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!

Gearing up for CTIA WIRELESS

The big North American wireless show takes place in Las Vegas, NV next week, and I'll be attending for the first time. Up until recently, wireless has really been a category all its own, somewhat distinct and separate from "consumer electronics". But today, mobile phones are virtually multimedia devices, and even mini-computers, crossing over into pretty much every category of CE.

I expect to see a lot over in Sin City (aside from the heavy gambling, drinking, and scantily-clad girls, of course!) Here are a few trends that I foresee taking precedence at this year's event:

Touch-screens: Ever since the iPhone hit the U.S. market, touch-screens have been all the rage in cellular. Sure, the standard messaging phone that comes with a stylus can technically be called a "touch" screen phone, but we're now seeing more advanced designs that are optimized for use by your grubby fingers. Most notable as of late is the HTC Touch with boasts its own TouchFLO technology (stay tuned to the April issue of here's how! for a review of this phone). Just yesterday, LG brought two touch-screen models into Canada. Even Sony Ericsson's 5 MP K850 camera phone includes a partial touch-screen (just the soft-keys). I expect to see tons more touch-able models on the show floor this year.

Apps: Applications are the hot trend for mobile phones now. You can download pretty much any type of application for your phone, from weather updates, to social networking site access, or even a poker game. Sites like http://www.handango.com/ serve as home to tons of third-party applications; and many providers try to work out deals with the manufacturer (or rather the carrier) to include their apps with the phones at purchase. Judging from the way the industry is going, along with the e-mail pitches that have been flooding my inbox for the past few weeks, application developers will be at every nook and cranny of CTIA WIRELESS. Some hot application? Social networking, navigation, and, just plain "fun" stuff, like games.

Video: Video on-the-go is becoming a popular category in itself, but being able to access video through a mobile phone is slowly gaining steam. I really saw it begin to take off in Canada a year ago when Rogers Wireless introduced video calling, along with its VISION suite of multimedia services that included, among many other features, access to top videos from sites like YouTube, along with TV content and movies. In the previous blog post, I discussed Quattro Wireless and TMZ.com's announcement to bring a "mobile" version of the Hollywood gossip site to cell phones. Being able to view video on a mobile phone is just getting started, and I gather we'll see tons more innovation in this area at CTIA and beyond.

WiMAX: At the Canadian Telecom Summit last summer, Motorola President Greg Brown said that WiMAX could make broadband "as ubiquitous as air," and he's right. WiMAX is basically an extension to traditional WiFi, permitting wireless access for up to 50 km rather than the paltry 30-100 metres that 802.11 can provide. There's an entire pavilion at the show dedicated to WiMAX, and I'll definitely be stopping by to find out what's in store for Canada.

Sleek, Sexy Designs: Sleek and sexy designs have truly become of paramount importance whether you're looking at the phone that's stuffed in your pocket, or the speakers that surround your TV. With regards to mobile devices, thin is definitely "in", as is large (and wide) screens, big buttons, ergonomic and attractive feel, and convenience keys, like one-button access to a camera, or music keys on the front of a flip-stye handset.

These are just a few of the key innovations I expect to see at CTIA WIRELESS 2008. Stay tuned next week for reports (including video on our sister Websites, http://www.marketnews.ca/ and http://www.hereshow.ca/) right from the show floor.

[Photo: Famous actor Willian Shatner joins Rogers Wireless' Chief Marketing Officer John Boynton at the launch of video calling in Canada last year.]

Kodak To Leave Entry-Level Digicam Market

Rumour has it that Kodak will leave the entry-level digital camera market: an odd decision given that this is the market for which the firm is probably most popular. This leads to the question: where will they go from here? The high-end digital SLR market is dominated by some very strong players like Canon and Olympus; while the mid-end is chocked-full of competition: everyone and their uncle is making a digital camera these days.

According to engadget, Kodak is developing its own five-megapixel CMOS sensor for use in a new digital camera model (of its own brand), as well as in upcoming Motorola mobile phones. Huh?! 5MP in phones??

This actually isn’t as surprising as it sounds. I discussed a few weeks back how cell phones are on their way to becoming the new entry-level digital cameras. This happening is likely far off in the horizon: there are still people who would rather use a phone as a phone, and a camera as a camera. Not to mention that built-in cell phone cameras are just beginning to scratch the surface of acceptable picture quality. But it looks like Kodak sees the writing on the wall, and is jumping out while it still can. It’s not a bad idea to start partnering with the cell phone guys now in an effort to be ahead of the game.