re: Microsoft v. Nokia/Matsushita Battle for the Home
<< Review the coverage of Comdex this week. >>
This is slightly off the topic at hand (WLAN v./+ mobile wireless), but I think it deserves a mention here:
Last year my takeaway from Comdex was that the focus there was on the commencement of convergence of wireless mobile and portable data communications with enterprise computing.
This year my takeaway is that the convergence is being extended into the home.
Of all the announcements made at Comdex this year, I found the announcements by Microsoft and Nokia/Matsushita to be the most interesting relative to this to be the most interesting.
One again there is a potential clash between Proprietary (open) standards and Open standards (that could turn out proprietary, but probably will be opened up after they are shaped).
Below are excerpts from a few articles on the subject:
>> Matsushita, Nokia Collaborate For Advanced Connectivity: Matsushita Electric Ind. Co. Ltd (Panasonic et al) and Nokia announced a plan to jointly develop a technology that allows consumer electronics products and mobile phones to exchange data and content. While the companies have announced their intent to collaborate, no details have been worked out, a Matsushita spokesman said. Matsushita and Nokia said they want to establish a connectivity that will allow mobile phones to control home electronics devices remotely and allow users to monitor the insides of their homes and view some of the content from home audio/video products. Multimedia messaging service (MMS) and IPv6 technologies are expected to be development targets of the companies' efforts. - Yoshiko Hara, EE Times, 21 Nov 2002 -
Nokia, Matsushita Target Domestic Networking: The deal is one of the first concrete moves towards a networked society in which all electronic equipment can be accessed from anywhere at any time by using the easy availability of the internet. <snip> "Just at the moment, we don't know what specifically they have in mind, but it looks like a way of positioning themselves so that we end up with one set of standards," said Martin Garner, director of research programmes at the Ovum consultancy. <snip> On Monday, at the Comdex technology trade show in Las Vegas, Microsoft unveiled plans to develop a range of "smart personal objects", such as alarm clocks and wristwatches, which harness the power of computers. Personal computer makers and computer software companies such as Microsoft have begun increasingly to move away from the desktop amid a slump in demand. At the same time, mobile phone manufacturers are seeking new applications to drive sales in saturated markets and Japanese consumer products manufacturers are looking to take advantage of the rapid spread of the internet to add network features to their ranges. <snip> Matsushita yesterday did not provide details of how it plans to transform its consumer electronics products from stand-alone equipment to networked equipment. But the two groups aim to establish the technology they develop as a de facto industry standard. - Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo, Financial Times; Nov 20, 2002 -
Nokia And Microsoft May Battle For Your Home: It looks like Nokia and Microsoft could be heading for yet another clash. There have been no sparks yet, but like two tectonic plates inching forward on a collision course, the scene was being set this week when both companies separately announced they were looking to enter the home products market. For Microsoft, it was an announcement at Comdex, the Las Vegas technology show, that it was planning to develop a range of "smart personal objects" such as wrist watches and alarm clocks, that harness the power of the computer. The move is an obvious one for personal computer makers and software companies desperate to move away from the desktop as sales slump. <snip> plenty of other sectors are also trying to pile into the 'smart' household objects space. Japanese electronics manufacturers are doing everything they can to add value and functionality to the 'dumb' - and increasingly commoditised - household products they manufacture. A wireless internet connection could be the way to add life-span and margins to a camcorder, a fridge or a digital clock.Mobile handset manufacturers, equally, are trying to expand the sphere of the phone further and further as markets become saturated. Earlier this month, Nokia entered the games market when it unveiled a handset that doubles up as a mobile games console - a direct challenge to Nintendo's Gameboy Advance. The company has also this month launched a remote camera that can be activated by text message. "This has possible uses for home security and shows they've been quietly looking at [the home appliance] market for some time," says Martin Garner, director of research at Ovum, the technology consultancy. The tie-up with Matsushita to develop technology for linking a wide range of gadgets in the home to the internet is in line with this theme of expansion. <snip> "Even if they are not producing anything yet, Nokia and Matsushita announcing that they are cooperating on networked products will send a signal to other companies in the market to say 'hold off on developing anything in this area, we'll be there in a few years time with a standard'," one analyst said. <snip>Comdex is traditionally a time for positioning statements. Last year Jorma Ollila, Nokia's chief executive, made waves at the event when he outlined plans for a unified, open software platform for third generation mobile products, an initiative that included Motorola, SonyEricsson, Siemens, Fujitsu and Samsung and several mobile operators, but pointedly excluded Microsoft and Qualcomm [who are now members of that very important initiative]. <snip> For those who love a good fight, however, there is nothing as intriguing as the shadow of the two industry heavyweights looming over this issue. - Maija Pesola, FT.com; Nov 20, 2002 - <<
- Eric - |
