Payday for the Virtual Wallet?

May 29, 2013
The stars are aligning for the mobile wallet after several years of market stumbles. Despite lingering concerns about security, screen size and ease of use, industry experts see consumers showing keen interest in mobile payments as retailers, phone companies, financial institutions and tech firms begin to introduce them around the country.   There are reasons to be optimistic about the virtual wallet replacing the actual physical wallet in the not-too-distant future. Although mobile payments represent a tiny fraction of the overall consumer market for credit transactions today, they are expected to start taking off this year given the ubiquity of mobile devices, the surging...

Video and M2M Spur Global Expansion

May 24, 2013
If you like data about data, you’re in luck. If you think there’s enough capacity for broadband video, you better start thinking in yottabytes (a trillion trillion bytes, or in geek-speak: 1024)—and even that may not be enough to quench the demand for internet video and other services in the decade ahead.  Within the next five years, about two-thirds of all Internet capacity will be used for video, underscoring the rapid deployment of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and other Internet-accessible video delivered via tablets, smartphones, IPTV set-top boxes and game consoles.   Cisco System’s latest Visual Networking Index (VNI) focuses on the continuing...

How 3D Printing is Changing Everything

May 15, 2013
When Dave Lee first learned about 3D printing, he knew exactly how he wanted to use it. The founder of Signal Snowboards created the world’s first fully functional, 3D-printed snowboard. Using the Objet Connex500 3D printer, Signal, based in Huntington Beach, Calif., produced the parts needed to assemble the full-size snowboard with carbon powder and resin. Lee even posted a video about the process (from loading carbon powder into the printer to snowboarding on his new board in Colorado) on YouTube. “Until now, snowboards have been made within the limits of traditional manufacturing,” says...

NFC: It doesn’t always pay to be first

May 01, 2013
Industry experts originally expected near field communication (NFC) technology, which enables consumers to simply wave or swipe their smartphones, tablets or other Web-connected devices over a special reader without needing to touch it, to take the mobile wallet market by storm. They pointed to the technology’s ease of use and its backing by major players including AT&T, Google, Nokia, Philips, T-Mobile and Verizon. Yet that hasn’t proven to be the case for a number of reasons, including delays in developing the NFC technical standards, the reluctance of some equipment makers to embed pricey NFC chips in their new phone models, merchants’ concerns about...

Internet Radio on the Upswing

March 22, 2013
A recent Gartner study found that Internet radio is becoming more popular as an entertainment source and is now on par with satellite radio and HD radio.   According to Gartner, more than one third of U.S. vehicle owners are likely to want Internet radio in their next new vehicle. “This is a significant accomplishment, considering that Internet radio is a relatively new radio option for drivers,” says Gartner Vice President and Analyst Thilo Koslowski. In this instance, he adds, Internet radio encompasses apps such as Pandora and Aha that stream only Internet-based audio as well as those like TuneIn and Sirius XM’s mobile app which simulcast live radio station...

Integrating Digital Audio in Cars

March 22, 2013
The 2013 International CES® featured a record number of automakers showing the latest in-vehicle technologies, as well as a wide range of digital audio apps—including Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio and Aha—tightly integrated into in-dash “infotainment” systems.   It was evidence, industry insiders say, that digital audio app integration in cars is an accelerating trend propelled by consumer demand for entertainment choices beyond traditional radio during drive times. But while many automakers are integrating a similar selection of digital audio apps, the way they’re doing so is not always the same—and automakers and their...

Who’s Who in the UltraViolet World

March 22, 2013
Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) is a Hollywood-funded non-profit organization that promotes home entertainment products on digital and physical platforms. Its members include studios, CE makers, networks and technology providers. DEG is coordinating the promotion campaign for UltraViolet.  Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), which focuses on technology standards development and system integration, is a consortium of studios, CE and network hardware makers, retailers and system integrators as well as copyright protection suppliers. It created and manages the back-end system for the UltraViolet digital distribution.  Consumer electronics manufacturers: LG...

UltraViolet: This Time it’s About Distribution, Not Just Display

March 22, 2013
Like Norma Desmond, UltraViolet is ready for its close-up. But unlike Gloria Swanson’s character in the legendary 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, UltraViolet technology has not disappeared into Hollywood obscurity. After nearly six years evolving into a digital distribution solution, UltraViolet is fully in the spotlight, thanks to an escalating promotional campaign that encompasses makers of smart TVs and Blu-ray disc players, entertainment retailers (both brick-and-mortar and online dealers) and most major Hollywood studios.  All of the participants—including hordes of behind-the-scenes technology developers—expect that this year’s campaign will quickly boost...

Fair Game

March 22, 2013
At the 2013 International CES® in Las Vegas, video games were everywhere. That’s nothing new, but what is changing is that gaming is no longer relegated to the big three of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. While these companies are still at the forefront of traditional console and portable gaming, the industry is rapidly evolving. The number of gamers is growing exponentially and becoming more of a mainstream demographic thanks to the explosion of tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, notebooks and connected devices. “The reality is that we have a whole new bigger, broader market for gaming that didn...
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