 8 GB of internal memory! And the screen itself showed off the vibrant colours of the map in all their glory. The device navigated us to our hotel safe and sound. Hopefully we’ll see this phone in Canada some time soon!

So there you have it. Before I even reached the hotel, I was one step closer to seeing what neat gadgets and technologies are in store at the show. Now it’s time to enjoy 20-degree weather!