InsidEPR

What's Hot @Mobile World Congress 2012

by Suzanne Panoplos

Mobile World Congress (MWC) has traditionally been the bellwether for the mobile industry – what is launched at this industry gathering pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the year. Typically, mobile devices tend to grab the lion’s share of the attention by both the media and attendees alike, who roam the convention halls and the avenue in search of the latest and coolest gadgets.

This year’s event shouldn’t disappoint as all indicators are pointed toward an endless parade of announcements unveiling some of the latest and greatest mobile devices.  The HTX One X, LTE-based handsets from ZTE running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the Optimuz Vu are Android phones expected to wow users with increased functionality, higher processing powers and more features and functionality. All are designed to encourage usage for both work and play by providing the processing power and features needed to accommodate both business and personal applications.

Additionally, companies such as Acer, Lenovo, Motorola and Sony will be all previewing their 7 inch tablets, further blurring the lines between what constitutes a smartphone and what qualifies as a tablet. The much anticipated Windows 8 Consumer Preview will also be unveiled during Mobile World Congress. Although Microsoft is keeping pretty tight-lipped about what will be included with the limited release, many are expecting it to come complete with a new UI and some popular game such as Angry Birds. The burning question is whether or not there will be any new devices launcehd at the show based on Windows 8?  Only time will tell.

What's clear is that mobile device makers are rolling out products and features aimed squarely at bridging the gap between home and work. Although we’ve had the ability for quite some time to use our phone for both work and pleasure, the latest set of smart devices are becoming well  - even smarter  - and are further enabling a blended lifestyle. 

These devices offer increased convenience and productivity for consumers; however, for the enterprise, this sets in motion a greater urgency to establish formal BYOD policies while developing best practices for mobile device management and security. IT departments must find a way to manage the influx of devices into the organization, without compromising the security or integrity of their networks. I think we will see many more announcements at MWC offering more sophisticated management and control capabilities to harried IT managers.

For mobile operators, both opportunity and new challenges are on the horizon – spurred on by the proliferation of devices and the consumer’s hunger for both minutes and applications. Operators must find new ways to manage the traffic brought on by the proliferation of these devices and applications; but even more importantly, they must find ways to compete with  Over-the-Top (OTT) competition by offerings their own set of value-added applications and technologies beyond their traditional business models. 

If MWC marks the beginning of the year in the mobile world, 2012 should be a year of great change and opportunity for consumers, enterprises and mobile operators.

Reality Bytes

By Mike Tomlinson

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about the implications augmented reality (AR) will have on our everyday lives. We were discussing my blog post on how soon we will have digital eyeglasses that display information and images on top of our normal reality’s vision, just one of many other exciting ways AR will shape our future.

“Eyeglasses?” he said. “Try Contacts.”

He was right. And at that moment I realized what kind of invasiveness we all are in for.

It’s easy for us to be amused by the realm of possibilities augmented reality has to offer. But it’s a snowball effect—what we find neat and unique now will evolve into a form of technology we can no longer live without. Digital eyeglasses will become digital contacts, which will ultimately lead to digital implants. Are we on a path toward becoming cyborgs?

No, the Terminator is not just a couple years around the corner. AR will develop in incremental steps such as
digital property rights. Matthew Szymczyk prophetically wrote back in 2010 how augmented reality will force governments to reform property rights laws in a way that gives, for example, a digital AR representation of your house the same legal status that you enjoy with your “physical” house. Just like your current house is legally protected from graffiti artists drawing on your vinyl siding, the digital representation of your house that people see through their AR spectacles will also be protected. The great example Szymczyk provides is AR applied to restaurants and stores, where the legality of AR will have the most impact; after all, what’s to stop Trader Joe’s from plastering the digital storefront of Safeway with advertisements and coupons for their products in this alternate reality?

Even more disturbing will be the evolving choices AR allows us to make as it becomes more advanced. As you walk down the street looking through your cool new AR-modified glasses, you can filter out the undesirable elements of your real reality. Blighted storefronts and neighborhoods can be plastered over with images of beautiful (but fake) houses, trees, even people. Whatever it is we find unpleasant with what we see, we can change instantly and subjectively to our own liking. We just have to figure out next is if this is the reality we really want. Blogger David Murphy summed it up pretty well:

“This problem is more immediate and insidious— when you can choose your data sources, confirmation bias will come into play. When your ‘view’ on the world is carefully curated to match your personal preconceptions, the real world is no longer a common normalizing reality.”

 I think I’ll just keep my glasses— and reality— analog for now.

Apps We Love

By Roya Pakfetrat

It’s Valentine's Day and love is in the air - well at least for our favorite apps! It’s no secret around here; we can’t eat, sleep, commute, work or socialize without having our mobile devices right by our sides. So in honor of the year’s most sappy holiday – I wanted to know what apps are the most near and dear to our hearts. I recently polled the office and the winners are in:

• Roku – “Because sometimes I’m too lazy to go find my Roku remote, with the app I can just use my phone.”
• Out of Milk– “It makes grocery shopping a breeze!” (Only available on Android devices, iPhone application is in the works)
• Drync Wine – “The app allows users to journal about a bottle of wine they enjoyed or own. It provides expert reviews and commentary for hundreds of thousands of wine listings. When I find a wine that I’m either interested in trying or have tried and don’t want to forget the name I can save it to my ‘Cellar’.”
• Chase Mobile– “I haven’t been to a bank branch in a LONG time.”
• Trillian -  “It’s a free IM client which integrates pretty much every kind of messaging platform– including Facebook. I use it on both my laptop and iPhone.”
• RunKeeper– “I love it because it has GPS tracking which allows me to see the route I took and how many miles I went.”
• Chipotle – “Why would I wait in line when I can order on my way to the nearest Chipotle?” (Only available  to iPhone users)
• Google Music – “Embrace the cloud and it shall set you free! With this app, I migrated my entire music library from iTunes to Google Music, where I can stream my entire catalogue anywhere I have a data or WiFi connection through my phone, or just by logging into my Google account on a computer. It makes those lonely BART rides home a little more bearable (and yes it works in the tunnels!)” (Only available on Androids devices)
• Instagram– “Because it creates the illusion that my old iPhone takes good pictures.” (Only available on the iPhone)
• Pinterest/Words with Friends – “I love them because they occupy my commute time by inspiring me to try new recipes and trends (Pinterest) and keeping me connected to my far-flung family and friends (Words with Friends).”
• Awesome Facts – “I've had this app for 2-3 years now. I love the random, amazing and entertaining facts. Plus it’s great if you have to kill 5 minutes while you wait for someone, or have to entertain a car full of kids.”
• Foursquare – “I am hopelessly addicted.”
• WhatsApp– “WhatsApp is a mobile messenger application that replaces SMS and works through the existing internet data plan and works across multiple platforms. I use it primarily to stay in touch with friends around the world because it’s free to SMS. You can also upload and share photos, which is ideal if you want to share a photo of an event or place but don’t want to upload to a social media site like Facebook.”
• Yelp – “Because when I’m in unfamiliar territory and need a place to eat – I’d be lost without it. I can get restaurant phone numbers, prices, locations, directions and of course - a dependable rating!”
• Square – “Square is clearly ideal for check-splitting and the general cool-factor.”

Did we mention your favorite? If not, we would love to hear about your top pick.  Happy Valentine’s Day from Engage PR!

The SOPA Era

By Leslie Schmidt

Weeks after major websites such as Wikipedia, Reddit and Google protested the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) with an organized blackout, the news waves are still buzzing about the role that legislators should take in the infringement of copyrighted works. But for now, SOPA is dead. So in its memory let us remember its short life and bid it farewell.

October 26, 2011:SOPA was born. It was brought to life by House Judiciary Committee Chair and Texas Republican Lamar Smith along with 12 initial co-sponsors.

November 16: The first hearing was held by the House Judiciary Committee to discuss SOPA

• In protest, the 16th also became known as American Censorship Day, when Tumblr, Mozilla, Techdirt, the Center for Democracy and Technology as well as many other Internet companies participated by displaying banners on their sites which read “STOP CENSORSHIP”
  December 15: A second hearing was held to amend SOPA in order to make the bill more agreeable to both parties

January 14:The Obama administration responded to a petition against the bill, stating that they were in favor of SOPA since it encouraged all sides to work together. In response, more than 100,000 people petitioned the Whitehouse protest.

January 18: The biggest day of SOPA’s life

• The day the Internet went black: Numerous sites, including Wikipedia and Reddit, chose to participate in a service blackout in protest of SOPA staying dark for up to 24 hours. Wikipedia even chose to include a note to its site visitors stating its SOPA opposition, which was seen by over 160 million people
• San Francisco held an anti-SOPA protest at the Civic Center Plaza with speakers voicing their concerns, including one former rapper, MC Hammer.
• An anti-SOPA rally was held in New York outside the offices of two SOPA co-sponsors, Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
• Google blacked out its logo and added a link which read “Tell Congress: Please Don’t Censor the Web!” leading to a SOPA petition site. In one day, this anti-SOPA campaign on Google gained 4.5 million petition signatures. That number grew to reach over 7 million.
• Over 2.4 million SOPA-related tweets were posted using the terms SOPA, Stop SOPA, Tell Congress and #FactsWithoutWikipedia.

After the January 18 Protests: Support for the legislation decreased from 80 to 65 congressmen and opposition grew from 31 to 101 congressmen

January 20:SOPA was declared dead to the American public

January 24: Day the House Judiciary Committee planned to vote on SOPA. Meeting Status: Canceled.

SOPA was loved by some; Hated by many. So for Internet users everywhere, I say… Good-bye SOPA and good riddance.

Friday By the Bay: The Monday Edition

By Suzanne Panoplos

For those of your paying attention, our "Friday By the Bay" was preempted by our pre-Super Bowl edition of our post-Fantasy Football results. Got it?

Anyway - welcome to the Monday edition of our "By the Bay" series where we take a look at—the weather. Not just any weather but Bay Area weather where you can experience a dramatically different climate in a matter of hours. Where else can you go from the Ocean to the Redwoods to the Mountains – all in the same day?!?

I experienced this phenomenon last weekend when we were skiing in the Sierra Mountains on Saturday and biking along Sawyer Camp trail in the protected San Francisco Watershed lands the very next day. This is not just my shameless attempt to post a couple of photos of my family but my true appreciation for the flexibility we have in the Bay Area.

I have worked for high-tech companies all my life and when I am logging some really crazy hours, I look wistfully back east where friends and family are working their comfortable nine-to-five jobs.  However, with the hustle and bustle that is Silicon Valley, comes the privilege of being able to experience the amazing Bay area climate and all nature has to offer. 

So next time you are glued to the couch watching the Kardashians, Jersey Shore or some other train wreck of a reality show – take a moment to think about what you could be missing.  Whether it is the wines of Napa, the surf at Ocean beach or a 600-year old California Bay tree along the Sawyer Camp Trail – get outdoors and experience our Bay Area weather!

EPR’s Fantasy Football Season: It’s a Wrap

By Molly Reynolds

As we approach Super Bowl weekend, wherein real people play real football, we thought we’d share with you the exciting conclusion of our EPR Fantasy Football playoffs.

When we last left (see Dale’s blog), only four teams remained – #1 Meanie Mathenys were set to play #4 Bitzy’s Bashers II, while #6 A-Bashes were squaring off against #2 Hoya Paranoia. It must be said that while the Meanies and Bitzys were managed by actual football fans, the Bashes and Paranoia teams were selected and coached in the following manner: “I’ve heard of that quarter back (Rodgers and Brees, respectively), so I’ll choose him and see what happens this year.” As evidenced by the final four remaining teams, both strategies have their benefits.

In the semi-finals, Hoya Paranoia eked out an 8-point victory over the A-Bashes, thanks largely to Brees’ 48 points (love you, Drew). The other game saw Bitzy’s Bashers II secure the underdog win to advance to the finals, leading the Meanie Mathenys with a strong San Francisco defense. The A-Bashes went on to crush the Meanies and secure a third place win – if you’re keeping track, that’s the lowest finals seed beating the highest.

Hoya Paranoia beat Bitzy’s Bashers by 47 points in the final game and received the Christmas present of a Fantasy Football league victory (really love you, Drew).

We hope that you enjoy the biggest real-life football game of the year, or at least the commercials and snacks. Happy Super Bowl weekend, everyone!