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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) nüvi
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 nüvi 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 nüvi’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 nüvi 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,
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