New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
New tools like laptops, tablets, smartphone, and wireless connectivity let us work from San Diego to Katmandu, and anywhere in between. But time management remains a problem.
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
By 2015, according to ABI Research, seven out of every ten smartphones will support the emerging 802.11ac standard, allowing users to stream HD video and support other high-bandwidth mobile apps.
The growth of big-data, the BYOD phenomenon, and the popularity of social media all present challenges to the notion of defending the security perimeter.
The iPad Mini is the latest iteration of the exploding tablet category. Because most tablets are WiFi-only, they create a new kind of mobile network. The problem is that we don't have issues like roaming and security defined for this new world.
The FBI recently issued a warning to smartphone users, highlighting two mobile malware applications: Loozfan, which steals personal information, and FinFisher, which is spyware that takes over a smartphone's functions.
Now apparently the mobile platform of choice, the Apple iPhone has benefited from its sound understanding of human factors and ergonomics – but is this reputation threatened by a looming avalanche of advertising?
Intel's numbers say the PC is at risk, and Microsoft's Windows 8 interface is an attempt to make Windows relevant in the tablet age. But Microsoft could be betting too much. A dramatic transformation to cloud-and-appliance would mean a big change for our industry.
When whole departments do BYOD and consumerization, it's a threat to IT and the whole organization. It's also an emerging business technology cliché you'll be sick of soon enough.
Marissa Mayer at Yahoo has come out with her strategy on turning the company around: culture, company, calibration, and compensation. But Yahoo needs to have a technical approach to the mobile cloud opportunity, not a management theory lesson.
Twitter's changes are clearly aimed at being more Facebook-like, and this is because both companies are vying to serve the mobile social network market. But can that market work for anybody, given how difficult it is to push ads to social-update readers?
The bring-your-own-device approach isn’t suited to monitoring of enterprise equipment and processes. In these cases, it is up to IT to come forward with gear suited to the task.
Apple is falling further behind in the smartphone space but it looks as if Google is falling behind in the tablet world, and that may be the most important device in the mobile market. But there's still time for Google to catch up.
Internet evolution has been stagnating both conceptually and in business model terms, and what is likely to bring us out of that is the concept of software-defined networking, not as it is today but in the form it will become.
Japan and South Korea have a significant lead in terms of embracing mobile advertising. But eMarketer expects the US to become the world's top market for this space by the end of this year
Netflix seemed to be a threat to all of TV, but with the current quarterly earnings report, it sure doesn't look as if that's true now. Netflix really proves that even Internet viewing of video isn't immune to profit and other business issues. This is a lesson we need to learn if we want a viable online video model.
The Amazon smartphone rumor and the Apple mini-iPad rumor show that the mobile device giants think they have to be in all the device spaces to win. Why? Because the cloud can create an ecosystem where every device can cooperate to support the user, and if you don't supply all the devices you miss out on the total value.
Tired of having to sift through a series of complex screens and enter a variety of passwords when you use a WiFi hotspot? Well, those steps are no longer necessary. The WiFi Alliance has developed HotSpot 2.0 certification, which automatically connects compliant devices to local access points.
Mozilla's Firefox OS could be a major advance in building smartphones and tablets with a more cloud-friendly and open interface, but there are still questions of performance and security that will have to be managed.
Nicole and Kim have heard the news that Google's new mobile OS, "Jelly Bean," has a voice assistant that's poised to defeat their precious Siri. It's time for another test!
Elizabeth Pizzinato, SVP of marketing and communications at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, calls content marketing "the new black" and explains how her brand engages its target audience.
Jeff Mirman, vice president of marketing at Turner Sports, discusses how his company turns fans and followers into engaged brand advocates through social media.
Linda Descano, President and CEO of Women & Co., and managing director of partnerships and branded content of North America marketing at Citi, explains her firm's marketing opportunities and challenges.
Verizon's one-data-plan-for-all-devices could revolutionize mobile data by making it practical to have multiple devices share a plan, and thus encourage users to cellular-equip all their portable appliances.
With the advent of low-cost Web cameras and broadband network connections, home security systems have become a hot business. In addition to traditional security suppliers, like ADT, the market is attracting telcos, cable companies, and energy providers, thereby creating an area of increasing competition.
Watching TV is not healthy for you, according to conventional wisdom. Well, that may soon change. Comcast and United Healthcare are now delivering diabetes prevention videos on-demand to high-risk patients. The partnership illustrates how healthcare may be delivered in the future.
Self-driving cars are being tested in Nevada, but can this technology work optimally without Internet integration, and can we offer integration without improving security considerably? In fact, all M2M is a potential risk until security is tightened.
After a long run of significant growth, cellphone sales dipped by more than 1 percent this quarter, according to market research firm International Data Corp. The change will have a significant impact on vendors, such as Nokia and RIM, who have struggled recently.
Why are we hearing so much about WiFi roaming when what most users say they want is simply automatic registration and re-registration when they move into a hotspot? It may be because carriers want tablets to be made cellular-ready, to make it easier for someone to move from WiFi-only to 3G/4G.
Healthcare IT faces an array of challenges and changes in the next three to five years, says the CIO of The Ottawa Hospital. Mobility will play a role in healthcare in a big way.
Apple's newest commercial features actress Zooey Deschanel having her requests for weather, soup, and music easily fulfilled by Siri. Nicole and Kim are putting those same questions to the test.
The amount of data traffic running over US wireless networks grew 123 percent from 2010 (388 billion MB) to 2011 (866.7 billion MB), according to the CTIA. Carriers have tried to prepare for the change by moving from 3G to 4G networks. But with data rates increasing so rapidly, will there be enough bandwidth to meet future demand? Doubtful!
The Murdoch/News International scandal has all the elements of the digital age, from phone-hacking through embarrassing emails to agile digital reporting.
Apple's numbers show that it may be giving Microsoft an opportunity to gain ground in tablets by failing to cement Mac, iPhone, and iPad lines together with an effective cloud strategy.
For the frazzled, hurried consumer, waiting in line has become a major bugaboo. A survey by Great Clips has found that 94 percent will wait less than 10 minutes to check out at a store. Self-check-in has become popular among airlines and is now making its way into the retail marketplace. Using smartphones, consumers can order items and pick them up, cutting down on their wait time.
There are reports out there that say LTE providers want to throttle their services to protect wireline broadband. This, with Verizon dropping naked DSL? This, with LTE requiring as much deep fiber as wireline? Think again!
Cellphone suppliers are constantly on the lookout for ways to differentiate their wares. Nokia may be at the head of the pack when it comes to wearable devices. The company has been working on technology that notifies individuals when a call comes in by creating a tingling sensation… on their tattoos.
To date, smartphone apps have only been able to work with 50Meg chunks of information. Well, recent technical advances have been able to boost that number to 4Gbytes. Consequently, developers will be able to work with more complex data types. But will wireless networks be able to handle the additional traffic?
A combination of an announcement by DT and a Pew survey is showing us what the next-gen Internet may look like, and why. The demand for flexible services, created by rewired, iPhoned, social brains, combines with cloud and optical technology to create something totally new!
Ever get that feeling where you don’t want to go to the office but have physical tasks that need to be done there? Well, help is on the way. Japanese researchers have developed Telesar V, a robot that can function in the place of a person. Unlike other virtual connections, this one comes with a 3D body suit, so the bot can mimic your motions and you can stay home.
The new iPad may not have an official name, but its mission is to make an appliance/cloud combo as good as a desktop. The question is whether the business model of wireless broadband can keep up with the technology capabilities of Apple.
David Bartlett, a.k.a. the "Building Whisperer," explains how complex organizations are microcosms of cities, and why it's everyone's job to become more efficient and, therefore, "smarter."
Google is reportedly working on a pair of Android glasses that will use a low-resolution built-in camera to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings, and friends who might be nearby. Interested?
Nicole and Kim (and their respective accents) request things of Siri, the iPhone 4S virtual assistant, to see what she's capable of. The result? Not much.
We think Amazon's Kindle Fire is pushing Apple to a smaller iPad format. But Sony's Vita and the interest in a small device for portable gaming may create the real threat. Keep your eye on the tablet-gaming space!
The Internet has changed the way that companies market products. Now "Likes" and thumbs up carry a lot of weight. So perhaps it's not surprising that a black market technique has emerged whereby some Websites offer to boost ratings in exchange for cash.
As it turns out, Nicole wasn't alone in thinking that TwitterPeek – the $300 single-purpose device just for Tweeting – was the most useless device to ever be released.
Malware designed to infect Google Android smartphones has increased dramatically, and now the government is stepping in. The National Security Agency has developed SE Android, a system that tries to close up its security holes.
The drive to stream TV directly to HD sets, to tablets, or to PCs in the home may create a broader demand for streaming, and this could create a major new source of traffic pressure on mobile networks, mobile pricing, and mobile service policies.
As smartphones and tablets forge into the mainstream, vendors can begin work on the next big wave: wearable devices. Apple and Google are two of the heavyweights reportedly investing time, effort, and money here. This broad category spans the range from devices that can be worn like watches to computers integrated with people's clothing.
Forget superFi. The real development in wireless is Florida-Fi! Bright House, a cable company in Florida, wants to wire the state for WiFi and help create a federation of cable players that could offer tablet owners a whole new way of getting online.
Increasingly, individuals are taking to their cellphones and tapping out messages to friends and business cohorts. But a study by the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business found that when people text, they are much more likely to lie than when they use other communication options.
If RIM has fallen behind, and Microsoft was never there, smartphone-wise, who's keeping them in the game? The mobile operators! Why? Because mobile operators don't want a few giant handsets controlling their destiny.
The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Monaco kicked into high gear today, and we've already begun to see news emerging from that lovely city-state by the sea.
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