Mobile Marketing/Technology Trends..2013

With 150,000 attendees and 3,000 vendors getting ready for the start of 2013 International CES, pundits near and far are popping up everywhere to shout out what they deem will be paradigm-bending ‘13 mobile marketing and technology trends.

And there are quite a few of these that could impact both consumers and businesses.

But first, the numbers.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), an Arlington, VA-based trade association that owns/produces CES, recently reported that shipment revenues for smart phones will be about $37 billion next year, with almost 126 million units shipped to dealers, a 16 percent increase from this year. And tablet computers will continue to be immensely popular – unit sales will exceed 105 million (+ 54 percent from ‘12), translating to almost $36 billion in shipment revenue.

To further accentuate just how quickly the mobile connected universe is expanding, check out these numbers from a November ’12 Pew Internet and American Life project:

• 56 percent of all U.S. mobile phone owners access the Internet.
• 85 percent of all U.S. adults own a mobile phone.
• 53 percent of mobile phone owners have smart phones.
• 88 percent check email on their phones each day.

Forbes reported earlier this month that two areas we’ll see a lot of at CES are digital health and smart cars. The digital health market, encompassing telemedicine, mobile apps, medical records, fitness monitors, and more, is growing more than 40 percent a year.

“As the health industry meets the consumer electronics industry you’re seeing dozens of innovations from mobile personal emergency systems to glucose, blood, heart rate and other monitors that you’ll be able to use at home, to a remote session with your doctor. The tech industry knows how to market to consumers; the medical industry is looking to them for that expertise,” said Forbes.

A few years ago, for example, Nebraska-based telemedicine solution provider AET completed a first of its kind, real-time remote diagnosis of a newborn baby's heart murmur between Faith Regional Health Services and Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Norfolk and Omaha, NE, respectively. The diagnosis used advanced wireless video conferencing technology through a mobile camera device connected to an ultrasound machine.

Forbes added that smart cars and related technologies will also be a popular CES attraction – the Google car, for instance, will be on display featuring its LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging; an optical remote sensing technology) system. And smart transportation will continue to generate considerable interest, added Alexandru Voica and Simon Forrest of UK-based Imagination Technologies, which designs and licenses multimedia and communications semiconductor cores.

Writing in the September/October issue of Vision, CEA’s flagship publication, the co-authors said “solutions will appear to enable advanced servers to detect immediate dangers, automatically avoid traffic jams and closed roads and monitor surroundings. This will lead to a reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions, a decrease in traffic jams and an improvement in the efficiency of existing infrastructure.”

I reckon vehicles will become so intelligent that eventually they won’t need us.

Snarchasm aside, there are a number of other interesting mobile marketing/tech trends that will accelerate in popularity/growth. To wit, yesterday, Tom’s Hardware prognosticated that LTE will ‘build out and up’ in ’13.

Here’s a snapshot quote of where they think things are heading:

“Adoption of LTE is still in the initial stages but consumers will see widespread coverage in 2013. In North America, Verizon should finish its LTE rollout by June 2013, and the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) forecasts that 209 networks will be commercially launched in 75 countries by the end of 2013. GSA also reports that over 500 LTE devices including tablets, femtocells, smart phones and routers have been introduced this year, a 164 percent increase compared to the number launched in 2011. LTE coverage is clearly seen as a competitive differentiator by carriers, and as network rollouts accelerate worldwide, manufacturers are responding with products for these markets.”

NFC
A wireless communication standard enabling data to be exchanged between devices over a distance of about four centimeters (two inches), NFC is inherently secure since devices must be placed close to each other – this contrasts with long-range protocols like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi which must select and connect with the correct device out of many that might be within range. NFC sets up connections faster than standard Bluetooth and its low-power variant, Bluetooth 3.0.

A mobile phone equipped with NFC technology can be used to carry a portable identity credential and then wirelessly present it to a reader – the phone is simply waved in front of the reader. One of the key features of NFC is the ability for NFC devices to operate in a passive, power-saving mode, while still being able to communicate with active NFC devices. An RF field is generated by the active device powering a passive target without an electricity source. Only one of the devices needs to be powered in order for the communication to occur.

Current uses are largely focused around contactless payments; but one emerging app is micro marketing using intelligent posters. Consumers can use their NFC phone to read a tag on the poster, which takes them to a special web page on their phone with more information.

“Ultimately, NFC smart phones will operate as smartcards in a peer-to-peer environment, taking advantage of the fact that the ‘card’ (smart phone) is actually a fast computer attached to a network in a cloud-computing environment,” said Tam Hulusi, Senior Vice President, HID Global, a security vendor.

Location based payments
Eoin Keenan posted on CustomerThink (a global online community of business leaders) last November that the GPS transmitter which is now standard in just about every device, can track where users are when they post online and willingly share their location. This opens up new horizons for marketers.

“You could create discounts in exchange for check-ins, literally drawing people to your location,” said Keenan. “It also allows for geo-fencing, where you target ads at users who enter specified locations based on a set radius. A real opportunity is a one-off, temporary offers or create really local ads. Finally, it allows you to develop profiles of users based on their travel and location patterns – people that regularly pass your store can be targeted as a potential customer.”

One company, Tabbedout, uses location-based technology to show available merchants in a given area. Users who have turned off their location capabilities are still able to search within the app for available locations by zip code. Tabbedout CEO Paul Fiore said the strength of the Tabbedout solution is found in the ability to transmit payments without being within a specific distance of a location, what he calls ‘Far Field Communication.’ It’s suited, he said, for the hospitality industry where customers may not be in proximity to card readers, scanners or a POS system. The restaurant chain T.G.I. Fridays signed on with Tabbedout in April, the company’s first national partner.

Mobile phones have developed light years since those bulky models of yesteryear – they’re now just about surgically attached to us 24/7 and smart marketers who realize this will benefit most going forward into 2013.

Mark Simmons, reporting in EContent, succinctly summed it up:

“As consumer behavior continues to shift from the web, mobile will no longer be an afterthought but the initial one. Brands will have to enhance the mobile experience whether it is about content, m-commerce or interactivity.”

iPhone 5S tipped for June release, with NFC and more colours

Peter Misek, a Jefferies analyst says that 2013 will see Apple change its release schedule and go back to releasing the iPhone in the summer.

 The iPhone 5S rumours are already starting in earnest now and it is not even Christmas.

The latest is more of a hope than a rumour to be fair, but comes off the back of leaked parts that suggest the design of the phone will stay the same, but the internals will change slightly.

Peter Misek, a Jefferies analyst, in a note this week, says that 2013 will see Apple change up its release schedule and go back to releasing the iPhone in the summer, something those iQueuers will no doubt prefer (summer nights and all that), and one that will stop Apple loading all its major launches in the second half of the year.


But it is not just about the iPhone 5S release date, but that he believes that the iPhone 5S will also embrace yet more new tech including a "super HD camera/screen, a better battery, and NFC," and "possible updates include an IGZO screen for Retina+, 128GB storage." Misek is also predicting it comes in 6-8 colours, similar to the iPod Touch.

Misek's track record is questionable and in reality this is just one analyst have a pop at what he thinks will happen based on reading all the other rumours, some insight of his own, and a general suggestion of what will happen. It is like if team Pocket-lint had a go at it too. Still in May 2011 he predicted that Apple would launch an iPhone 4S rather than an iPhone 5. He's been right before, maybe he will be right again.

For what it is worth, these suggestions are pretty safe bets at some point and Apple probably knows that it's not the hardware that will be an issue in convincing more people to stay with the iPhone rather than go to Android.

MCV & Mobile500... together!

Giving Mobile TV Another Go With Dyle..

When you “watch TV” on your iPhone or iPad, you’re probably watching premium TV content you’ve purchased or rented from a service like iTunes, Netflix or Amazon Instant Video.

What I’ve been testing over the past week is different from that. It’s called Dyle, and it’s a mobile TV service from a group of broadcasters that include the Fox, NBC, Telemundo and ION networks. (Fox, one of the broadcasters in the Dyle group, is owned by News Corp., which is also a parent company of this Web site.)

Dyle turns some mobile devices into mini TVs, ones with an actual TV tuner, so that you can watch local news and a few basic channels on the go the same way you would watch television at home. This TV content is free, and you don’t need a cable subscription for it, though you will need to pay for the hardware that lets you watch it. Unlike streaming video from Web services, Dyle doesn’t use up your cellular data or even require Wi-Fi.

Live TV on mobile has been attempted before — and has received a fuzzy reception in the U.S., figuratively speaking. Qualcomm tried and failed with MediaFLO. A company calledAereo currently offers live TV directly on mobile devices and PCs for a small monthly fee, but it only works in New York City and is currently caught up in a legal battle with TV networks.

In fact, the group behind Dyle has been pushing live mobile TV for a few years now, though its hardware options have been pretty limited.

But, based on my experience with Dyle, I’m still not enthused about this kind of live mobile television.

Dyle doesn’t broadcast in HD, and doesn’t include DVR options. I didn’t have access to more than five channels, and the service was spotty. While Apple mobile users can access Dyle through a $100 accessory made by Elgato, Android users have fewer options. With the exception of the $459 Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G phone through MetroPCS, which has a TV tuner built in, Dyle currently isn’t running on Android devices. Dyle says the group is planning more Android devices with Dyle capabilities in the new year.

While it’s notable that there is now a solution for Apple devices, Dyle just wasn’t compelling enough for me to carry around the Elgato dongle and continue to use the TV service on a regular basis.

I tested Dyle in both New York City and San Francisco, two of the 35 U.S. markets in which it’s currently available. There are a couple of different ways to access Dyle, and the app names can get confusing.

First, there’s the Samsung phone from MetroPCS that I mentioned earlier. It has an extendable TV antenna built into the phone, and a Dyle-branded app comes preinstalled.

Then there’s the accessory from Elgato that works with the iPhone and iPad -– this app is called EyeTV, not Dyle. The dongle, which also has an antenna, plugs directly into the bottom of Apple devices with 30-pin ports. If you have the new iPhone 5 or the iPad mini, you’ll have to use an adapter.

After fully extending the antenna on the Samsung phone or the Elgato dongle, I was ready to watch TV. In New York, I had access to five channels, including NBC, Fox and Telemundo. The programming is framed by a very basic channel guide, which doesn’t offer much additional information beyond the show name. I watched local news in bed one night, and part of an NFL game on EyeTV using my iPhone 4.

In case you’re wondering, you will have to sit through commercials, just as you would with “regular” TV — and, nope, you can’t fast-forward through them.

The picture looked a little bit scrambled at times, and when I changed the size of the video to fit my screen, the audio would sometimes cut out. And the video didn’t fully extend to fit the screen of the regular iPad or iPad mini. Still, compared with my experience in San Francisco, Dyle worked pretty well for me in New York.

On the West Coast, the service was inconsistent. I tested Dyle on the same three devices. On the Samsung phone, I was initially able to pull in five channels: NBC, Fox, My 36, Telemundo and Qubo, a cartoon network. I tuned in to the evening news on Fox, and placed the phone next to my laptop so I could listen to the local news while I was doing work.

At one point, as I was changing channels, the signal cut out for me on the Samsung phone. It later came back, and Dyle TV says there may have been a service outage at that time. But after that I was never able to successfully access all five channels.

On the iPad mini with the Elgato dongle, I was only able to watch the Qubo channel. This was especially disappointing when I woke up one morning and wanted to check out the news on the iPad instead of turning on the TV. All I could watch were cartoons.

Another drawback about Dyle is that you can’t record or store content. So, when I was preparing for a couple flights this week, Dyle wasn’t part of the equation. If I wanted to watch a TV show or movie on my iPad during the flights, I’d have to download the content in advance from another service.

Dyle says that it’s working with more hardware makers to bring the service to all kinds of devices, including more mobile phones, tablets, and even screens in the back seats of cars. The company envisions that it could work as a cable-authentication service, providing a way to let you access your cable service from your mobile phone if you’re paying for a cable subscription.

But, for now, Dyle is just a niche thing for consumers who really like to watch local TV on their phones, and its content is still too limited to make it appealing.

MobileTV returns to CES in January at the Mobile TV TechZone with new consumer products designed to receive mobile digital TV broadcasts from local stations.  

With more than 130 TV broadcasters now transmitting with Mobile TV signals, the CES 2013 Mobile TV TechZone will feature services, products, and demonstrations utilizing the ATSC mobile broadcast standard.  

On display in Central Hall 14340 in the Mobile TV TechZone:

The Mobile Content Venture will show the latest products compatible with Dyle mobile TV, now available throughout the U.S. on the Samsung Lightray phone from MetroPCS and the Elgato EyeTV Mobile iPad adapter.

The Mobile Emergency Alert System will demonstrate how consumers can avoid cell phone congestion when information is most critical.

The Mobile500 Alliance plans to showcase its services for the Mobile iPad and iPhone receiver with its MyDTV application and will feature additional devices and enhanced functionality at CES in 2013. The Elgato EyeTV Mobile receiver and app, which debuted at CES in 2012, will continue to offer live television recording, fully integrated social media and interactive advertising.

Mobile TV could also serve as a method for broadcasters to distribute 3D TV signals, with both stereoscopic signals sent through a single radiofrequency channel -- with one "eye" using the standard ATSC stream and the second eye transmitted using the Mobile TV stream. ETRI (the Korean research institute), LG Electronics, and DTVInteractive will demonstrate terrestrial broadcast 3D TV in the Mobile TV TechZone.

Apple rumored to release a thinner iPad 5

When Apple released a 4th-generation iPad just eight months after its predecessor, we wondered whether we'd still see a new iPad in March (its typical release slot). A new report claims that we will, with a redesigned 5th-generation iPad waiting in the wings.

According to Japanese blog Macotakara (which has a solid record with supply chain leaks), the iPad 5's design will borrow from the iPad mini. Their sources expect the tablet to be 4 mm shorter, 2 mm thinner, and 17 mm narrower. The huge decrease in width suggests thinner side bezels, like the iPad mini.

The report says that Apple is accelerating its release cycle as a response to the Nexus 7 and Surface. That's almost certainly speculation on their part, as Apple wouldn't likely brief suppliers on its motives. But competition is heating up in the tablet market. A new iPad would serve as ammunition against rival devices, as well as minimizing the iPad mini's cannibalization of its big brother.

The report also mentions a 2nd-generation iPad mini with Retina Display. This isn't the first time we've heard this, but this report says that it will have a 7.9-inch, 2,048 x 1,536 display with an A6X chip.

The source doesn't have a time frame for the alleged Retina iPad mini, but it says that it will enter trial production later this month.

Review: 4th-generation iPad:

At the iPad mini event, Apple did something that it hasn't done in quite some time: it surprised us. With most of the company's recent products leaking well before their announcements, the days of being thrown for a loop at an Apple event appeared to be over. But thrown for a loop we were, when Apple announced a new 4th-generation iPad.


Review: Nexus 7 Android tablet











he Nexus 7 is an innocuous looking little device. The unassuming face of Google's first foray into the tablet world has no hardware buttons aside from the power button and volume rocker, and the lithe 7-inch form factor means it can be slipped away into your bag or even jacket pocket. With prices starting at US$199 for the 8 GB model, the device has basically sold out on its first run in the U.S. So is this early success just a question of cost, or is it a genuinely good Android tablet?

NSA targeting domestic computer systems in secret test

Newly released files show a secret National Security Agency program is targeting the computerized systems that control utilities to discover security vulnerabilities, which can be used to defend the United States or disrupt the infrastructure of other nations.

The NSA's so-called Perfect Citizen program conducts "vulnerability exploration and research" against the computerized controllers that control "large-scale" utilities including power grids and natural gas pipelines, the documents show. The program is scheduled to continue through at least September 2014.

The Perfect Citizen files obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and provided to CNET shed more light on how the agency aims to defend -- and attack -- embedded controllers. The NSA is reported to have developed Stuxnet, which President Obama secretly ordered to be used against Iran's nuclear program, with the help of Israel.

U.S. officials have warned for years, privately and publicly, about the vulnerability of the electrical grid to cyberattacks. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional committee in February: "I know what we [the U.S.] can do and therefore I am extraordinarily concerned about the cyber capabilities of other nations." If a nation gave such software to a fringe group, Dempsey said, "the next thing you know could be into our electrical grid."Discussions about offensive weapons in the U.S. government's electronic arsenal have gradually become more public. One NSA employment posting for a Control System Network Vulnerability Analyst says the job involves "building proof-of concept exploits," and an Air Force announcementin August called for papers discussing "Cyberspace Warfare Attack" capabilities. The Washington Post reported last month that Obama secretly signed a directive in October outlining the rules for offensive "cyber-operations."

"Sabotage or disruption of these industries can have wide-ranging negative effects including loss of life, economic damage, property destruction, or environmental pollution," the NSA concluded in a public report (PDF) discussing industrial control systems and their vulnerabilities.

The 190 pages of the NSA's Perfect Citizen files, which EPIC obtained through the Freedom of Information Act last week, are heavily redacted. At least 98 pages were completely deleted for a number of reasons, including that portions are "classified top secret," and could "cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security" if released, according to an accompanying letter from Pamela Phillips, chief of the NSA's FOIA office.

But the portions that were released show that Raytheon received a contract worth up to $91 million to establish Perfect Citizen, which "enables the government to protect the systems," especially "large-scale distributed utilities," operated by the private sector.

The focus is "sensitive control systems," or SCS, which "provide automation of infrastructure processes." Raytheon is allowed to hire up to 28 hardware and software engineers who are supposed to "investigate and document the results of vulnerability exploration and research against specific SCS and devices."

One job description, for a senior penetration tester, says the position will "identify and demonstrate vulnerabilities," and requires experience using security-related utilities such as Nmap, Tenable's Nessus, Libnet, andNetcat. Raytheon is required not to disclose that this work is being done for the NSA.

The Wall Street Journal disclosed the existence of Perfect Citizen in a 2010 article, which reported the NSA's "surveillance" of such systems relies "on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack."

An NSA spokeswoman responded to CNET at the time by saying that Perfect Citizen is "purely a vulnerabilities assessment and capabilities development contract" that "does not involve the monitoring of communications or the placement of sensors on utility company systems."

Marc Rotenberg, EPIC's executive director, said that the newly declassified documents "may help disprove" the NSA's argument that Perfect Citizen doesn't involve monitoring private networks.

The FOIA'd documents say that because the U.S. government relies on commercial utilities for electricity, telecommunications, and other infrastructure requirements, "understanding the technologies utilized in the infrastructure nodes to interoperate on the commercial backbone enables the government to protect the systems."

Research could increase computer speeds faster..

While most students have no clue what Dirac electrons, quantum computers and copper-doped bismuth selenide are, a new breakthrough by University physicists could eventually change that.

Physics Prof. Lu Li, along with University doctoral student Benjamin Lawson and Yew San Hor, a professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, have confirmed that material copper-doped bismuth selenide contains Dirac-like electrons, which could prove significant in increasing the speed and capabilities of quantum computing.

In a typical computer, like the ones students use daily to post on Facebook and work on class assignments, information is stored in a binary format as zeroes and ones, which are called bits. Calculations are performed as different sequences of binary encoding information.

Quantum computers, however, can store these sequences as zeroes and ones separately like a traditional computer, but can also store sequences with both zeroes and ones at the same time, called qubits.

Lawson, who assisted in contrasting the measurement methods and collected much of the project’s data, said the concept could be easily explained by visualizing a device with rows of switches.

“You can think of it like this: I am trying to convey a message to you with a bunch of switches,” Lawson said. “In a classical computer, you look at the switches which are all either up or down and translate a message. In a quantum computer, all the switches are either up, down, or a single switch could be both up and down. With the third option, I can encode much more information with fewer switches.”

The idea of quantum computing is not new — Li said it’s been around for more than a decade. But Li, Lawson and Hor’s recent discovery uncovered the copper-doped bismuth selenide that contains Dirac electrons, or electrons that can outperform regular electrons by allowing “switches” to be up, down or both at the same time.

Lawson compared the material to silicon for classic computers, and said it could be the key building block for quantum computers. Copper-doped bismuth selenide is considered a topological superconductor, meaning they conduct energy indefinitely and have enough energy to process classical and quantum physics.

“That’s the beauty of that scheme,” Li said.

Although Li and his team were not the first researchers to theorize copper-doped bismuth selenide could contain the Dirac electrons needed for quantum computation, they were the first to actually detect them, thus proving the theory correct.

But students shouldn’t expect to complete their CTools assignments on a quantum computer anytime soon. Lawson said students don’t interact with quantum computers because they don’t yet work as efficiently as classical computers.

Still, many students use classical computers to do complicated calculations, which takes a long time.

“Quantum computers hold the promise of being able to do these computations much faster,” Lawson said. “The technology is not there yet, but there is a lot of potential.”

Lawson said further experiments are necessary to ensure potential topographical superconductors behave in ways the initial research has shown. Further research initiatives will then attempt to find ways to employ their properties in user-friendly quantum computers.

UofM’s Dirac electrons point way to quantum computer

In this post we attempt to wander into the tall grass known as quantum computing. Some of this confusing jungle has been cut away by Professor Lu Li (Physics) of the University of Michigan. In a U of M press release (December 4, 2012) he/they report that Dirac Electrons have been directly observed in an exotic material - copper-doped bismuth selenide (Cu0.25Bi2Se3). The doped bismuth selenide has been studied before and is known for having some unique properties; an "insulating topological superconductor".

`In the flurry of research activity on CuxBi2Se3 (same thing) Professor Li has picked up on this work. Professor Li cooled the exotic stuff to ultra-cold temperatures ("cryogenic") and was able to somehow directly observe the until-then-theoretical Dirac electrons. That is to say that other researchers had proposed the existence of the Dirac electrons but U of M's Li was the first to observe them. He describes them as superconducting electrons that can "clump together" and have "no electrical resistance". These properties/this property makes them desirable to investigate as qubits - the quantum computing equivalent of bits.

This also means that the Dirac electrons also have "a leg in each world" - the world of the classical physical and the world of the quantum. That such a beast so uniquely quantum and classical has been observed for the first time is itself remarkable. The property of such a thing being directly observable also means it may be suitable for the quantum computers' qubits. The quantum computer user will be able to process quantum calculations without changing them via observation - another remarkable property.

However, just observing the copper-doped bismuth selenide material is challenging in that we have located no images of the exact material. At least not yet. Also images of Dirac electrons will likely be impossible or not available online as yet. The best we can do is provide a video of Dirac Fermions (to which Dirac electrons should belong). As far as an image of a topological superconductor of bismuth selenide the Berkeley Lab News Center might have the best representation so far. An actual working quantum computer of Dirac electrons from the University of Michigan may be a long way off .

The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to use the technology developed by Telecordia to locate lost mobile phones

 

 

 

 

 

Government is planning to start using the technology which could also be used to track cloned SIM cards and mobile phones.

Government is planning to launch a pilot project to test a new technology that helps locate lost or cloned mobile phones on real time basis.

According to Economic Times, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to use the technology developed by Telecordia to locate mobile phones in real time.
The technology, called Central Device Information Registry (CDIR), has been developed by Telecordia, a stakeholder in MNP Interconnection which offers MNP services in the country.

The registry will keep a track of phones on a real time basis which will help in finding the devices in case the phone is lost or stolen. The technology can also be used to block phones with cloned IMEI number and cloned SIM cards.

Use of this technology is bound to face objections regarding privacy, as this technology would allow tracking of each and every cell phone in the country by a single agency. However, DoT wants to put proper conditions so that there is no misuse of data and information collected by MITS during trial.

Even without this technology, there are ways to protect the phones with technology like Mobile Tracker which comes inbuilt with many phones. Not many users are though aware of this tech and do not activate it on their phones even if it comes as a built-in feature.

For smartphones, there are number of application which not just track the phone but also can be used to remotely lock the phone and also to wipe off the data from the phone. However, all these are disjointed efforts and do not involve law enforcement agencies which can actually get your phone back.