May/100
Clear wireless Internet comes to Baltimore
NV3 Technologies has been using WIMAX for over a year now so we are very excited about Clear.
CLEAR is the first network built for your on-the-move life and NV3 is an Authorized Agent.
With speeds 4x as fast as 3G in virtually every corner of Baltimore, CLEAR is designed with the internet in mind. The blazing 4G network gives your laptops and desktops the speed and access they need to really deliver. That’s why it’s the ultimate connection.
How is it different from what I have?
How isn’t it different? Today’s 3G networks were built for making phone calls. But Clear was created for the internet. That means you’ll have loads of 4G bandwidth wherever you are. So whether you’re downloading movies, uploading videos or streaming games, you can do it all ridiculously fast.
What can I do with it
Everything you’ve always dreamed about doing on the internet that the slow drip of 3G makes so painful. Watch live soccer from Europe, from your kids soccer game in Seattle. Email ginormous presentations from the road in seconds without having to pay for a mega-grande just to get a connection. Download a video of that conference you couldn’t attend in the middle of a trainload of commuters. With this kind of speed you can do it all.
What does it cost?
The name is CLEAR and so is the pricing. As an authorized agent we offer combined mobile and home plans, home only plans, and voice plans starting at $30 a month. There are no tricks and no surprises. All you get is a connection 4x the speed of 3G* for the same price as a ball and chain connection from your phone or cable company.
Where can I use CLEAR?
When you have CLEAR, you have a connection wherever you are in your city. Use it at home. Fire it up on the road. No more searching for wi-fi hotspots where you’re fighting with 20 other people for bandwidth. CLEAR goes places wi-fi can’t get close to.
Apr/100
Next-gen charging kiosks juicing up with digital signage
Baltimore, Md.-based NV3 Technologies displayed at this month’s KioskCom samples of its newest mobile device-charging kiosks. The units, like those of the company’s competitors, offer quick-charging for a range of phones and other portable devices.
But the company’s NTC line of kiosks signals a shift in the charging kiosk business model. By incorporating touchscreens, digital signage and Internet connectivity, the kiosks are expanding the range of applications — and potential revenue sources — for this type of self-service kiosk.
NV3 managing partner Scott Calhoun explains that the company started out with a simple, service-driven model. Customers would plug in their phones and receive a 15-minute quick charge for a fee. When the company began manufacturing its own kiosks to improve ROI, he says it discovered a different, more flexible business model.
“The charger is really drawing the customer in and holding them there for 15 minutes,” he said.
Therein lies what NV3 sees as the future for device-charging kiosks. Customers with phones connected to a kiosk for several minutes offer a semi-captive audience for deployer messages.
And the additions to NV3’s product line, such as touchscreens and digital signage, create a number of possibilities for clients to connect with customers and employees.
Calhoun and managing partner Ryan Doak say the possible uses for this deployment model are extremely diverse. A hospital could equip a charger with a patient-information touchscreen, helping patients’ families stay in contact and informed during emergencies. An airline could deploy digital-signage-equipped kiosks in its employee lounges, saving the headache of disseminating paper- or e-mail-based HR information on a global scale.
“Once we were putting everything together, we found out it wasn’t to hard to customize [the kiosk] depending on what the customer needs it to do,” Calhoun said.
In a recent deployment, NV3 installed a series of mall-based kiosks to present interactive information from Toyota. Customers at the kiosks encounter digital signage about the brand, and a touchscreen interface that allows them to contact Toyota and purchase products online. With customers held at the kiosks while their phones charge, Toyota is able to present deeper, more complex messages, and can conduct more sophisticated transactions than might be possible at a kiosk with nothing there to hold the client in place.
Calhoun says a series of upgrades will soon add more capability to the charging kiosks. The company is retrofitting charging hardware so that it can track the types of phones charged, the number of times a user returns to the kiosk and other demographic information that could paint a very precise market picture for phone manufacturers, advertisers and kiosk deployers.
How this new tracking information will affect future device-charging kiosk deployments remains to be seen — the technology is only just beginning to come online. But the expansion in possibilities offered by digital signage, interactive features and enhanced connectivity show that the once-simple device-charging kiosk is becoming a powerful, versatile tool in deployers’ arsenals.
Matt Cunningham is the editor of KioskMarketplace.com. To comment on this story, send comments to editor@digitalsignagetoday.com.
Mar/100
NV3 Technologies Featured on BMORE Media
A startup technology company that counts Toyota and United Airlines as clients is moving next month to Canton’s Emerging Technology Center. Business partners Ryan Doak and Scott Calhoun say they hope the move from their current office in Fells Point to the business incubator will give them the resources they need to grow NV3 Technologies LLC.
Feb/100
NUVO BECOMES NV3 TECHNOLOGIES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ray Weiss or Jessica Trzyna
443-451-7144 or rweiss@weissprassociates.com
NUVO BECOMES NV3 TECHNOLOGIES
New Name Reflects Focus on Charging Kiosks,
Digital Signage, Digital Information Displays
BALTIMORE, MD (2/24/10) — Baltimore-based Nuvo announced today that it has renamed itself NV3 Technologies.
“The new name reflects the fact that we are the only company that brings three key functions – cell phone charging kiosks, LCD screens for digital information displays (DID), and digital signage software – all under one roof,” explains NV3 Managing Partner Ryan Doak.
According to Doak, NV3’s charging kiosks are capable of charging 95% of all mobile phones in 15 minutes or less. “This can be a tremendous resource for hotels, convention centers, and airports, providing visitors with an alternative source of power that allows them to stay connected with clients, co-workers, or friends and family members,” he notes.
This is particularly important when you consider that smart phones can now host thousands of applications, each of which potentially represents another drain on the life of the device’s battery.
“The latest generation of iPhones has some users complaining that a full charge won’t last an entire day,” says Doak’s Business Partner Scott Calhoun. “Throw in watching videos or listening to MP3s, and invariably a user will be shut down when his charger is miles away at the home or office.”
This will become increasingly important as smart phones add even more apps and mobile operators move to implement a cross-industry standard for a universal charger. Last year, the mobile industry set a goal of making a universal charging solution available worldwide by 2012 – a goal that has already been accomplished in parts of Asia.
Beyond phone charging, NV3 kiosks can be used to carry dynamic multimedia messages and digital signage. This has proven to be particularly effective when used in hotels (for lobby wayfinding systems, room and event schedules, and guest check-ins); transit (for arrival/departure and weather/news displays, as well as ticketing, check-in, and wayfinding systems); restaurants (for electronic menu boards and self-service food ordering); and banks (for waiting area displays, product information, and transactional kiosks).
To celebrate its new products, NV3 Technologies has unveiled a new logo and website, both of which will be on full display when the company presents at the prestigious KioskCom and Digital Signage Conference, to be held in Las Vegas April 13-15.
For more information about NV3 Technologies, contact the company at 410-394-5500 or visit its website at www.NV3tech.com.