Last month at the Connected Devices Summit, our own Omar Tellez had an opportunity to share his thoughts on the connected devices market, key drivers and the need for communication service providers, cable operators, retailers/e-tailers and OEMs to deliver a simple activation experience.
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the 2010 Computex Show in Taipei. Drawing many of the top companies in technology and mobility, Computex never disappoints with exciting product announcements and setting new trends. This year three different topics around the excitement of connected devices caught our attention:
With Apple iPads selling at a rate of one every three seconds worldwide, there is no doubt that the market for connected devices is peaking and consumers are lining up in droves for all types of new gadgets.
Aside from the cool new devices, we continue to see innovative go-to-market strategies from service providers, retailers/e-tailers and OEMs. Everyone is looking to leverage the market opportunity of connected devices; we look forward to helping our customers deliver the best customer experience!
We were truly honored to be joined by over 50 participants representing a broad slice of the connected devices ecosystem (Accel Partners, Asus, Best Buy Mobile, Brightpoint, Cricket, CTIA, DELL, NTT DoCoMo, HP, Lenovo, Level 3, Motorola, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, Sprint, Time Warner Cable, and US Cellular) in Calistoga, CA to address the key challenges and opportunities that we as an industry face.
While it’s exciting to see analysts such ABI Research or Mary Meeker (@Morgan Stanley) provide aggressive estimates of the potential size of this connected devices space, as an industry we fully realize that only if we address the clear challenges ahead and collaborate while sharing best practices, will we be able to achieve our full potential.
Five key themes for further collaboration, discussion were identified and a program is being put forward to address them with increased cadency:
It is not very often that we can get together as an industry (leading OEMs/ODMs, service providers, content providers, eTailers/retailers and industry advocates at all levels of government) to have some heartfelt discussions as to how to better align so the “connected devices” space can succeed. Having spent three days doing this with the ecosystem, and getting first hand evidence that there is a true desire from them to collaboratively grow this space, made us feel much more optimistic about achieving the aggressive forecasts that ABI Research and Morgan Stanley have laid out for this industry.
We’ll be hosting the connected devices industry in Calistoga next month. The event, Connected Devices Summit – “The Connected User Experience” will be held at the Calistoga Ranch (May 16-18).
We are truly excited about this event. Based on the number of RSVPs received from a broad set of companies representing the connected devices ecosystem, the Connected Devices Summit aims to probe and provoke a broad range of thoughts, discussions and perspectives about this burgeoning market.
To date, senior level executives at Accel Partners, Acer, Asus, Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Brightpoint, Dell, Intel, Lenovo, NTT Docomo, Palm, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Sony, Sprint, Time Warner Cable, The Wall Street Journal (All Things Digital) and Yahoo will participate, and we expect several others to attend.
As a working group we have a lot of questions to address, such as:
Only if we are successful in addressing these questions will we be able to provide a framework for the industry to thrive.
Fortunately for us we have the help of Kara Swisher, Co-Executive Editor and Producer of The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital and Columnist, and Rich Wong, partner at Accel Partners (one of the leading venture capital and growth equity firms in the Silicon Valley), to provide us their views on the key success factors for the connected devices ecosystem.
For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/Summit_Connected
Purchasing a notebook or netbook on Dell.com just got easier with the company’s Mobile Activation Center, which provides a Web-based portal to activate the device’s broadband plan and data card.
Powered by Synchronoss, Dell’s Mobile Activation Center is designed to make purchasing connected devices effortless, or idiot-proof according to Engadget.
Dell has championed the direct-to-consumer model with computers, servers and laptops, and understands the importance of customer service excellence. Extending their business to address the torrid connected devices market starts with delivering innovative products along with making sure they are “connected,” hence the launch of the Mobile Activation Center.
Citing HotHardware.com, “Thank heavens, there are still companies out there that are trying to put themselves in the shoes of the consumer.” We agree, and are focused on helping companies like Dell deliver the best activation experience.
on Connected Devices, Mobility, Activation, Order Management and Ensuring the Best Customer Experience
