external effects
Upwardly Mobile Tablet Gets Talent
What’s Going On: Technology and en-
tertainment collide yet again with personal computer manufac- turer Lenovo bringing Ashton Kutcher on board as a product en- gineer. Involved with the company’s Yoga
line of tablets, he is providing input on design, specifications, software and usage.
How It Can Affect You: Tablets are booming, but an alliance like this—along with compelling enough product—could potentially woo consumers away from Apple. Hooking up with actor-entrepreneur-tech investor Kutcher—with his more than 15 million Twitter follow- ers—is an intriguing move for Lenovo, a company that trails Apple and Samsung in tablet shipments, but could position itself to become a bigger player this year. The company also plans to solidify its place in the smartphone market. Last year, Lenovo’s combined sales of smartphones and tablets surpassed PCs for the first time ever. Definitely a company to keep an eye on for 2014.
High-Tech Hues What’s Going On:
Moving Target
What’s Going On: These days everyone is using their mobile devices to cross-check retail prices and to shop smarter so it was only a matter of time before companies started strategizing on how to make their adver- tisements more relevant to consumers. Say hello to the growing trend of geo-targeted mobile display advertising, which is on the rise according to a new report by eMar- keter.
How It Can Affect You: Consumers are moving targets so being able to reach them in real time with text messages, push notifications and in-app messaging could be the next wave of reaching shoppers. Right now, spending on geo-targeted display advertising is small— but growing rapidly. Looking ahead to 2017, the research firm BIA/Kelsey forecasts total expenditures in local mobile display adver- tising--$725 million in 2013—to more than triple over the next four years. As compa- nies learn how best to leverage the location tracking capabilities of smartphones and tablets, spending in mobile display adver- tising is expected to rise.
Silver has reigned for more than a decade as the world’s favorite car color, but that ended in 2013 when White took top honors. According to PPG Industries, a leading supplier of automotive paints, 25 % of the vehicles it supplied in the 2013 model year were White, up 3% from
the prior year. Silver and Black tied for second, with 18% each. Expect to see more blue in in 2014 models, according to PPG, which shows increases in the popularity of blue for certain regions and vehicle types, including North America.
How It Can Affect You: White finally got its moment—not a big surprise when considering the huge im-
pact Apple has had with its all-white stores and gadgets. Exterior and interior car colors can certainly influence the mobile electronics/accessories someone wants to use in their vehicle. Tech—whether for cars or mobile gadgets—has become much more of a fashion industry. Automakers are already scouting colors for the 2016 and 2017 model years. In fact, car color trends are determined by watching other industries like the fashion world along with architectural paint colors. PPG is pre- dicting more deep jewel tones like Teal and earthy metallic colors, like Reddish-or- ange, in the coming years. With the end of the recession, drivers don’t mind being showy again, the company said.
4K For Cars?
What’s Going On? Panasonic’s 20-inch 4K Windows 8.1 tablet ships this month for $6,000. The Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 is expected to be the first commercial- ly available Ultra High-Definition tablet, but it will only be suitable for niche consumers—ar-
chitects, salespeople, photographers, and designers.
How It Could Affect You: UltraHD may be the next big thing in video, but will it make it ever make it to the inside of a vehicle? For starters, there is basically no content so from that standpoint it makes no sense either for the home or the car. Technologies that are successful in the living room have been translated to the car, but 4K may go the way of 3D TV if there isn’t a compelling reason to buy.
48 Mobile Electronics January 2014
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