Zeetoo: Cool New Bluetooth Tech
I met with Beth Marcus, Zeetoo's CEO. Zeetoo is a platform technology for Bluetooth-connected, battery-operated smart peripherals. Beth showed me a key fob and several game controllers. At first I was skeptical, but both were super compelling. The key fob (pictured at left) works with a GPS-enabled mobile phone to mark the spot where you park your car, simply by locking the car with the key fob. When the driver returns from an errand, he or she simply presses the unlock button to launch a mapping application on the phone that directs the driver to the car. There are obviously some use case problems with the solution, such as when the driver doesn't want to launch the application, but the concept is brilliant. I'll post some design revisions in a future blog entry. Email me your suggestions. I saw RFID-based object finding technologies at Mobile HCI last year, but this tech is much nicer. There's a fun video on Zeetoo's site that illustrates the concept.
The Zeemote device duplicates navigation and other button functions of the handset. Zeetoo plans joystick, trackball, and Wii type control with accelerometers. The two areas of Zeetoo's initial focus are games and Location-Based Services (LBS). Pairing seemed trivial, and Zeetoo's target is under 30 seconds.
Zeemotes will be available in small numbers in the Fall, and in mass in 2008. Street prices are expected to start at $29.95, which could include a game or game demos, up to $49.95. Including an SD slot on the unit would increase price, but would tremendously expand the applications possible. Zeetoo's technology has been fully tested on 44 different phones so far. They expect the technology to work on all newer Nokia and Motorola phones, numbering in the hundreds of models. So far, Zeetoo has targeted Java and Windows Mobile, with hope for BREW soon. If I were them, I'd target all the fun phones that Helio supports, and try to get an exclusive to build the brand. I bet Zeetoo devices will increase mobile gaming sales—that would be a fun correlational story.
The Zeetoo pairing process installs software that sets up the controller--a seamless installation without any need for further customization. Each controller has a unique ID, so crosstalk won't be a problem. New game ideas could utilize multiple Zeemotes for the same phone. This technology could be used for console gaming when enough controllers are not available. I can imagine cinematic gaming in a movie theater where dozens or even hundreds of people are playing at the same time, taking interactive entertainment to the next level.
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March 22, 2007
Upcoming Mobile UE Conferences
Usable Products' User Experience Benchmarking Training
12 April, 2007: New York, NY, USA
8 May, 2007: San Francisco, CA, USA
Usable Products teaches private tutorials. User Experience Benchmarking is a quantitative way to compare user interfaces, either the same UI over time or UIs from competing products. Benchmarking allows one to rank product usability through user preferences, time-to-complete, and success rates. Usable Products Company has produced both commissioned (private) and syndicated user experience benchmarks for the past four years, and this course teaches our methods through lecture, anecdotes, and hands-on group exercises. Delegates from Google and Cisco have attended this course, so you'd be in excellent company!
MEX: 2 – 3 May, 2007, London, UK
MEX is Marek Pawlowski's annual Mobile User Experience conference, held in London (http://pmn.co.uk/mex). This year it's on the 2nd/3rd of May. It is a two-day strategy forum for "leading minds in mobile telecoms." I have spoken at and attended the last two MEX events, which I found inspiring. This year I will be one of the facilitators, who will each lead discussions within a group of approximately ten delegates throughout the two-day conference. Readers of this list are entitled to a £100 savings. Email me to receive this discount on your MEX registration.
MAPOS USA: 26 – 28 June, 2007, San Francisco, CA, USA MAPOS USA is Informa's annual forum for Mobile Applications and Operating Systems. This year is the first that it will be held in the US. It is the most interesting mobile technology conference for UI designers, marketers, and solution providers. I will be chairing a panel on "Widgets: Mobile’s Door to a PC-Like Experience and Development Ecosystem… or simply Marketing Spin?" I will also run a full-day workshop after the conference for delegates interested in "Widget Frameworks and the Mobile User Interface: How to Succeed, Today & Tomorrow." Readers of this list are entitled to a 25% discount on MAPOS USA registration. Please email me for the conference brochure and also to register with the 25% discount.
Mobile HCI: 11 – 14 September, 2007, Singapore
Mobile HCI (http://mobilehci.org) is the annual academic conference for Mobile Human Computer Interaction. I have submitted two tutorials and an industrial case study, and plan to submit a panel for consideration by reviewers. This event is the only academic conference devoted to HCI for mobile devices. With keynotes by Songyee Yoon, VP Communication Intelligence at SK Telecom, Donghoon Chang, VP of Mobile User Experience Design at Samsung Electronics, and Prof. Masaaki Fukomoto of NTT DoCoMo's Frontier Technology Research Group, this event should draw UI designers, developers, marketers, and executives from all over the world. It is comprised of papers from students, professors, and industry participants. Papers are of varying quality, but the tutorials and workshops are truly forward-thinking.