Jul/090
How can text marketing be used to promote your product or service?
A hair stylist sits in the salon awaiting the next appointment and they never show. A few days later the customer calls in and says I completely forgot about my appointment. Solution: Have the salon signup with a txt messaging system that will send out interactive reminders. The stylist can send a message to the customers and ask them to reply with A) I will be there. B) I need to reschedule
You can also begin grabbing unique info such as, hair color for targeting specific clientele to market a new product line.
This is also a great system for Doctor offices or any establishment that requires an appointment.
Promotions: We have implemented the system into a local bar called Bay Cafe that allows patrons to text-in and join the list to be notified of specials and current events. Radio Stations love the idea of texting for promotions as well.
TXT to Screen: So you want to get everyone involved. Our system will allow you to send a text displaying on a large LCD screen. View it as a large whiteboard fused with Twittering. Imagine digitally graffiti on the side of a building or any size projector screen, but easily removable. This is just one of the many apps that we offer in our digital signage software called Nuvo DS for short. Our platform is very similar to the Iphone. We can customize an application that is customer specific and pull it into our dashboard to be utilized with our online program. That app can then be loaded and display on any LCD screen in the world or a network of screens in one/several geographical area(s).
TV Stations: Does your local TV station want to do live polls. We can have people text-in and show the results in real time on live TV.
To see a short animation and/or signup, go to: www.nuvollc.com
Feb/090
Mobile Industry Unites to Drive Universal Charging Solution for Mobile Phones
17 February 2009, Barcelona, Spain
The GSMA and 17 leading mobile operators and manufacturers today announced that they are committed to implementing a cross-industry standard for a universal charger for new mobile phones. The aim of the initiative, led by the GSMA, is to ensure that the mobile industry adopts a common format for mobile phone charger connections and energy-efficient chargers resulting in an estimated 50 per cent reduction in standby energy consumption, the potential elimination of up to 51,000 tonnes of duplicate chargers1 and the enhancement of the customer experience by simplifying the charging of mobile phones.
The group has set an ambitious target that by 2012 a universal charging solution (UCS) will be widely available in the market worldwide and will use Micro-USB as the common universal charging interface. The group agreed that by the 1st January 2012, the majority of all new mobile phone models available will support a universal charging connector and the majority of chargers shipped will meet the high efficiency targets set out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform), the industry body who developed the technical requirements behind UCS.
“The mobile industry has a pivotal role to play in tackling environmental issues and this programme is an important step that could lead to huge savings in resources, not to mention convenience for consumers,” said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. “There is enormous potential in mobile to help people live and work in an eco-friendly way and with the backing of some or the biggest names in the industry, this initiative will lead the way.”
A universal charger will also make life much simpler for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for future handsets, as well as being able to charge their mobile phone anywhere from any available charger. UCS chargers will also include a 4-star2 or higher efficiency rating, which is up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger3. Furthermore, with potentially 50 per cent less chargers4 being manufactured each year, the industry can expect to reduce greenhouse gases in manufacturing and transporting replacement chargers by 13.6 to 21.8 million tonnes a year. To ensure the uptake of a universal charging solution, the operators and manufacturers who have partnered with the GSMA to launch this initiative are working alongside the OMTP to roll-out the new solution in order to meet the targets set for 2012. The initiative will also work with the wider operator and manufacturing communities to secure global participation and commitment as well as educate the industry and promote the benefits of a universal charger via a targeted marketing campaign.
The initial group of companies who have joined the GSMA’s UCS initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone – some of the world’s largest mobile operators and manufacturers who together are committed to making a universal charging solution a reality up to 2012 and beyond.
Feb/080
Picturing More Revenue, Reliability: Metro to Install Monitors With Ads, Information for Riders
| By Lena H. Sun |
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 15, 2008; Page B01
Metro plans to install large flat-screen video monitors to carry system information and advertising in rail cars, train stations, buses and bus shelters in an effort to improve customer communication and earn much-needed revenue, officials said yesterday.
The video screens would supplement the popular electronic display boards on train platforms and at station entrances, which list arrival times and elevator and escalator outages. The 65-inch LCD monitors would show not only train arrival times, but also the time, weather and news. About two-thirds of the screen would be devoted to advertising.
But during major service disruptions, there would be no advertising. The screens would provide riders with real-time information about which rail lines are running, display shuttle bus locations, and give station-specific information about where to catch a bus or how to get to a nearby station.
Poor communication during major incidents is one of riders’ biggest complaints. They often are frustrated and confused because station and train operator announcements are hard to hear and difficult to understand and because employees on the platforms often don’t provide riders with enough information about where they should go.
A Metro board committee voted 7 to 1 to approve a request to solicit proposals, which will probably happen next month. If Metro awards a 10-year contract this summer for the system, dubbed the Metro Channel, officials anticipate the first pilot screens with more passenger information would be installed by the end of the year. Screens with advertising would not begin use until the end of 2010; the entire project, installation of 3,000 to 5,000 digital signs throughout the bus and rail systems, would take four to six years.
The proposal is designed for a contractor to cover all costs, including the screens, technology and installation, officials said. Metro projects it could bring in $16 million to $178 million during the length of the contract.
Metro receives $35 million from static advertising: the posters and banners in trains, stations and buses. That contract, with CBS Outdoor, expires in 2010. The company that wins the contract for the video advertising would also be responsible for selling static ads, officials said.
One key issue that emerged yesterday involved whether the new monitors would have audio.
Some disabled riders want audio, said Suzanne Peck, Metro’s technology chief, who heads part of the project.
But board members said they weren’t sure that most riders want more sound.
“I can always turn my head” to avoid looking at advertising, said board member Christopher Zimmerman, who represents Virginia. “But sound is imposed upon me. It’s hard enough now to hear the station announcements.”
Peck said potential contractors will be required to provide a no-sound option. She said features exist that allow people to push a button or use a wireless device to trigger sound. The decision on whether the screens will have sound will be up to the board, she said.
Board member Jim Graham, who represents the District and cast the dissenting vote, said he was more troubled by the larger issue of how much advertising should be in the Metrorail system. As he watched a demonstration that showed train arrival times on one part of a screen and a movie preview for “Terminator 2″ on another section, Graham said he was disturbed by the movie scenes of “skulls and people’s heads going through glass.” He said it was not appropriate for Metro, which was designed as a kind of “urban cathedral” that would give riders a sense of “awe and appreciation.”
Board member Catherine Hudgins, who also represents Virginia, said she appreciated the desire to maintain design purity. But Metro needs the revenue, she said. The largest fare and fee increase in the agency’s history began last month, and many riders have said they want Metro to maximize revenue from all sources, including advertising.
Jan/080
Can power supplies catch up with requirements for sophisticated, feature-rich mobile devices?
By Craig Kuhl
Wireless Week January 01, 2008
The good news? The demand for thinner, smaller, fully loaded handsets with backlighting, video, 3G technology and a host of features is surging. The bad news? These power-hungry devices are driving the need for more efficient batteries and other forms of power production and management. And there is no clear-cut solution.
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Dueber: Consumers |
“The quest for more power for mobile devices is insatiable and will continue to be an issue with each new capability,” says Ross Dueber, president and CEO of ZPower, a developer of rechargeable silver-zinc batteries for mobile applications.
“Smartphones, 3G technologies and new content using Wi-Fi and WiMAX will dictate power consumption on handsets, which will certainly go up. That’s the way the world is moving,” Dueber says.
And the number of smartphones, cameraphones and multifunctional mobile devices just keeps growing, according to a recent IMS Research study, which predicts the smartphone segment will represent 25% of the total mobile phone market by 2012, with more than 1.5 billion being sold.
NO SILVER BULLET
“Handset manufacturers now realize people will be enamored with new, cool phones. But it doesn’t take long for customers to figure out the battery life is short,” says In-Stat Research’s Allen Nogee. “The word will get out, and carriers and manufacturers are cognizant of that. And with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, video, backlights all using more power, it’s a significant issue,” Nogee says.
Significant enough for handset manufacturers such as Motorola to deepen and widen its exploration of new battery and power production technologies and strategies.
“People are using mobile devices more hours. We’re trying to figure out how to get more capacity, but there’s no silver bullet. We get about a 5% increase in capacity each year, and we’re looking for new technologies, but they’re not in sight,” says Jerry Hallmark, manager of energy system technologies for Motorola’s Mobile Devices Group.
Motorola, along with a growing number of handset manufacturers and their supporting cast of power source providers, are looking at both methanol and hydrogen fuel cells, and next-generation iterations of lithium batteries to power the onslaught of multifunctional devices.
“The No. 1 customer complaint is battery life. Now, with e-mail, Internet, music and other features, it’s very significant for smartphones,” Hallmark says. “We’re also working on portable chargers to get longer battery life, and harvesting energy in the field, like solar, and looking at charging kiosks and fuel cells. And, we’re spending at least as much effort on reducing the power draw. But each requires a different type of conversation,” he says.
POWER MANAGEMENT
One key conversation that must take place is power management, says Gerry Purdy, vice president and chief analyst of mobile wireless for the research firm Frost & Sullivan.
“They must get smart about power management. That’s the mechanism we’ll see longer term. The solution is not with nuclear batteries, but with finding new, organic displays with less power consumption. People want thinness, but new technologies are based on lithium. However, people are already making those unconscious tradeoffs of features versus battery life, so today’s technologies are good enough. But we should think about being innovative on powering, not just batteries,” says Purdy.
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Kahn: Need to ensure |
Part of the management equation is recharging batteries, a strategy which is gaining momentum among handset manufacturers as part of a holistic approach to powering next-generation mobile devices. “If new battery technology increases life by 10%, that’s great. But there are other developing technologies to better charge the battery, like a charging pad using magnetic radiation. Phones are now using Bluetooth, and also communicating with headsets, so more power is needed. We want to ensure at least one day of talk,” says Muzib Khan, Samsung’s vice president of product management and engineering.
But with customer expectations for state-of-the-art and compact devices, the power solution has to remain in lock-step with that overall design. “The design process is now a powering process, and the bar is going up with smartphones, PDAs, lots of data, voice, always-on and browsing. We have to account for higher battery usage and charging phones. It’s a holistic thing,” Khan adds.
Designing slimmer, multifunctional handhelds that can house more power is a challenge, especially for power source providers such as Camarillo, Calif.-based Semtech Corporation. “We’re being asked to optimize efficiency and burn as little battery current as possible with functions such as backlighting, which really burns current. So, design has started to take a more central role. The maximum size of our chip is one-half millimeter, half of what it used to be, and you can stack them to make other features possible. But it’s still like fitting a size 10 foot into a size 4 shoe,” says Tom Karpus, Semtech’s director of handheld systems and applications engineering.
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Bradner: Fuel cells |
TECHNOLOGY LIMITATIONS
The move to more efficient lithium-type batteries, some experts say, is one solution to the growing mobile device powering issue. “In time, the move from lithium-ion to lithium polymer solutions will improve, and we’re being asked to do more in that area. But we’re watching the trends with devices like smartphones and working on external battery packs for mobiles and smartphones, along with rechargeable solutions and other products like solar, which can’t power a device by itself so must charge from another power source,” says Andrew Bradner, product line manager for American Power Conversion.
Fuel cells also are on the drawing board, but they have been there for years, admits Bradner. “We haven’t seen a commercially viable solution yet that will fit into the form factor of today’s handhelds.”
The buzz in the mobile device powering community, he notes, is in contactless charging stations and power management. “The buzz is not with new power sources, but how convenient can you charge batteries. There are some battery cells capable of rapidly charging a battery up to 80% capacity. The question is how to get standardization in the device community. Some have agreed to standardize their charging ports, but they’re struggling with that because they all want an edge.”
Just who gets that edge is likely to be determined by innovative new technologies and strategies that can combine design, space and power. “We don’t want batteries to drive the overall form factor of mobile devices, or limit the capabilities because of battery size, even though it’s a key part of the device,” says Dueber. “It’s about how much space do I have and how much energy do I need. There’s no getting around that. And energy strategies for the new mobile devices are dictated by fundamental laws of science. So we must be efficient with what we’ve got. And we’re doing better with that,” he says.