A Wider Net

Looks like AT&T will finally deploy 12 stores worth of Microsoft Surface interactive displays. For this, we cheer and do the cha-cha. All 12 stores are located in only 4 cities. For this we put our cha-chas back in the bag.

I’m jazzed to see this cool technology in use at last. While I wish they would move faster, as we have a line of interested clients that runs right out the back door into the street, but I appreciate their slow and methodical approach to releasing it only when it’s ready. After all, Vista, Zune, and the XBOX 360 could have all used more incubation time (although some would argue that Vista stayed in the egg too long and spoiled).

According to Engadget, this in-store kiosk will allow you to place two phones on the surface, the one you’re buying and the one you currently own, then transfer contacts and stuff from one phone to the other by simply dragging and dropping. Funny - I thought having the store clerk do that was simple enough. But I think the OTHER applications of surface will make more sense - comparing features of multiple phones, playing with demo assets, exploring coverage maps, etc. (things the store clerk generally can’t wrap his head around.) I can’t say I love the pictures of the in-store display, but I love the Surface itself. As they continue to refine the application, adding drag-and-drop support for ringtones and wallpapers, for example, this will only get better and better. When people actually try it, I predict they will talk about Surface more than they talk about their new phone. Since the iPhone won’t be part of the display, this is pretty much a guarantee.

Microsoft announcement here

Thank you Engadget.

Network World Magazine calls the Fujitsu U810 “attractive to healthcare professionals” and possibly the “Ultimate Mobile Device”. From what I can see, it’s one the first attractively priced little UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) that’s plenty loaded with possibilities.

Ever since Microsoft unveiled project Origami we have seen a steady flow of UMPC’s that seem like products in search of a market. When Network World’s Keith Shaw commented that the U810 had specific application to healthcare professionals it struck a cord with me. Perhaps they have finally arrived at the right mix of size, weight, functionality, performance, and battery life to meet a specific mass-market need. UMPC’s have been too small for comfort, too power-hungry to last, and too expensive to matter.

I still love the vision of UMPC’s and I wish I had one at my side on a daily basis. There’s only so much you can do with a smartphone or PDA, and only so many places you want to lug your laptop.

If a UMPC can provide reasonable computing on the go, decent web browsing, and decent presentation support, then it’s a clearly exciting thing for any mobile work force - especially sales people, travelers, and healthcare professionals.

The video below details how cool the U810 can be. It’s a teeny laptop. It’s also a teeny tablet PC - for sketching, filling out forms, and giving one-to-one presentations. And if you need an amazing tablet application to inspire you into the possibilities of tablet PC’s, check out this video I found on Robert Scoble’s blog.

I’m even more enamored with the HTC Shift below , a device that has many of the same attributes as the U810 but doesn’t have the great quote in Network World Magazine. A demo video of THAT device is below. I hope to have one of these in my hands very soon and I’ll give you a quick download. Retailers: these devices may be the perfect device to ship to every one of your stores. Clerks can use them around the store for guidance on shelf arrangements and product signage. Then can use it to complete training programs. They can use it to verify the correct price on the website that day. They can even use it to show a customer how a product is supposed to be used. It’s a lot lighter than a laptop, easier to stow, cheaper to replace, and (presumably) harder to break.

So I like the looks of the U810, and I love the looks of the Shift. I guess I’ll have to order two. To go. And don’t bother to wrap them - I’ll eat them here.

Microsoft is bringing Surface to Boston for a public viewing at the Sheraton on Saturday. Details are available on this Microsoft Developer blog. This may be your best chance to see this exciting new technology firsthand as they roll it out through Sheraton hotels and a handful of other launch partners over the coming months.

Touch technology makes an incredibly intuitive user interface for a variety of applications. Touch kiosks and ATMs, when well-designed, have made our lives easier in many self-service solutions. The runaway success of the Nintendo DS handheld game system, which features touch control, has taught us a great deal about human/computer interaction and preferences. Sony has even introduced touch controls on the backs of their digital cameras. But those examples are nothing compared to Surface.

Surface features multi-touch capability, so you can interact with more than just one finger (think iPhone on steroids). It also features a ton of technology under the hood to recognize objects placed on it’s surface and interact with them digitally. It’s not a touch screen - it’s a whole new way of interacting with content.

For more information about Surface, check out Microsoft’s Surface page or my previous post.

Wiffiti, the offspring of Somerville, MA based LocaModa creates digital signs and website objects to which anyone can send text messages for public viewing. It’s a way of creating a comment stream, a shout out board, or a stream of requests for a band or DJ to play. Seems like events can use this as a way to capture the pulse of the show, as a stream-of-consciousness brainstorming exercise, or countless other fun activities.

LocaModa has a powerful offering for mobile-phone-controlled digital signs. Rather than deploy a touch screen, which is fragile, not-very-hygienic, and typically limited to one user, signs that use mobile phones as their control mechanism open up all sorts of interesting possibilities, including two-way communications, group activities, after-hours secure applications through windows, and so on.

Hitch Media offers an ingenious solution for exhibitors and event organizers to reach cell phone users. Using their own bluetooth transmitter, which they ship you for use on your event, they can beam advertisements to users with bluetooth phones within a range of 300 feet. Users must allow the download on their handset but it costs them nothing. In fact, the per-message transmit rate is also nothing.

Currently the system supports text, jpg’s, and video, although video is not supported by all phones. Also, due to Verizon’s stubborn restrictions on the supported bluetooth protocols on their phones, this system will not reach Verizon customers. It seems likely that Verizon will cave to consumer pressure to change that in the future. Most new phones already support bluetooth, and in the near future all cell phones will support bluetooth. In the meantime, this looks like a great way to grab attention.

David Polinchock has posted some interesting 2007 predictions, most of which I agree with.
I wouldn’t have mentioned Second Life in there, as I suspect this round of 3D virtual worlds (does anyone remember Active Worlds?) has peaked and is on it’s way out.

I love the concept of retail spaces being reconfigured to be as easy to navigate as their online spaces. I wonder how many retailers understand just how important this is going to be to Gen Y. But how do you do it?  Online sites have several advantages to B&M. Most notably, they can place products in the front of the store that are relevant to the buyer’s history.  Also, you can get from department to department with a click, and find products just by clicking on their category or brand. Most stores seem to make navigation by brand to an elite few anchor brands.

I suppose some of this is solved by smart digital signage. Now that you can place a 7-10″ digital sign on a clothing rack for cheap, there’s no excuse for not having it labeled with “what’s on the rack”. RFID will make that even more intelligent, indicating what’s on the rack, and if it’s in your size.

And for that customizable homepage - how about a variation of the Mobil Speedpass? An RFID tag on your keychain (don’t you already have a chainload of store tags already?) that allows sensors to recognize you, and cause signage to highlight products of interest to you as you pass by. Think: “Dockers are on sale and in stock in your size in the following colors”. I don’t know - maybe that sounds a little creepy, but as long as it doesn’t slip any personal information to the person next to you by spouting “oversized depends are in stock in your favorite hello kitty pattern” - then I could get used to it.

The other aspects that retailers may glean from the web?  User ratings, third-party reviews, and price comparisons. In keeping with David’s first comment about authenticity, retail stores may want to start to recognize that buyers are increasingly more influenced by what their peers have to say, than what the part-time holiday help store clerk has to say.

Spotted in a bathroom in Melbourne, this hand-dryer-billboard makes us wonder where it will all end. I thought the printed toilet paper and talking urinal screens were bad enough. I imagine there’s no audio with this puppy, since it would sound pretty much like a hand dryer anyway, but you have to wonder if they’re choosing ads that appeal more to the types of people that: A. Use public restrooms, B. Wash their hands, and C. Dry them the “environmentally friendly-way”. I won’t risk a guess at who it wouldn’t target, but I will say I’ve seen them and they are everywhere.

Seriously though, isn’t this is a better solution than a video screen above a urinal or on the back of a stall door? While I suspect there are products out there that want to be associated with #1 or #2, isn’t the hand-dryer just “cleaner”?

From Engadget.

The effect of scent on an immersive experience has always intrigued me. You can’t deny that odor profoundly impacts experience. If you have ever tried to enjoy red wine with a stuffy nose then you know what I mean. Also, what is a whale-watch without the salty fishy sea air? And what would the Indy 500 be without the stink-blend of gasoline, sunscreen, and b.o.? Ok, not the best example. Consider instead the powerful “new car smell”, the drug-like aroma of chocolate, or the apparently irresistble teen body sprays.

Using scent to enhance audience experience has been around for some time. Back in the 1960’s, Smell-O-Vision was introduced into motion picture theaters, offering 30 different scent cues. John Waters released the film Polyester in 1982 with Odorama - a set of scratch-and-sniff cards that were manipulated by the audience on cue. Retailers and hotels have discovered the positive effects of scent on the customer experience. One major furniture retailer discovered that the smell of leather helped sell leather furniture.
The trick with scents is to deliver them accurately to an audience on cue. With this ability you can enhance any experience including Broadway shows, movies, shopping environments, attractions, and even browsing the web. At one point a bold startup called Digiscents invented a scent “printer” that you could hook up to your PC and deliver scents triggered by special codes on web pages. I believe they are in research mode now, having replaced their product website with a blog.
One of our Innovation Day participants, ScentAir, has a tried-and-true method of delivering scents on cue using their unique ScentWave and ScentPOP scent machines. They were recently covered in Time Magazine - an article well worth the read if you’re interested in the use of scent in retail and event experiences. It’s easy to write this off as a superfluous gimmick, but if you read through the Time article, the information at the Digiscents Blog, and the Scentair website, you will probably agree that the science is valid, compelling, and worth a try.