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.