A couple of days ago, Apple yet again proclaimed that they have some extraordinary products coming, and this sly marketing teaser which one normally associates with Steve Jobs seems aptly timed to coincide with their astounding profit results which far exceeded the estimates of even the most optimistic Wall Street analyst.

So while shooting the breeze with a good friend over lunch, we speculated on what might be Apple's next game changer? They have already cornered the MP3 and mobile phone markets. They've effectively sounded the death knell to books and newspapers. They have a rapidly growing market share for Computers, and now, the iPad has allowed them to dominate Tablet computing, an area where others boldly tried to go, but failed miserably. And above all this, they have a loyal customer following that others only dream of.

This makes me wonder, if they are going to come up with something new and revolutionary what will it be? It has to be a product that's very horizontal and used domestically. Certainly they won't get into white goods like refrigerators, microwaves and washing machines, but they could be getting into TV's. After all, Apple likes to get in your face with their products. Almost everything they market is now video enabled.

TVs make sense!

If you look closely at the TV today - it's really no more than a monitor, which generally takes it's input from some form of set top box or cable unit. That aside from other sources such as blu-ray and DVD. Actually, the TV is fairly dumb. But if you add some intelligence via a home-grown CPU, or maybe re-engineer and integrate the not so popular Apple TV system, add in some storage and most importantly a powerful OS - then you have a very smart, powerful, flexible, and yet compact system indeed.

Now hold that thought while you imagine the TV can also run apps - some could be internal or embedded, and some could be remotely hosted say on an iPhone or iPad, and by using the additional processing capability of the TV and of course, an even larger screen, what an interesting experience you would have.

Imagine then that the iPad or iPhone becomes the remote control or game controller of the TV - and how awesome would that be?

Also picture yourself nice and comfortable seated in your lazy-boy and a call comes in on your 4G iPhone, which is actually a video call, and you'd like to share it with the rest of the family who are also snuggly gathered on the hearthrug in front of a kool log fire. Simply press a button on the iPhone, and hey presto, the call is magically and wirelessly transferred to the big screen, either as PIP (Picture in Picture) or windowed up over the movie or sports game. For extra privacy, you could press pause and halt the live TV, and continue the call. Hang up, and the game smoothly resumes where you left off.

A similar scenario could be applied when you want to play your favorite game of shoot-em up, and instead of sourcing dedicated game controllers; you just use your iPhone and also that of your friend, who has come over to play with you. Their iPhone or iPad could store details of their Avatar, or you could access it online since the TV is fully integrated to your ADSL or fibre line

If you ask me, this seems to be the logical path where Apple is headed.

(c) [email protected] 2010

Hotel Technology Conference - Macau - June 17th 2010

A one-day conference addressing the use of technology in hotel properties to:

  • Increase revenue
  • Decrease costs and improve efficiencies
  • Enhance the customer experience

A conference designed for CIOs, CTOs, General Managers, Information Officers and Operations Managers of hotel properties to discuss how existing and emerging technologies can support new revenue sources, improved operational efficiencies and enhanced customer service standards.

Conference sessions include:

  • Hotel CIO/CTO panel: Prioritizing cost reduction, operational efficiency and the customer experience
  • In-room technology and infrastructure for an outstanding guest experience
  • The future of technology in the design and architecture of hotel properties
  • The future of Voice Over IP and its opportunities for CapEx reductions
  • Payment systems and data security to drive operational efficiencies
  • Technology integration, infrastructure and provisioning for hotel properties - the potential to drive revenue and reduce costs through best in class architecture
  • CRM systems for operational efficiency and customer satisfaction
  • Telepresence as the new revenue driver for hotel facilities
  • Mobile applications for hotels and guests

Click here for more details

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