Geo-fencing is a hot technology, especially in the home, and Apple’s new patent indicates that it has no intentions of ignoring the trend. The patent describes a home automation system powered by location data fed from Apple’s mobile devices, as well as additional integrated peripherals like credit cards and RFID badges. With this many sensors contributing, it becomes possible to create extremely detailed inferences of not only where a person is at any time, but what they’re doing, or even who they’re with. With this powerful information, Apple’s system goes beyond home automation, and incorporates another hot trend: anticipatory computing. Should the system be easily implemented (which is usually a strong suit of Apple products), it could be a boon for both trend areas, and inspire further innovations for each.
Category: Percolate
BitTorrent Sync Launches API and iPad App
BitTorrent Sync is a cross-platform way of sharing files without using the cloud. Currently, it’s in beta with over 1 million users, and is just now settling into its life as a mobile app as well. It works through QR codes to set up a secure connection between two devices to transfer data, and is trying to build its interface out with mobile apps and an API to develop external apps that utilize the file transfer system, in the hopes that it can compete with the likes of Dropbox. It’s a bold move to monetize and publicize a platform that – even with its noble attempts to create an open system of sharing – is still associated with torrenting as piracy, and speaks to the larger trend of file sharing as common medium of legal exchange.
Google Helpouts Sells Expert Advice Over Video Chat
Playing off of their similarly-named chatting service ‘Hangouts,’ Google announced a product called Helpouts, which is a video-based, online ecosystem of, well, helping out other individuals. Users can pay for the expert advice of professionals in the fields that people want help in, on a one-on-one basis. Partners include Sephora, Kitchit, and HomeAdvisor. It plays into notions of the shared economy and the DIY movement, but through a paywall. For a company like Google this service isn’t that big of a step forward in a purely technological sense, but it could mean genuine help and success for those working on projects in their own homes, while also encouraging Google users to step out of their comfort zones with more confidence.
iTunes Radio Updated Statistics
iTunes radio has continued to brag about its performance since its launch. In slightly overlooked news, Tim Cook said that Apple’s streaming service has over 20 million listeners, who have listened to over 1 billion songs thus far. Though the service is only available in the U.S., the numbers are indicative of the fact that listeners want to be able to access their music across multiple platforms, digitally, wherever and whenever they want. Between the success of Spotify, iTunes Radio, and Rdio, among others like GrooveShark, it’s clear that music listeners prefer this type of listening experience.
L’Oreal Targets Makeup Based On Your Outfit
We’ve seen product recommendations highly targeted online, but not so offline. Glamour is trying to bring product recommendations OOH, piloting kiosks in subways which recommend products after detecting the colors of your outfit. While the targeting parameters are novel, it remains to be seen if shoppers open to purchases in these pop-up style environments.
Google Glass Gets Accessory Store
Google not only announced a big hardware upgrade to Glass, but they also announced an accessory store for the device. It’s only accessible to early adopters of the device at present, but it has items like extra cables and chargers, extra earbuds, and a new version of Glass itself. It’s not quite market-ready, as prices are still fairly high, but it’s an early indication of the ways in which Google will be monetizing and customizing Glass for the average consumer.
Steam Reaches 65 Million Active Users
There are two key components to this statistic, released today by Steam: first, those 65 million users are all active, playing games on Steam regularly – more than are on Xbox Live. And second, Steam boasts daily peak simultaneous usage of over 6 million. It’s also a 30% in players year over year. It’s more proof that consumers are switching over to software-based content distribution and ownership services that focus on high quality streaming. It also lends credence to the theory that the steam boxes, if connected into the digital system, have a genuine shot at being one of the go-to OTT boxes.
Report: Consumers Prefer Long Form Video
Mobile lends itself to snackable content, right? Not so, according to a new study from Vuclip which finds that consumers prefer long-form movies and TV shows opposed to shorter form content. While the study does not answer how these numbers compare to PC video, it would still be contrary to popular belief. Perhaps this is based on the fact that the majority of mobile consumption occurs at home, not on-the-go.
A Look At Mastercard’s Newsroom
Newsrooms are a new occurrence in the agency world as brands are becoming full-fledged publishers, adding original content to their own properties opposed to pushing out the same asset across a network. For brands with a PR focus or engaging lifestyle content, the newsroom or branded site makes a lot of sense. Mastercard is a perfect example, as they manage two web properties where they push out 5-6 articles a day in addition to curating on-brand content throughout the web. All these efforts are aimed at shifting consumer perception away from MasterCard as a credit card company to view them as a technology partner. So far, they have had 135,000 people engage with their posts, generating 500,000 conversations and shares.
Watchlist: Amazon Set-Top Box
Amazon is planning a trojan horse for the living room–a proprietary set-top box. The device itself will look to compete with the likes of Roku and Apple TV, but more importantly it will serve as a gateway to Amazon’s marketplace. I would expect the price point to be relatively low given their history in the tablet marketplace. All of this, of course, is speculation as we do not have product details or a release date, just a lot of chatter.
