Product innovation in the smart device and enterprise mobility fields occurs at a breakneck pace; time to catch up on some of the latest technologies on offer.
OK, all of you gadget freaks out there. Listen to this. Last week I had, like, a really cool “digital experience” at a gathering of some 70 tech companies at a place called the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th Street in New York City.
I, like, attend these gatherings, organized by an events company called Pepcom, from time to time to, like, check out what’s new and interesting in what is mostly, like, the consumer tech world. Most of the software products, audio and visual products, and electronic devices might not be used directly on the factory floor, but many are sure to be used for personal productivity applications and for, like, pure fun.
OK, enough of that! The “like” is out of my system. So, in a more serious vein, many of the companies at the event, perhaps not surprisingly, were showing add-on and enhancement products for the Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as personal mobility products, devices for social media engagement, and even IT-related devices such as network-attached, or wireless, storage products.
Here’s a sampling of some of the stuff I saw:
- ooVoo. The name of both the product and the New York-based company that makes it, ooVoo (the name is supposed to reflect two pairs of eyes on either side of the “V,” as in video) is a cloud-based video chat service that enables you to conduct chat calls with up to six people at a time. The service supports PC or Apple systems. ooVoo just announced the availability of a free video chat service for up to three users on the iOS platform for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices. The service is priced at $9.95 a month for the six-user version.
- Looxcie. Described as a wearable, mobile-connected “social” video camcorder, Looxcie (also both the name of the product and the company that makes it) is worn on your ear, allowing for hands-free video recording. An “instant clip button” automatically rewinds, captures, and saves video that can be uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube via a smartphone. On June 6, the company introduced Looxcie 2, demonstrated at the conference, which can be worn on the ear, on helmets, or caps. A version with 10 hours of video storage is priced at $199.99, and a version with five hours is $179.99.
- Snap for TV. This is an application that allows photos from 16 social media and storage sites including Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, and others to be viewed and slide shows to be created on an Internet-connected television. The Snap for TV application, from a Princeton, N.J.-based company called Exclaim Mobility Inc., can be downloaded through Yahoo! Connected TV.
- PocketCloud. Designed for smartphones and tablets, PocketCloud is a client-side application that allows IT administrators and end-users to access their PC and virtual desktops remotely on the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Last week, Wyse Technology, the developer of PocketCloud, announced version 2.1, which now has a “tablet-optimized” interface as well as the addition of a number of services that were part of a premium version of the product. Wyse also said today that downloads of PocketCloud have now passed the 1 million mark across the Apple iOS and Android platforms.
As I mentioned earlier, there were also a number of wireless storage products demonstrated at the event. One of them was Hitachi’s G-Connect product, the first in a family of wireless storage devices for the iPad and iPhone. G-Connect, with 500 GB of storage, will be available next month for $199.99.
The above is just a sampling of what was on display. It’s pretty clear that Apple’s iPad and iPhone are far more than just interesting products. They are whole markets, with sub-markets, in and of themselves. The same is true for mobility. This is not just a trend; it’s, like, a revolution in behavior.
Uh, oh. There I, like, go again.
