Land Mobile October 2009

Machine to machine
duced the fi rst ever wireless camera, giving own-
ers the ability to upload images to Web albums
by connecting through T-Mobile hotspots.
Also in the fi eld of cameras and photography,
digital photo frames harbour opportunities for
connectivity too. Momento Live, by i-Mate, is
a wirelessly connected digital picture frame that
allows users to upload pictures directly to their
own frame via an online service. However, this
is just the beginning. We shall soon see a new
generation of connected photo cameras and
frames that will enable consumers to send pic-
Now available in the UK, the Mini Coyote tures to their loved ones’ digital frames seconds
– a speed camera alerting device for after taking the picture at some exotic holiday
motorists. At the press of a button, the destination.
driver can instantly report sightings of Also creating a push for connectivity is regu-
static or mobile speed cameras and red- lation, from both the UK Government and the Getting connected: Amazon’s Kindle
light cameras via its built-in cellular data EU. eCall is an project set in place by the Eu- electronic book, now with a 3G wireless
radio, updating every other Mini Coyote ropean Commission with the goal of improv- downloading capability
on the road within a range of 100 miles ing car safety and reducing the response time of
emergency services in the case of accidents. Us- utilities to a database so that water, electricity,
Similarly, Latitude is a patient management ing GSM and UMTS, the solution automati- gas and any other measurable utility usage can
system which provides cardiac monitoring to cally contacts the emergency services, telling be monitored remotely. Th e recent plan to have
patients fi tted with devices. Th e Latitude Com- them the car’s location and connecting voice every home in Britain connected by 2020 was
municator is set up in the patient’s home and it services with accident victims. Viviane Reding, backed by British Gas as a move which would re-
receives signals from the implanted cardio devic- EU Commissioner for the Information Society, duce the UK’s energy use, cut carbon emissions
es. Th is allows for remote monitoring, reducing has recently stated that she wants to see the and save customers’ money.
the number of hospital visits and speeding up wireless in-car safety system on European roads Initiatives such as these, and the rise of con-
the response to complications. by next year, or otherwise she will push the nected consumer devices, are encouraging net-
change through legislation. Th e GSM Associa- work operators to invest heavily in embedded
Support from mobile tion responded promptly to the Commission’s mobile. Vodafone recently announced that it
operators call by formally backing the system, adding its will develop its own service platform to enable
In the US, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have all support to the 24 governments which are al- devices with connectivity, citing research which
embarked in the market of connecting devices ready backing this initiative. fi nds that M2M services have the potential to
this year, with healthcare devices among their cut greenhouse gas emissions across 25 Euro-
goals. Th e interest from US operators shows how V2V pean Union member states by more than 90
important this area is and that growth will occur A further development is that cars may soon million tonnes annually by 2020. Rival opera-
in Europe in the near future. messages to each other, warning of sudden tor Orange has also embraced this market, con-
In addition, there is a new generation of de- braking and of icy spots on the roads and centrating on enterprise areas such as fl eets and
vices connected for leisure purposes, oﬀ ering even creating platoons or groups of cars auto- tele metry. And KPN recently launched its M2M
great potential for device manufacturers, provid- matically driving closely together. Research by Corporate oﬀ ering, enabled by Jasper Wireless,
ers of mobility and consumers. Perhaps the new- General Motors has found that vehicle-to-ve- which is designed to accelerate market entry for
est and hottest device to enter the market is the hicle (V2V) networking oﬀ ers benefi ts when connected devices.
eReader. Sony was the fi rst to enter this market as few as 3–5 per cent of cars are equipped to It is evident that connectivity is seeping into
in 2006, but it soon met competition from Am- exchange just four pieces of data – position, any market viable for its implementation. Strat-
azon in 2007 with the US launch of the Kindle speed, direction and time – with other vehicles egy Analytics predicts that by 2014 this market
– which sold out in just 5½ hours. At the begin- in the vicinity. As these drivers respond to their will be worth $57 billion, from under $16 bil-
ning of this year, Amazon released the Kindle 2, enhanced awareness, they infl uence the overall lion in 2008. Th ere seems to be only one thing
the fi rst-ever smartbook, which has a 3G con- fl ow of traﬃ c, benefi ting everyone. left to do: get connected.
nection powered by a chipset from Qualcomm. Another Government-backed M2M scheme
Since then, Sony has upped its game with the is smart metering, an initiative for connecting
launch of the Sony Reader Touch, including a
convenient and connected pocket-sized version. To be launched soon, the Vizit interactive
photo frame enables users to send and
Expanding further receive digital photos
So what lies in the future for connected devices? over a cellular network,
Th ere are several other markets where connection in conjunction with a
can add great advantages to existing technology. personal online account. A
In the consumer space, photography is an area highly compact quad-band
viable for connectivity. At the moment the only GSM/GPRS M2M module
connected cameras are webcams for home use. by Telit supplies the two-
However, Panasonic and T-Mobile have intro- way wireless connection
LAND mobile October 2009 19
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