Dave, I hear that GMGC is involved in a deal with Bell Atlantic Mobile to provide them with a Portico based service over its nationwide wireless network. It will initially be available only to certain market segments, but impressively will have AOL content bundled with its other services. I understand that the service will be offered to at least a million new users each year, and that it is anticipated that users will eventually be able to use the service anywhere in the country on Bell Atlantic's network.
Initially, however, it will may be limited to the users automobile, because although you have the ability to use a laptop or desktop computer in your hotel, office, or home, it would be impractical, and dangerous, to access your information from the Internet by a means other than a VUI in your automobile.
Hopefully, as more users experience the simplicity of the VUI, and as content continues to be added, more and more classes of users will want to access their content via a VUI wherever they are instead of waiting to get to their computer. Also, hopefully many of them will want to hear information presented to them quickly instead of squinting at a tiny phone screen about one square inch in size. Maybe AOL will want to provide its content to a larger degree via some of the players involved in this deal.
I am pretty excited about the deal, and hope that the parties, who I understand have relationships on a number of levels, will combine their technical expertise and marketing muscle to make as many consumers as possible aware of this revolutionary event. I am told it will begin rolling out later this summer.
In all seriousness, looking at something from alternative angles can sometimes provide some interesting perspectives.
Seconds Out. |
