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: 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!

Nokia Could Shake up Music Industry

The music industry must feel like a maraca as of late, because every company under the sun is doing what it can to shake things up. From online digital music distribution sites (authorized or otherwise), to artists offering their tracks for free download, to retailers dropping CD prices. Now, popular cell phone manufacturer Nokia could shake things up yet again by offering a mobile phone that not only comes with the ability to access an unlimited number of music downloads for a year, but also lets the customer keep the tracks once the year is over!

To date, any company (to my knowledge) that offers digital music downloads will either permit access to tunes on only the device from which it was downloaded; or, in the case of unlimited downloading, will prevent access to the tunes once a subscription or contract has expired. In many cases, even if a customer can transfer or rip downloaded tunes to an MP3 player or recordable CD, they might be limited to a specific number of them (like up to 3 devices). Sure, we've just started to see DRM-free tunes hit the wire, which are 100% free from these such restrictions; but they're only available on a pay-per-use or pay-per-album basis.

With this new service from Nokia, aptly named Comes With Music, once a tune is downloaded, it's yours to keep and do with it as you like: burn to a CD, transfer to an MP3 player, or just store it on the PC. If you decide you don't want to continue downloading tunes once the year has completed, those tracks are still yours to keep, whether you downloaded 10 of them, or 10,000. The program currently includes Universal Music tracks, but Nokia says it's "in talks" with other major international labels to add their titles to the roster.

"We set out to create the music experience that people are telling us they are looking for: all the music they want in the form of unlimited downloads to their mobile device and PC," said the company's Executive V.P. and G.M., Multimedia, Anssi Vanjoki. "Comes With Music fulfills our dream to give consumers all the music they want, wherever they want it, while rewarding the artists who create it."

No specific information was provided as to how (or how much) the music labels will be compensated for the service, nor how much a subscription would cost after the one-year period (if you wanted to continue downloading tunes, for instance). However, the very existence of this program provides a good idea as to what we can expect with regards to the future of digital music.

What I find most interesting about this program is that, of all the companies offering digital music and portable music devices, it was a cell phone manufacturer that stepped up to the plate with the most appealing offer. Mobile phones could really give dedicated portable music players an unexpected run for their money: take one look at the iPhone, and you'll know what I mean.

Unfortunately, a spokesperson tells me that the Comes With Music service is not available in Canada (what else is new); but perhaps if we get more competition in the wireless arena, there will be more opportunity for such services to sneak into Canadia-land as well.

What Does RIM Think of the iPhone?

I attended the Canadian Telecom Summit yesterday, and, during the Q&A after his keynote address, Research in Motion (RIM) Co-CEO John Balsillie was asked the dreaded question: what do you think about the iPhone, and are you worried that its “revolutionary” new interface will resonate better with consumers than RIMs? Balsillie’s ballsy answer? “Apple is just one more entrant into this huge market.”

Balsillie feels pretty confident about the Blackberry's approx. 55-60% market share, and rightfully so. He even mused that the iconic device has not only made him look forward to red lights and longer bathroom breaks, but has also “liberated people from boring meetings”.

I have to agree with him: with respect to his confidence in RIMs grasp on the market, that is, not the red lights and bathroom breaks. The Blackberry has become such a universal term (just like the iPod!) that it would be tough to penetrate the kind of hold it has achieved on the market, whether you're Apple, Nokia, or any player in the arena, for that matter. In his introductory speech, KPMG’s Peter Doyle mused that running a “Google” search for the word “blackberry”, will generate 48,700,000 responses, none of which have to do with the fruit for which the word was previously known. He also informed the audience that, in 2006, the Webster’s dictionary named “crackberry” as the word of the year. How do you like them…blackberries? It’s a success story unlike any other, short of Apple’s own iPod. Ironically, Apple will now find itself on the other side of the coin, fighting for market share in an area for which it has never been associated.

It was refreshing to hear Balsillie’s response to the inevitable iPhone question. He was confident, but not cocky. In fact, he actually went on to praise Apple for recognizing a music player as a software application on a phone, and not just as a standalone device.

Balsillie did admit that wireless is a tough business to penetrate, and noted that, no matter how funky an interface, what really matters is what you can actually do with a device. He’s certainly got that right. As the old adage goes, it’s what’s inside that counts. Both the Blackberry and iPhone pack a lot of punch, so let’s see how this race develops.

Apple’s iPhone will hit the U.S. market on June 29.

Fashion & Technology

The aesthetic appeal of a tech gadget has always been important. No one wants a hideous-looking cell phone strapped to their belt; or a tacky-looking TV in their living room, no matter how functional it is. But the role fashion and aesthetics plays in electronics is becoming more and more prevalent. Manufacturers are now paying as much attention to design as they do to functionality.

Cell phones are a perfect example. Nokia has a line of phones called L’Amour, designed for the fashion-conscious female (or male). They employ craft techniques like etching, organic decorative elements, and natural materials, colours and organic patterns. One model is even disguised as a stick of lipstick! To place further emphasis on the fact that these phones are fashion accessories, not just phones, they’re sold exclusively sold through the very posh Holt Renfrew stores.

It’s also no surprise that LG’s Chocolate phone isn’t just merely a cool phone: it’s a downright sexy-looking device. Not to mention that LG Canada launched the phone at a fashion show, strapped to the thighs of some hot looking models! (see photo, if you don't believe me!)

Heck, even fashion design label Prada made its own foray into the mobile phone market, albeit not in North America.

When it comes to portable audio players, what about the iPod, and especially the nano? No one can argue that part of the device’s appeal is its super-thin, gorgeous look.

Everything from mobile phones, to MP3 players, come in funky colours, shapes, and sizes. If they don’t, you can surely find a case that will match your personal style.

But the importance of fashion isn’t just growing in the portable gadget arena: it is spilling over to every facet of the CE industry. I recently strolled the halls of the Sheraton Hotel in Montreal, QC for Son et Image, a Canadian A/V show, and couldn’t help but gawk at the gorgeously-designed speakers, outfitted in a variety of colours and glossy wood finishes. It’s basic black, no more! And the latest flat-panel, high-definition TVs from manufacturers like Samsung, Sharp, and Panasonic, are downright stunning in both image quality, and elegantly-designed bezels.

Gadgets have become, quite simply put, sexy. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll choose a functional product over a good-looking one any day. But the look of a product plays a more important role today than it has in previous years.

I'll revisit this topic again. If you have any recommendations for "sexy" products, please let me know what gets your vote!