This week the West region of Verizon Wireless held their 4G LTE kickoff event in Denver and while guest speaker Mark Schlereth was a big attraction (both literally and figuratively), the speed of Verizon's 4G LTE network was front and center. It's this same speed, coupled with increased bandwidth, which allowed MediaTile to develop and deliver our Human Kiosk featuring video presence.
Speed is the key ingredient insuring there is limited lag in the peer-to-peer video exchange taking place on the MediaTile unit. Speed also gets that video call answered by the right advocate operator, speaking the right language, anywhere is the world.
MediaTile's HumanKiosk isn't like a "Skype-type" of application where two parties agree to a virtual meeting; there is an actual video call placed and when one operator is not available, that call moves to the next qualified operator until one is reached. Obviously this has to be done quickly because no one will wait too long and because 4G LTE is so fast, video operators can be found, connected, and speaking to callers in no time. All with digital signage.
The Denver event showcased a few different vertical examples - hospitality and utilities – but those who attended quickly understood how a solution like the HumanKiosk could be used for crisis communication, dynamic advertising, retail customer service, and more.
The future is 'fast' approaching...don't forget to tip your waitress.
On January 25, Verizon Wireless kicks off their West Area region events highlighting their new 4G LTE network, which boasts greater speed and increased bandwidth. Similar to the Verizon Wireless events held in the Midwest, this will be a multi-city tour starting in Denver with stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and wrapping up Seattle.
Our HumanKiosk with Video Presence will again be highlighted in regard to what 4G LTE's increased bandwidth can deliver onscreen in the form of live streaming peer-to-peer video. While the HumanKiosk is a great example of the devices 4G LTE can support, the events are truly focused on challenging Verizon Wireless' customers to think about how their business operations can be improved by moving more of their processes onto a secure, reliable, and fully capable cellular network.
MediaTile's digital signage solutions will be shown in vertical-specific examples, but our cloud-connected content management system ("MediaCast") can deliver all the on-screen assets typically reserved for hardwired devices, making MediaTile's digital signage more of a horizontal solution. Interactive digital signage is still considered an emerging technology but customers and employees don't suffer from the same adversity to technology as they used to, and now actively seek out digital solutions to improve their everyday experiences.
Digital signage is no longer meant to be permanently placed on airport walls, for example; on the contrary, the screens are being brought down to eye level and used in non-traditional ways to improve communication in corporations, banks, hotels, and even on buses and trains. With the ability to place MediaTile's cellular connected digital signage screens anywhere there is a power outlet, and with content completely owned by the client...the applications are endless.
If you would like to attend any of Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE west coast events, meet with MediaTile, and discover other 4G LTE-enabled devices, please let us know. Space is already extremely limited, so act soon!
And that's what I liked about Verizon's discussion. 4G LTE won't just mean faster downloads on your mobile device. It's going to chance a way we communicate and market. And this is where digital signage has a play. After attendees heard about 4G they then had a chance to see what the possibilities were in a large 4G digital playroom. . . so to speak. Verizon had experts lined up based on vertical markets to discuss how 4G applications will improve business. Digital signage is just part of the conversation, but they had 6 of our HumanKiosks on display to showcase what 4G can and will do. (You can see one of our HKs in the photo background.)
Over 4G, our HumanKiosks with VideoPresence will take digital signage to the next level and allow for real-time face-to-face chat. It's pretty amazing and brings interactivity to life. It's more than just a touch screen. You can interact with a live person over digital signage.
For me, this preview event was a phenomenal opportunity to see behind the curtain of how 4G will change our daily lives, beyond but including digital signage.
w 4G LTE network. This was the first event of many in the Midwest region to commemorate 4G LTE’s launch. Verizon’s 4G LTE service will be able to deliver all of the dynamic, engaging digital applications technology lovers have dared to dream about on the all the hardware platforms you would expect … and some you would not. As impressive as the 4G LTE network is, the event itself is equal to the task, as Verizon introduces 4G LTE’s abilities, the competitive advantages it brings, and showcases those leading-edge partnerswhose solutions will immediately change the landscape of cellular connected hardware. The two-hour event is held three times during a chosen date, allowing for maximum exposure to attendees with formal introductions and complete access to Verizon’s showcase partners.
MediaTile’s HumanKiosk, which features a live two-way video connection, is one of the flagship collaborators at the event, owning half of the partner floor. Our two-way video feature is only one of the deliverable content elements the Verizon 4G LTE network now supports.
Gone are the days of “downloading” content to a player and welcome is the time when cellular connectivity has the bandwidth to stream data – music, maps, social media messaging, etc. – live and on screen in all its brilliance.
Thanks to Verizon 4G LTE, the playing field for cellular connected digital signage is now level with those digital signage solutions that require a hardwire to deliver the ultimate in engaging content.
Being an industry leader who consistently sets the curve, Sprint included our HumanKiosk (HK as we call it) whose two-way video presence element will quickly evolve how consumers interact virtually with providers in the immediate future. MediaTile has perfected cellular digital signage and we appreciate our partnership with Sprint.
If you weren't in the greater Minneapolis area today from 3-5 PM central but want to see MediaTile's HumanKiosk in action, check out this video demonstrating 4G integrated with digital signage.
The guest list included organizations from a variety of verticals but they all had one thing in common - the need for faster, more capable 4G cellular applications and solutions...and they got it.
MediaTile’s HumanKiosk was again on center stage, this time in Tampa, Florida, at another Sprint 4G Roadshow event. The HumanKiosk is a next-generation digital signage prototype that draws a lot of attention and interest as it showcases a high-definition, interactive digital signage platform with the unique addition of a live, 2-way video chat session using our MediaCast Video Presence software.
The all-in-one system only requires power to work – making it highly suitable for retailers, brands, hospitals, banks and a host of other locations who want to deliver enhanced customer service, but who don’t or can’t use their existing on-site network.
Sprint’s 4G network boasts 10x more bandwidth over 3G networks. Thus eliminating any remaining variance between hard-wired, high bandwidth networks while providing all the advantages of a cellular solution: more secure, more flexible, easier to deploy, higher reliability and linear scalability.
This week, we're at the CTIA Enterprise and Applications show in San Francisco, to demonstrate the HumanKiosk with MediaCast Video Presence in Sprint’s booth #543 on the West Concourse – if you’re around, please stop by for an in-person demo!
If you’d like to know more about the impact that 4G will have on Digital Signage, please visit Digital Signage Today and download the newly updated version of the “3G/4G Cellular-based Digital Signage” guide. This guide includes the latest 4G information and commentary by carriers, users and integrators.
So, my wife and I just picked up new phones this week. We decided on the Sprint EVO 4G, and to be honest I find it hard to call a phone. The next wave of personal computing is definitely in the palm of our hands, and the potential to engage customers where the work and play is almost limitless.
As the network providers build out 4G services across the country, content developers must begin to think of how we can gobble up all of that bandwidth. Dynamic advertising, 4G applications, video streams, and 2-way interactions are all great targets, but deep interactions and linkages to this new wave of hand-held mobile computers is going to be key.Digital Signage is going to play a big role in driving traffic to the 4G network. While we will continue to provide compelling advertising that is contextually based and personally relevant, we also will begin driving interactions where it is too costly or inconvenient to put a human. We can be new touch points for a brand, virtual marketers who direct customers to new promotions and opportunities, or off-site customer service representatives who can be contacted in an instant.
In the near future people will be walking around with more computing power and bandwidth on their mobile phones than existed on a desktop 5 years ago. As my good friend put it "everyone gets a tricorder!". Thanks Evan, I can't wait until I can detect a deposit of dilithium crystal to power my warp drive.
Some of our clients don't have the in-house expertise to create, manage and deploy their own content. That's why our team exists. In fact we have some clients who completely rely on us for everything that is shown on their digital signage network. As the economy has forced many of us to tighten up our budgets we are starting to enable these clients take on some of the creative work in an effort to help keep them in the black throughout these tough times. The process is tougher than you might think, but it all comes down to taking small steps toward the goal.
Charles Fleharty, MediaTile's Director of Content Development and one of the engineers behind the new Human Kiosk with 4G VideoPresence, in conjunction with our portal engineering team created a fantastic web-based application that we call Composer. Simply put is is a content editing tool that allows a user to change pre-built templates to include relevant and up-to-date information without the use of a cumbersome and expensive set of digital design tools.Using Composer our clients can create great looking content with a few simple steps, all within their web browser. The templates can be custom built to the needs of a client. They can include a number of very cool dynamic functions such as RSS display, time & date, and even weather. All parts of the template can be animated, and when the user makes changes to the text or imagery the animation is preserved.
We met recently with a client who uses interactive content to engage their users and provide them with current event information relative to the local area. It would be very development intensive to provide them with a "template" version of this touch screen application, so instead we suggested moving some of that content out to an attractor screen. Allowing passers-by to see the content, and be encouraged to learn more by interacting with the touch screen.
We are pushing forward with the next version of the software as I type this, and the new features will really make the template approach shine. I highly recommend that our clients check it out, and if you aren't a MediaTile client consider making templates that work for your system to aid you in achieving your design goals.
OK it has been almost a year since I have posted any entries to our design/development blog, and for that I apologize. So much has happened in the last year I don't quite know where to start, but you will be happy to know that I have regained my focus on providing information to the digital signage community about design and development.
The name of the game today is 4G. Being that MediaTile is a cellular digital signage company we have been feverishly working to develop new applications and uses for the high bandwidth of 4G, and some very interesting products are in store for the next 12 months.
In case you missed the announcements from earlier this year we are now doing public demonstrations of 4G VideoPresence, a point-to-point two way video chat client that enables digital signage audiences to connect with customer services representatives instantly and personally. We won a first place award for the concept at the CTIA show, and oh man has it generated some buzz for us.
We are very excited about what's to come, and I will do my best to keep up with the pace and provide insider details.
That's all for now, but I will be writing more... soon!
Just a few words to describe our response to the HumanKiosk winning the first place award for emerging technology in the enterprise mobile marketing and advertising category at the International CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas.
The HumanKiosk is more than just digital signage. We truly believe it will revolutionize the relationship between brands and customers. 4G cellular technology can deliver a live two-way conversation, helping customers get questions answered immediately and resolving many pain points for brands. The HumanKiosk can directly and immediately improve communication between customers and brands. It takes content for digital signage and make it LIVE. For those who aren't familiar (I wasn't), the CTIA Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards program celebrates and promotes the most innovative wireless products and services in the areas of consumer, enterprise and network technology.
Each year, nearly 300 applications are submitted and reviewed by a panel of recognized members of the media, industry analysts and executives. Products are judged on innovation, functionality, technological importance, implementation and overall “wow” factor.
So considering all of this, you can imagine our enthusiasm over the recognition.
We at MediaTile are PSYCHED to announce the first "HumanKiosk" prototype. This is an interactive, two-way video conferencing mechanism, enabling consumers and retailers (among others) to communicate directly with one another, in-store- no middle man. 
Imagine the possibilities - you're in the store, comparison shopping, you have a question but the store staff doesn't know anything more about the product you're holding than the info which appears on its packaging. No problem- connect to a product expert and have a face-to-face conversation via HumanKiosk.
The excitement surrounding the HumanKiosk release is that it is based on ng Connect's 4G/LTE technology. (LTE = Long Term Evolution). If you're unfamiliar with ng Connect, it is a program "conceived and founded by Alcatel-Lucent, bring[ing] together infrastructure, device, application and content companies to create an end-to-end ecosystem with all the resources and expertise required to rapidly deliver next generation services and applications to service providers, enterprises and consumers. " (quoted from the ng Connect website...)
4G essentially is 3G on steroids. It has the bandwidth to support live and streaming video uploads/downloads - and to support the increasingly interactive nature of successful digital signage deployments.
Every retailer and brand manager hopes to improve communication with its consumer- traditional advertising is limited in this regard. HumanKiosk takes digital signage to another level of relevancy- it provides a purely interactive experience and accomplishes what pre-recorded content, whatever the medium, cannot hope to achieve.
Check it out- we can't wait to hear your feedback!
As with any new technology however, there are different schools. In the case of 4G, LTE (Long Term Evolution) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) are taking center-stage in the race for hearts, minds, regional roll-outs, and partnerships. However, the technology that wins out will not be the big story of tomorrow. The real story is how ubiquitous broadband wireless access will change the lives of consumers, traveling professionals, and small business owners, not to mention how it will facilitate a huge swathe of new or extended business applications as they are unshackled from fixed networks.
4G will add a whole new level of experiential and contextual-based content including on-demand videos to Cellular Digital Signage. 4G is therefore certainly an exciting business prospect for network operators – enhancing their ROI by delivering greater content impact with far less on site infrastructure. Certainly Houston Spencer, Alcatel-Lucent’s VP of Solutions and Marketing seems to agree following their LTE Focus Conference in Amsterdam last week. But is 4G Digital Signage the Killer App to get 4G across the chasm? Or is our industry a supporting player to other products and applications from other industries that may instead catapult 4G wireless broadband to widespread deployment? In other words 'will 4G make Digital Signage or will Digital Signage make 4G?
Keepin' it Simple
Powered by Compendium