Consumer Electronics Daily News

Technology's Bitter Taste: A Decline in Approval of Modern Lifestyles

Harris Interactive-- Fear of technology's impact on our lives is nothing new. Even today, Americans are divided on how technology impacts the way we live our lives. On the one hand, strong majorities believe that technology has improved the overall quality of their lives (71 percent) and encourages people to be more creative (65 percent). But, at the same time, strong majorities also believe technology is creating a lazy society (76 percent), has become too distracting (69 percent) and is corrupting interpersonal communications (68 percent).

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,210 U.S. adults surveyed online between June 12 and 17, 2013 by Harris Interactive.

"Warm fuzzies" for technology show year-over-year declines

Americans' collective assessment of technology's impact on everyday life appears to have suffered a bit over the past year. In comparison to June of 2012, Americans have become more likely to indicate that technology has become too distracting (from 65 percent in 2012 to 69 percent in 2013) and less likely to agree that it has improved the overall quality of their lives (78 - 71 percent), that they use technology as an escape from their busy lives (53 - 47 percent) and that it enhances their social lives (56 - 52 percent).

There also appears to be year-over-year erosion in how Americans feel technology is affecting several aspects of their lives. Though Americans are consistently more likely to report a positive impact than a negative one for all aspects tested, many of these perceived positive effects have declined in comparison to 2012:

• My work productivity (down from 42 percent in 2012 to 34 percent in 2013)
• My work life (41 - 34 percent)
• My safety and security (42 - 36 percent)
• My productivity at home (39 - 34 percent)
• Relationships with my family (43 - 39 percent)

Additionally, the perception that technology has a negative effect on safety and security has grown by a third in the same period, from 15 percent in 2012 to 20 percent in 2013.

Despite all these concerns about technology, clearly Americans still have a hard time unplugging. When faced with a list of technological devices and general life staples and asked how long they could live without each, majorities of Americans indicated that they could make it a week or less without Internet access (68 percent), a computer/laptop (64 percent), television (57 percent) or a mobile phone (56 percent), with roughly one-fourth going so far as to state outright that they simply could not live without them (28, 24, 23 and 26 percent, respectively). Just to add a dash of perspective, fewer than half (43 percent) said they could only make it a week or less (or not at all) without sex, with two in ten (20 percent) saying they could not live without it - period.

Tech savvy doesn't necessarily translate to tech love

These divergent perspectives on technology are not limited to U.S. adults at large; a comparison of Americans by generation reveals an equally complex picture. A recent Harris Poll confirmed what we likely all know-- that younger generations are more likely to own such high tech goodies. However, this should not be taken to mean that these younger Americans are more affectionate towards technology. In fact, Echo Boomers are consistently more likely than their older counterparts to indicate that technology has a negative impact on every tested aspect of their lives. Some examples of this include:

• My productivity at home (33 percent Echo Boomers, 21 percent Gen Xers, 18 percent Baby Boomers, 13 percent Matures).
• My safety and security (25, 19, 17, and 14 percent, respectively).
• Relationships with my family (18, 10, 7, and 5 percent, respectively).
• My work productivity (17, 9, 3 and 4 percent, respectively)
• My happiness (15 percent, 6 percent, 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively).

And yet even with a higher likelihood to see negative effects of technology on their lives, younger Americans nonetheless prove to be less willing to part with their goodies, with Echo Boomers and Gen Xers (33 and 30 percent, respectively) more likely than Baby Boomers (22 percent) or Matures (16 percent) to indicate that they could not live without a mobile phone.

 

Streamrollin': Channel-Surfing in the Age of Streaming Media

Harris Interactive "Streaming" continues to be a major trend in Americans' constantly evolving television viewership habits. A 2012 Harris Poll found that a majority of Americans had watched TV shows via this method, and other polls since have explored its use as a way to watch programming on one's own schedule and the role of sports viewers as the rare exception to increasing reliance on streaming and other "delayed" viewership options.

But looking specifically at those watching videos through subscription services, what are viewing habits looking like inside the "stream?" Does the vast amount of content encourage subscribers to pick and choose? And does the rise of streaming mean the fall of channel surfing?

These are some of the questions The Harris Poll set out to answer, in a study of 2,242 U.S. adults surveyed online between June 17 and 22, 2013 by Harris Interactive. (Full results, including data tables, can be found here)

Are Subscription Streamers Sticking with their Selections?

Over a third of Americans (35 percent) qualify as "subscription streamers," indicating that they sometimes or often watch streaming videos through a subscription service; an additional 12 percent say they rarely do so. 

The majority of subscription streamers (56 percent) indicate that when watching streaming video through a subscription service, they either "dip their foot in" (meaning they give it a few minutes to catch their interest – 24 percent) or "quarterstream" (meaning they give it until about a quarter of the way through to do so – 32 percent). An additional 11 percent give it until "midstream" (or about halfway through), while one-third (33 percent) go "full stream ahead" (committing, once they start, to watching the whole thing).

When asked to reflect on their viewing habits by agreeing or disagreeing with a series of statements, seven in ten subscription streamers (70 percent) fess up to being very picky about what they watch through a subscription streaming service. Majorities also agree that checking out the beginnings of several videos on such a service is "the new channel surfing" (59 percent) and that when streaming through a subscription service, a video needs to wow them quick or they'll find something else (56 percent). One-third (32 percent) will watch just about anything on such a service, and two in ten (20 percent) think they might have "SADD – Streaming Attention Deficit Disorder."

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit the Harris Poll News Room.

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Asphalt 8: Airborne Races the Front of the Pack on the App Store and Google Play

Asphalt 8: Airborne, the latest installment in Gameloft's successful arcade racing franchise, reached the top of the app sales charts on the App Store in 56 countries on iPhone and 68 countries on iPad on its first day. A race to the top in record time! Asphalt 8: Airborne was also featured in the App Store's Editor's Choice.

Asphalt 8: Airborne has been universally acclaimed by users, with 4.5 and 5 star rankings in most countries' App Stores. The press has also been enthusiastic with their praise. PocketGamer.uk gave the game a score of 9 out of 10 and a Gold Award for "a brilliantly put together arcade racing package." Gamereactor.de scored the game 10 out of 10, adding "it's a real masterpiece on mobile and a really great game compared to all arcade racing games on the "real consoles". And Touch Arcade anointedAsphalt 8: Airborne with a perfect 5 out of 5, remarking that "Asphalt 8 is an excellent racer on all fronts and needs to be checked out."  

"We've been working on the Asphalt franchise for 9 years now, always with the same passion. All of the teams who worked on this game have dedicated themselves tocreating a totally innovative gaming experience, with mind-blowing graphics and technology" says Julien Fournials SVP Production at Gameloft. "The sensational debut of this latest installment has definitively crowned Asphalt as the benchmark game for arcade racing fans on smartphones and tablets."

PRNewswire

Old Electronics Don't Die, they Pile Up in e-Graveyards

With the new cycle of Apple products on the horizon, many people will be seen enthusiastically dropping their iPhone 5 models and running to the 5s. The excitement of snagging the latest and greatest upgrade might last for a few months, but that "outdated" model will live on forever. Admittedly, most post-2012 phone models will be refurbished and returned to the market at a discount. But serial tech-upgraders need to become aware of what happens to the LG Chocolate, Razr, Nokia bricks, and other phones from years past. These phones, outdated by the rapidly evolving tech market-- yet still functional-- are shipped in bulk to e-graveyards in Taiwan, India, China, and other locations. 

The slideshow, hosted by Network World, depicts workers dwarfed by mountains of dirty phones, computer parts, and other technology around them. Perhaps a quick flip through these photos will make you think twice before jumping on that next upgrade.

View the slideshow here.

82 Percent of Employees Stay Connected to the Office While on Vacation

As Labor Day weekend approaches, many workers are preparing to get a final taste of summer with trips to the beach and barbeques with family and friends. However, the inaugural Workcation Nation Survey from PGi (NYSE: PGi), a global leader in virtual meetings for more than 20 years, found that 42 percent of U.S. employees choose to check in with the office once a day while on vacation, and 40 percent report checking in multiple times a day.

The findings illustrate a growing trend within the U.S. workforce, as only a small percentage of employees disconnect when on vacation. In fact, only 10 percent reported they "never" check in with the office, and another eight percent reported they were unable to take a vacation.

"The majority of today's workers stay connected while on vacation, and they want tools that allow them to effectively manage their work responsibilities and quickly return to their vacation," said Sean O'Brien, PGi executive vice president, Strategy & Communications. "Collaboration technologies like video and web conferencing allow people to easily connect with colleagues from the mobile devices they bring with them on vacation."

Smartphones (40 percent) are the most common device employees bring with them to stay connected to work, followed by laptops (11 percent) and tablets (4 percent). Hyper-connected employees are also common, with 37 percent of respondents reporting they bring a smartphone, laptop and tablet with them on vacation in order to check in with the office.

Tools built for mobile devices, such as PGi's iMeet® and GlobalMeet® apps, offer "workcationers" the freedom to work from anywhere. These tools are essential to the 65 percent of survey respondents who have joined or hosted a meeting from a mobile device while on vacation. Of those who have used a mobile device to host or join a meeting, 94 percent have dialed into a conference call, 92 percent have participated in a web conference and 80 percent have attended a video conference.

"The survey findings illustrate an increasingly accepted norm in which the lines between work and personal lives are blurring," said O'Brien. "It's indicative of a trend we're seeing in the market as 'work' becomes less about the place you go, but more closely aligned with getting the job done. As remote working continues to gain momentum, employees and employers will increasingly rely on technology that allows teams to effectively collaborate with each other no matter where they are."
PRNewswire 

Locket Launches My Ads -- "What Ads Do You Want to See on Your Lock Screen?"

After the explosive launch of its Android application that delivers ads on smartphone lock screens and rewards users for simply unlocking their phones, a month later, NYC-based startup Locket launches a new platform called My Ads. One of the most novel ad campaigns of the year, My Ads asks users, "What ads do you want to see on your lock screen?" The platform allows users to submit and vote for brands and products they want to see. With the results, Locket plans to bring in the most requested brands. Within 20 minutes of advertising My Ads on the Locket lock screen, My Ads had over a thousand entries of brands from the users, proving the effectiveness of Locket's advertising platform.

"Last month, we introduced a new way to look at mobile advertising," says Yunha Kim, the CEO and co-founder of Locket, "We tell brands and advertisers to forget tiny banner ads and intrusive interstitial ads. Why not use one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in advertising, the smartphone lock screen, and be the first thing users see every time they wake up their phone?"

Within two days of launching the Android application, Locket acquired more than 25K users across the US. Just one month after launch, Locket is delivering more than 5 million full-screen, print-quality ads on Android devices. Locket is receiving lots of love from Fortune 500 companies, including Hershey's who has partnered with Locket to launch an innovative campaign to be announced shortly. Locket is boasting its industry-record engagement metrics with its "First Glance Advertising" platform.

"Without having used Locket, people might question, who would want more ads in their life?" says Christopher Crawford, co-founder of Locket. "But the truth is people do want to see the ads if they are beautiful and inspiring – think of all the artful magazine ads that you've seen." After its launch, Locket received thousands of emails from users, listing the brands and products they wanted to see. "We want to ensure the highest quality platform, so that consumers see ads not as a burden, rather an enjoyable part of their lives. So we thought, why don't we just ask the consumer what they would like to see on their lock screen?"

Last month, Locket disrupted the mobile advertising industry. This month, Locket is disrupting the way consumers interact with brands. "Consumers should be able to voice what brands and products they want to see," says Yunha Kim. "Every ad we put out there needs to be beautiful and inspiring. Waking up your phone should be a delightful experience."

You can find the My Ads platform here and the Locket Android app on the Google Play here.

PRNewswire

I Forgot My Phone-- A Short Film Critiquing Smartphone Overuse

by Hannah Hollins

Before stepping out of the door every morning, you ask yourself, "Wallet? Keys? Watch? Smartphone?" Now that the mobile phone has become a requirement-- a safety blanket, rather-- for modern society, its presence is becoming obnoxious in many situations. Last night on the 2013 Video Music Awards, the cameras had difficulty getting shots from the crowd-perspective because cell phone screens-- also recording the event-- were raised up, impeding the TV camera's vision. Where do smartphone users draw the line for documenting memories? Is it proper to instagram every meal and happy hour drink? Do you check your facebook feed absentmindedly while waiting for the bus to come, or when your friend excuses themself to use the bathroom? Charlene deGuzman wrote and stars in the short film, "I Forgot My Phone," which attacks the oversaturation of cell phone use in any given day.

 

While people are connected in new and innovative ways, social media and smartphone habits are actually alienating people from real life happening around them. Now that smartphone has become so ingrained with peoples' lives, the appearance of wearables on the market will create another buffer between tech users and the rest of the world. The world behind the google glass, the world around the bright little screen, is giant, compelling, and stimulating. Unfortunately, some smartphone users need a push-- or a day when they forget their phone-- to realize this.

Battle of the Smartwatches: Burg Steps Back Into the Ring

Burg, a Dutch manufacturer, launched its first smartwatches over four years ago. In 2009, its first design was instantly awarded first prize for most innovative product. Now, they say that although Samsung "crossed the finish line before their biggest competitor, Apple, they failed to come in first."

Founder Hermen van den Burg, an award-winning designer from the Netherlands, now has his office situated in Guangzhou, China, where his company has established a factory, research center and showroom. Burg manufactures a variety of smartwatches for men, women and children, sporting a trendy, casual or athletic look. Prices range from $149 to $399.

Burg watches carry a regular SIM card, thus making the watch a fully-featured, independently functioning phone. Its rivals, however, all still require a Bluetooth connection between the watch and the phone. In other words, without the connection, they are just ordinary watches; and there's hardly anything smart about that.

The Burg's notable features: OS Android 4.0, 3G & WIFI, GPS, SIM card, 1.54 inch 240×240 pixel, Camera 2.0Mp, Bluetooth 3.0, two-way communication, Sisvel, MPEGLA, Micro SD 32Gb.

While the Burg smartwatch has the edge on initial innovation and its "standalone" phone properties, will it appear outdated next to the Samsung Galaxy watch? Stay tuned for its release on September 4 to see how it is initially received.

KeyPoint Technologies Announces College-Themed Keyboards for Android

KeyPoint Technologies – in joint development partnership with 2ThumbZ Entertainment, the leading provider of collegiate mobile applications - today announced the launch of their Spirit Keyboards, a one-of-a-kind line of college-themed smart keyboards for Android. Now university students, alumni and college sports fans can download highly advanced, fully functional smartphone keyboards showcasing the colors and logos of their favorite schools. With each keyboard, users also receive a specialized dictionary containing hundreds of unique words used on and around their campuses.

The College-themed Spirit Keyboards are based on the Adaptxt world-class prediction engine that uses artificial intelligence and algorithms, as well as specialized languages, to provide the most accurate word prediction available. Adaptxt also offers the greatest variety of industry dictionaries available today, including: legal, financial, medical and IT & Telecom – all available in multiple languages.

This combination of features allows users to message accurately with minimal keystrokes. With your Spirit Keyboard, school pride is always top of mind as you interact with all your apps, check email and text. Your school's specialized dictionary optimizes and personalizes your efforts even more.

"We used our expertise in languages and prediction to provide users with a powerful and intuitive messaging tool that can be highly customized," said Ronald Brown, Vice President of Marketing at KeyPoint Technologies. "Each Spirit Keyboard knows the 'insider' names of your favorite college athletes, local post-game bars and it even remembers your quirky game-day catchphrases."

"2ThumbZ is excited to be working with KeyPoint in bringing the Spirit Keyboards to market," says Andrew Fox, EVP, Business Development. "This is truly a unique and innovative product that brings a new level of personalization to the Smartphone."

Spirit Keyboards are available for 31 leading universities featuring top NCAA football programs across the country, including Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Stanford.

Keyboard Features

• Graphically rich theme keyboards featuring school colors, logo and mascot
• Specialized dictionaries that include university specific jargon
• A share key to post messages to Facebook and Twitter directly from your keyboard

Adaptxt branded keyboards are available in 81 languages at the Google Play Store and 94 languages for OEM partners.

Pricing and Availability

Each college-themed Spirit Keyboard for Android is $2.99 and available for immediate download at the Google Play Store.

PRNewswire

Pandora Removes 40-Hour-Per-Month Limit On Free Mobile Listening

Pandora, the leading internet radio service, today announced it will remove the 40-hour-per-month limit on free mobile listening effective September 1, 2013.

"We're pleased to once again maximize free listening for everyone on Pandora," said Tim Westergren, Pandora's founder. "The more than 70 million listeners that tune in every month will now have more time to hear the music they love, and thousands of working artists will reach more fans."

Pandora has quickly become the largest radio station in nearly every major market in America by delivering the best personalized radio experience across a broad array of connected devices. Pandora is available through more than 1,000 consumer electronic devices and will be installed in approximately one-third of all new cars sold in the United States in 2013.

Pandora is able to make this change thanks to the rapid progress of its mobile advertising. According to eMarketer, Pandora is now the third largest generator of mobile ad revenue, behind only Google and Facebook.

The limit on free mobile listening was introduced in March 2013 to manage rapidly increasing royalty costs. While in place, this affected fewer than four percent of total monthly active listeners. The company continues to utilize multiple additional levers to carefully and effectively manage its content cost.

PRNewswire