Though a free WiFi network was available in Beijing during last year’s Olympics, the new network is expected to cover a wider area and be more reliable and accessible.
This, I think, makes Beijing poised for an incredible boom in information appliances (which we define as non-PC electronics with WiFi connections and LCD screens).
Here’s why: China is a key manufacturing hub for electronics and computers, and is also a source of innovation in some of those areas. Combine that with a free WiFi network that blankets a city of nearly 17.5 million people and you’ve got pretty fertile soil for new developments to spring from.
By way of comparison, Beijing’s population is larger than that of all of Pennsylvania or Illinois, and is close to the size of Florida. If you put a free WiFi network in one of those states and combined substantial business in the information appliance industry, wouldn’t you expect a boom in innovation?
It will be interesting to keep an eye on China for these kinds of developments over the next few years. For information appliance companies, it may be the next major market.
While that sounds like an expensive proposition, and one that could include a lot of upkeep costs, it also offers some intriguing possibilities.
After all, a network-connected screen like this could show up-to-the-minute stats and scores, highlights, provide a way to order food from your seat, and much more.
The question, as with any system like this, will be the software. How will this content be delivered to the screens? Will it be a closed network specific to the A’s stadium or could an MLB-wide network that pushes content across the web, not just from an in-stadium server, generate some real possibilities for innovation? For instance, what if spectators could upload their own photos from cell phones for display during the game?
Though the installation of these screens is by no means definite, it’s an intriguing idea that if developed properly could easily enhance the experience of taking in a game.
You remember the Microsoft Surface – the touch-sensitive, device-aware gizmo that can do all sorts of cool, advanced user interface tricks? The Surface is basically a coffee table right now (a spherical model is coming), but Microsoft has taken the table and put it on the wall with its new TouchWall prototype.
The device essentially takes the Surface and makes it a vertical wall with touch-interface features. No word on when it would be commercially available, but if you’ve been watching any of the cable-news election coverage, you’ve seen these kinds of things in action and know how neat they’d be to have in our houses, connected to the Internet.
David Merrill, a student at MIT, has posted information about the very cool concept device he and two colleagues have created called Siftables.
Siftables are small, square screens that are aware of each other thanks to infrared and Bluetooth technology. Because they’re aware of each otgher, what’s displayed on their screens can be automatically adjusted based on what’s being displayed on the Siftable next to them.
According to Merrill, they “(aim) to enable people to interact with information and media in physical, natural ways that approach interactions with physical objects in our everyday lives.”
When I look at them, I envision each Siftable showing a different FrameChannel content channel or being used to arrange photos served by FrameChannel. Siftables don’t have WiFi now, but it’s not hard to imagine adding it in the future.
Yet another really cool new technology that’s likely to influence how we experience photos and other Internet-served content in the near future.
Engadget has an interesting post about Chumby – the open, networked digital appliance that serves all kinds of content right to your bedside in a cushy little bundle. Using the device’s first major firmware upgrade, they ask their readers: what would you change about Chumby?
Some of the more interesting or common responses:
Change the name
Slimmer design
Bigger screen
Better touchscreen
And there’s a lot more there. If you’ve used a Chumby, we’d love to hear your thoughts about this in comments – and don’t skimp on Engadget, either. Give them your comments, too.
Personally? I say keep the name. It’s non-descriptive, sure, but changing it to make it more corporate or descriptive is likely to kill some of the fun inherent in the device – and that’s not worth it.
Fantasy sports are a huge and growing hobby in the U.S. A new concept PC would appeal to that space and further show the opportunities for wireless-enabled gizmos.
The Coach’s Clipboard concept would marry a clipboard-shaped touch-sensitive screen with a WiFi connection, 80GB hard drive, and more to create a slim tablet that would stream sports scores and injury news, as well as allow fantasy coaches to make trades, roster moves, and talk trash all from the clipboard, anywhere a wireless signal reaches.
Since it’s just a concept right now, don’t expect to be able to rush out and buy the Coach’s Clipboard anytime soon, but this is a great example of the kind of niche devices that, if priced right, could hit big if they have the right combination of software and data services.
Fantasy sports are a huge and growing hobby in the U.S. A new concept PC would appeal to that space and further show the opportunities for wireless-enabled gizmos.
