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Convergence in Mobile Devices Drives Travel Technology Adoption and Innovation
Consumer Electronics Evolve to Meet Needs for Portability and
Relevant Real-Time Information for Travelers
As consumer behavior has evolved into a mobile lifestyle, the
face of consumer electronics has shifted. Adapting to a wireless
world has led the industry to innovations that cater to the
needs for compact and portable products, but also to the
convergence of multiple technologies to address society's
on-the-go demands. Access to relevant and mobile real-time
information and transportability has impacted the evolution of
design and the degree of product appropriateness, benefiting
today's traveler in business and in leisure.
Norman L. Rose, President of Travel Tech Consulting and Analyst
for Phocuswright, a travel research firm explains, "The new
world of the always-connected mobile traveler is arriving faster
than the industry can adapt. New applications such as location
based services (LBS) will become a key differentiator for the
frequent traveler and should be considered enhancements to
existing customer service initiatives. We are moving away from
the view of mobile technology as the next "cool" thing to an
understanding that wireless communication is an essential part
of the new travel process."
Real-Time Information and Communication: Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) has become a feature in demand by travelers that
through recent innovations has become a mainstream reality. Jim
Schwabe, General Manager of Accessories for Palm (NASDAQ: PALM)
explains, "One of the biggest changes that has happened in the
past couple of years is the ability to implement formally
complex solutions like GPS on a handheld or smartphone. We offer
a GPS kit for our Treo smartphones that gives you all the maps
of the United States and Canada, and turns your phone or
handheld into a complete navigation solution. What is driving
the success at this point is that it has reached critical mass
in a more easy to use solution. The most important aspect is the
ease of use for the person who needs to get from place to place."
Taking the need for real-time information further, Palm also
offers a software application Traffic for Treo™ smartphones that
utilizes the road sensors and shows the speed that the traffic
is moving on the major highways. "You can bookmark regular
intersections and this will tell you how fast traffic is flowing
and it also reports all incidents, collisions and construction
along roads," describes Schwabe.
Focused on improving the ease-of-use and reliability of GPS is
Garmin International's (NASDAQ: GRMN) nvi product, which
provides users with a new highly sensitive GPS receiver that is
capable of picking up a signal in areas where they may be
obstructions such as tree coverage or skyscrapers, with an
assortment of additional travel features. The nvi also combines
their turn-by-turn, voice-prompted GPS offering with a real-time
traffic interface, language translator, travel books, MP3
player, an audio book player, a photo viewer and a National
GEO-coded coupon book. Driving the popularity of this device is
not only the functionality, but also the desirable size of the
product as Jessica Myers, Senior Media Relations Specialist for
Garmin explains, "The nvi's size is one of the many reasons
consumers find it appealing. It's comparable to a deck of cards
-- very compact and easy to carry."
AskMeNow (OTCBB: OWHC) looks to answer the needs of the traveler
for on-the-go information by enabling subscribers to simply call
or text message any question from a mobile telephone or handheld
device to receive the information requested in moments. Basic
questions are answered for free, while free form AskMeAnything
questions are answered for a small automated fee of .49 cents,
which is billed to their monthly cellular bill.
Darryl Cohen, CEO of AskMeNow describes, "I think that our
service is extremely relevant to the traveler as we are unique
in our ability to offer users the AskMeAnything feature, which
opens things up to a diverse range of questions providing our
customers with access to more information to help them on their
way. You can feel a comfort level with us that when we give you
information we are using good sources and when you are asking
for distinctive information such as places for cheap gas,
parking garage locations or even where an affordable family
restaurant may be, that we can actually get that information for
you. It goes beyond providing the standard options to obtain
generic information, we allow travelers to ask unique and
specific questions relevant to their personal travel needs."
Real-time video communication has grown in popularity through
companies such as Logitech International (NASDAQ: LOGI), through
innovative and portable web cam products. The Company's new
Quickcam® for Notebooks Pro, which has a 1.3 mega pixel sensor,
has technology and bundled software that helps to provide higher
quality images in low light conditions such as hotel rooms. The
camera comes equipped with a built in microphone with echo
cancellation.
The growth of video communication is attributed in large part to
the popularity and improvements surrounding MSN Messenger and
Skype that have consumers comfortable with voice and video
calling through simple to use software. Complementing this is
the widespread availability of High Speed Internet in the home
and on the road, which has made this a viable option for
communication.
Karen Hoskins, a company spokesperson explains, "MSN came out
with Video Conversation recently, which is synchronized audio
and video calling software built into their latest MSN Messenger
client. Logitech provides the technology that synchronizes the
audio and video streams and operates the servers that support
Video Conversation. It really makes it easy for people who are
already using MSN Messenger to now do video calling.
"In addition, Skype recently put video into their client. We are
seeing more and more of this happening. And with the onset of
broadband in more homes it has become a more viable solution for
people to use voice and video when they are doing their calling.
Because they are putting the video into something that people
are already comfortable with, it makes it a lot easier for
consumers. Video calling then becomes a simple extension from
what they are already confident in using."
A common theme driving adoption across a variety of product
types is ease of use and relevance to traveler's needs.
According to Norman Rose, "To be effective, the platform must
use personalization techniques and rich user interfaces to
simplify the process and provide added value to the user.
Information must be relevant to users based on their specific
needs at the time and at their specific location. The key to
making this information more situation appropriate is to also
combine the location and personal preferences of users to filter
the information based on their specific situational and personal
requirements."
Portable Entertainment: As digital entertainment has become an
important part of normal life, when consumers travel this demand
for stimulation does not appear to subside. Sling Media's
Slingbox™ can be connected to whatever TV service you have in
your home, whether that be digital cable, regular cable, rabbit
ear antenna setup, DVD changer, TIVO etc., and allows for remote
viewing access. Jeremy Toeman VP of Market Development
Management explains, "The Slingbox stays at home, it is always
on and it is always delivering you your live TV feed to wherever
you are anywhere in the world, accessed remotely through any
device with Internet connection whether that is a laptop or a
handheld device such as a phone or PDA. Business travelers, who
find themselves in unfamiliar environments for extended periods
of time, welcome the opportunity to tap into a bit of home
through the Slingbox."
Driving the popularity for this type of product according to
Toeman is the large percentage of homes with access to High
Speed Internet creating the necessary network, in addition to
laptops outselling desktops supporting the movement by consumers
to a mobile lifestyle. "Internet connections are more available
and accessible, combined with Microsoft and other companies
leading the charge of making video compression technologies work
such that you can stream at low enough bandwidth effectively,"
adds Toeman.
Moving from in-the-vehicle to on-the-person are XM2go radios
(NASDAQ: XMSR), which are the first and only portable satellite
radios that capable of live reception. These devices provide
access to XM's 160 channels live, with approximately 5 hours of
programming; helpful in areas where radio reception is not
available. These portable radios also have a built in FM
transmitter that can beam the XM radio content to an FM
frequency allowing travelers to use even their hotel clock radio
to listen. This month, the Company unveiled the next-generation
XM2go radios, which play MP3 music files in addition to live XM.
The timing appears right for the XM2go devices according to XM
Radio spokesman David Butler who states, "The popularity of XM
radio is a combination of high-quality programming and
technological innovation. XM offers more entertainment than has
ever been made available before on radio. When you combine this
variety of programming with the cutting edge technology that XM
offers and the desire among consumers for portable convenient
products, it is easy to see why XM is one of the fastest growing
audio products available."
Coby Electronics Corporation, a manufacturer of portable DVDs,
innovates for different lifestyles with slim, sleek, colorful
models, and compact sizes. Robert Gee, Vice President of
Marketing, describes the applicability of Coby's products,
"Consumers are always on the go and products that can fit that
dynamic will make a lot of sense to travelers, families etc. For
example, these products make a lot of sense for families
traveling with kids as a portable means of keeping them
entertained."
Convergence of Technology: As consumer demands for mobility
increase, the drive for convergence of technology has escalated
to suit this trend towards portability. Companies, through
innovation, have created products suited for travel that
eliminate the need to carry multiple devices by providing
all-in-one solutions.
"The nvi combines combines several different technologies into
one device. It helps simplify travel by eliminating the need to
carry maps, travel books, coupons, etc. Now a traveler has
everything they need in one slim, sleek device that they can
easily carry in their pocket," states Myers.
As described by Darryl Cohen, "Due to the convergence of
technology, cell phones and portable devices have become much
more functional and easier to use. At AskMeNow because people
have become adept at using small non-qwerty keyboards through
the popularity of text messaging and SMS, there is a simple
transition to utilizing our service to obtain relevant answers
to specific questions."
Companies continue to evolve their products through convergence
to meet the growing consumer and traveler expectations. David
Butler explains, "We are introducing the next generation of XM
to go radios this spring. These will have the added feature of
being able to store and play MP3 music files and will have the
capability of storing up to 50 hours of XM content verses the 5
hours that the current models allow. Also when you hear a song
that you like on XM you can bookmark it and hook the device up
to your computer and it will find that song in the Napster
library for you to download a permanent copy of the song. So
there is a new convergence; not only does it allow you to
combine XM with MP3, but it also allows you to buy the songs you
hear on XM seamlessly from Napster."
"At Coby, we are trying to address consumer needs through our
features as users are looking for multi-purpose products that
converge technologies into one unit that is easy to use and fit
into their environment," stated Gee.
As the consumer electronics industry continues to evolve and
converge technology to meet the demands of travelers and
consumers, it appears that innovation will progressively lead to
smaller, more powerful and more functional devices and
applications to satisfy user needs while away from home and work.
Ann-Marie Fleming Ann-Marie Fleming completed her MBA in the
United States, where she attended Webster University. She also
holds an Honors B.A from the University of Toronto. She has over
fifteen years of experience within the financial industry to
include retail banking and brokerage, investment banking, and
mortgage brokerage within the United States and Canada, with a
firm background in corporate research. Disclaimer:
www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp,
About the author:
Ann-Marie Fleming completed her MBA in the United States, where
she attended Webster University. She also holds an Honors B.A
from the University of Toronto. She has over fifteen years of
experience within the financial industry to include retail
banking and brokerage, investment banking, and mortgage
brokerage within the United States and Canada, with a firm
background in corporate research.