A Wider Net

Eleksen showcased their new line of Windows Vista-compatible laptop bags at CES. They utilize a new feature of Vista called SideShow. SideShow allows Vista to reach out to other devices and display small bits of information on them. The devices include remote controls, bags, peripherals, etc. The display can support a variety of user-friendly applications. For starters, a remote control with a SideShow display can display context-sensitive information to help navigate a media center PC remotely. A keyboard can display information about your application, incoming text messages, email status, weather, etc. A speaker can display the current status of your media player.
Here is a shot of a SideShow applications at Microsoft’s CES booth - it’s a smartphone controlling a PowerPoint presentation - with the presentation visible on the phone. Here are two other products - a keyboard and a speaker each with integrated display.
You can read more about these devices, along with loads of other SideShow devices at this site devoted to all things SideShow.

Marketers have long appreciated the value of branding carry-ons. Now we can start to think about what to place on these feet-on-the-street micro billboards.

Of course, the first thing that comes to my personal-space-minding mind is a shoulder bag that displays “if you can read this itty-bitty sign then you’re TOO CLOSE”. But in reality it’s plenty big for an animated version of your brand, or even a side-scrolling message. Folks waiting to board an airplane will spot your billboard-baggage while stranded in the jetway and strike up conversations like “You work for Google? Cool - we’ve been thinking about adding Google Enterprise Search to our company - can we talk about it on the 12 hr flight to Auckland?”

At CES, I was impressed with Samsung’s unique digital signage solution “MagicNet”. Most digital signage systems use some kind of central server and a network of signage player devices - one per digital sign.  Then, of course, you need the flat panel displays. Samsung integrated their player device into a few LCD models, greatly simplifying the system. Now all you need for a complete digital signage solution is a bunch of these Samsung monitors all networked together, and one standard PC running their MagicNet software. The capabilities are generous, including playback of most media file types and graphic file formats, and the ability to incorporate live video.

This is a good option for new installations (where you don’t own the displays already) and touring applications that want to simplify setup. You can use it for enterprise communications, event signage - pretty much all the typical digital signage applications.

And here’s where the love-fest ends. Try to find MagicNet on the Samsung website. Here’s a link to a MagicNet LCD screen. In the center of the screen it clearly states, (spelling error and all) “Super high contrast ratio with 178°/178° viewing angle topped of with MagicNet.” but nowhere on the page is a link to learn about MagicNet. Nice.

So - their online marketing may be a mess, but the technology looked pretty spiffy. I’m sure your favorite A/V system integrator, marketing partner, or Samsung dealer can help you get going with MagicNet.

Use caution if you’re considering digital signage, since we see it done poorly more often than not. Make sure you have a clear idea of who the signage will target, what content they will find interesting enough to stop and absorb, and most importantly - who will be producing this content and how often.  Often times the content isn’t changed often enough, it’s poorly targeted, or the sign’s layout is too complex and confusing - rendering it highly ignorable.

For example - at one recent trade show I attended, the digital signs in the lobbies were display scheduling information for the three days prior to the day I arrived. Page after page of information was outdated, making the signs dreadfully ineffective. There’s nothing quite as sad as an unwatched digital sign.

Here are some of the CES photos I took so far.

It’s hip to be square. Actually, it’s hip to be square on the same planet where it’s hip to be called “Huey”. And when it comes to video we’re bored with square. Granted, regular standard definition TV isn’t technically square. It’s a nearly square rectangle- a “squectangle”. High Def TV is w-i-d-e, which is another adjective that isn’t exactly hip. But w-i-d-e-screen is still square(ish). B-O-R-I-N-G!

Take a trip to Circuit City and bask in the Squectangular jungle of TV’s and Computer Monitors. Everywhere you look - nothing but clean right angles and super-huge images of Nemo the clownfish. Maybe that’s why plasma screens have so little impact on exhibits. They get bigger, brighter, and cheaper every year, and they get less and less impressive. It’s hard enough to be “eye-catching” in a trade show booth, but if your video display is similar to, or even smaller-than, your typical attendee’s living room sets, then you may find them looking elsewhere for visual stimulation.

Custom shaped screens have been around for years, and typically involve cutting a sheet of grey diffusive acrylic into a simple shape like a circle. Small versions of this on a simple stand have been called “Lollipop screens”. Not every exhibitor is comfortable specifying technology called a lollipop, but when it comes to visual appeal, circle takes the square.

3M has changed everything with their new Vikuiti rear-projection film. Vikuiti (vigh-cue-it-ee) Film is a dark grey material that can be applied easily to glass or acrylic. It can be cut with scissors. It can also be applied to curved surfaces. What makes this material really special is its unique ability to produce very bright high contrast images in high ambient light situations. That’s right - a great picture in a trade show booth.

The demonstrations I saw at Infocomm were fun and diverse. A large circle screen was the simplest example, looking bright and bold compared to acrylic circles I’ve seen in the past. Then they had a cool display cut in the shape of a soda bottle that kept filling and bubbling and spelling out messages. And as if that wasn’t enough to sell the story, they had a person cutting out shapes of fish from a large sheet in front of us. A projection of a lively underwater scene created an impossible-to-ignore display. As you’ll see in the attached image, it’s not just the shape but also the (complete lack of) thickness and the way it floats in mid-air when applied to a large sheet of glass.

It’s a compelling look. It’s easily shaped into a logo or product. It’s bright, and fine in high ambient light. It’s thin - making flat panel displays downright pudgy. It will be at Innovation Day. And it’s not square.

Philips has an exciting entry in the 3D TV space - the 42″ WoWvx display. Using a built-in lenticular lens, this display produces three-dimensional images without the need for glasses. It also has a wide viewing angle - something uncommon among static lenticular 3D pieces. I’ve seen displays like this before, and this one has a much higher brightness spec, and it has a much higher resolution, so I’m pretty excited to see it at Innovation Day. This is an obviously great fit for exhibit traffic-stopping, as well as visualizations for biotech, high tech, and real estate. As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a chance this device is compatible with the VuCAM 3D capture binoculars.
I find anything that can break free of the “flat” of flat panel displays is a major win. I’m a big fan of moving screens, oddly shaped screens, and really anything that departs from what you’d see in your neighborhood Circuit City.

I love USB gadgets. Expect to see a lot of them here over time. This one appeared on Everything USB, one of my favorite USB gadget blogs. It’s simply a little LED display that you can program and more importantly, charge, through your USB port. It can be worn as a nametag or magnetically stuck to a metal surface. You might want to consider using these as mini digital signs around an exhibit, or as a daily “note to self” in your office.
USB Rechargable LED Badge

I was going to save this one for later when we get closer to Innovation Day, but since The Cool Hunter picked them up, I figure now is the time to mention Lightspace. Based in Boston, MA, Lightspace has built the most sophisticated dance floor I’ve ever seen. And yes, it’s much, much more than a dance floor. It containst intelligence that allows you create interactive experiences including multi-player games on the floors (and walls), vivid visualizations that respond to motion and touch, and multi-media presentations that use the floor (again - or walls) as the control input. We took a trip over to Lightspace to see it, half expecting to find a one-trick-pony dance floor that would change it’s color patterns whenever someone stepped on it. I went with two of our most experienced (and skeptical) people, and we were unanimously blown away. I’ll give you a few details on what it can do, but you really have to see it for yourself if the opportunity presents. Their new website is well worth a look in the meantime.

(more…)