END GAME
After being here at CTIA Wireless convention in Orlando, FL. this week, I have been putting some real thought into what I call “the end game”. What is the end game you ask? Well I personally believe we have reached end game when communication between wireless/wire line/computer and mobile devices is all done seamlessly and for free. Some think its going to be all wireless and some think it will be fiber. I think it will take a combination to make it all work. Although the wireless providers want to see the wires all go away.End game poses many questions like how is there money to be made and who pays the bills. Will it all work like Google’s business practices? Google’s business practices are such as you give it away and do a little bit of advertising. Will that practice continue and spread to other companies? Will you see an Olive Garden logo in the bottom right corner while talking to Grandma on your phone? Will it even be smart enough to recognize your conversation and if you mention the word Pizza it brings up a coupon for Pizza Hut on your screen? I think it will, as that technology is here now.
I have been asking many of my tech friends with the question of what’s next. Is it the first set top box in the house that wins? Is it the first cell phone that can play HDTV and you plug it into your house CATV cable and supply all of your TV’s in the house? Is it the first person to provide an open source video conferencing platform? More questions then answers. And yet everyone is in such a hurry to make it happen. I know myself with technology I get frustrated with plugging this in with this cable, and this wireless device doesn’t talk to this one, and my pictures are on my camera but I don’t have that memory card reader on my computer.
Wouldn’t life be easy to say “Computer display pictures from my digital camera on this screen” and “Computer print picture number 5 and send picture number 6 to Grandma in Arizona.” On a good day saying everything worked like it should and Microsoft didn’t require a reboot, those steps could take 10 to 15 minutes. I am not saying everybody, but a couple of seconds versus minutes is a big deal. WE WANT IT. I didn’t have to worry about where is my card reader, where is her email address, what is that file name, how do I resize the image so I can email it.
We all know where the end game is headed, we have even seen it. The next question is how we get from here to the end game. The end game is like Back to the Future Part 2 when the mobile devices video conference with the home TV units and EVERY other device talked to each other.
I think one of the big missing components today is video conferencing. You will see video conferencing take place on the wireless side before the Telco/IP side. It’s already almost there from the demos we saw this last week
Some of you might also relate the end game to that of Star Trek. In Star Trek if someone communicates with another vessel, planet, or even with each other, there is a standard communication protocol used and there isn’t a meter saying you talked for 25 seconds that will be $4.38 plus tax. You don’t see AT&T selling services to the Borg do you? No of course not. In fact AT&T might be the first to tell the Borg “RESISTANCE IS FUTILE YOU WILL BE AT&T’D” instead of the Borg telling AT&T “you will be assimilated”. Ok yes I have some built up frustration against AT&T and I might like Star Trek, but don’t miss my point.
We all want it for free. And we want it NOW. We want to be connected and communicate freely when we want and we won’t stop until we get it. Why do you think one of the top selling points for a hotel now is FREE High Speed internet? Remember when it use to be FREE “HBO”? We need that connectivity.
It really all revolves around the word: Convergence.
I really do believe Project Liberator will be a part of the end game.
posted by Ben Plikerd at
1:57 PM
