Do these glasses make me look like a nerd?

Last week Toshiba launched their consumer 3D laptop.  They had three units set up, each profiling various shoot-em up games, racing games and enhanced music watching experience. The newly designed 3D Glasses are decent looking, but don’t work with traditional theatre 3D because it’s a different technology. FAIL. Attempting to train your hands to navigate the game using the keyboard proved quite challenging. I lasted 30 seconds playing the Batman game.  I either kept punching myself in the face or moving into corners looking like I was getting ready to hibernate in my Batcape for the summer.  I am not their target market!

Toshiba represented some past technological milestones by displaying older desktops, laptops and tablets for guests. When I asked the rep why they weren’t actually working, I got a blank stare.  I went on to tell him about how I went to “another” tech brand event where they were featuring some old models that were plugged in and ready to rock.  To truly get perspective on how EPIC the evolution is, seeing a game of PONG in action in contrast to the spectacular lighting effects of the Toshiba 3D laptop experience can really hammer it home.  I personally don’t think the 3D Laptops will be commercially viable, but neither was the APPLE II back in 1977.  What it did do, was allow for innovation to take another step towards larger adoption rates. With each prototype or new innovative model created, we learn more about user experience, how to better market a product and how to integrate the product into people’s lives, making it an essential part of our every day.  Go Toshiba, keep ‘em coming.

http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/qosmio

Back in the day....

The reason for its popularity is that it works on three fronts: social utility, sharing, and gaming-inspired rewards. People are already tweeting their whereabouts so it capitalizes on an existing behaviour. Next, it organizes what your friends thought about certain places in a timely manner – when you’re in the area.  It borrows from gaming theory by rewarding you with points and unlockable badges as incentives to keep playing. These hip, addictive, social status  badges (derived from the places you visit) range from “Gossip Girl to Douchebag”, and “Player Please!” to “Crunked”.

A recent execution involved restaurant review guide, Zagat, contributing professional content that enhanced the supporting suggestions users received when near a restaurant. Similarly, Warner Bros. worked collaboratively with Foursquare’s capabilities to promote its new film “Valentine’s Day”. Users were able to see branded tips on the most romantic places in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston.

Admittedly, still early in its inception, Foursquare is working with various brands to hammer out which metrics and platform features would be most effective to marketers. Nonetheless, the potential of its analytics data could provide marketers with an unprecedented look at exactly where consumers are and where they’re coming from before they come in contact with a brand. To further extend its reach, the platform should incorporate digital coupons and incentives that are accessible based on location (i.e. McDonald’s coupons when near a McDonalds). A further enhancement could incorporate in-store QR codes to make “checking-in” automatic. QR codes could even be extended directly onto products to make purchases more easily trackable. While Foursquare’s future is brimming with scary potential, presently it remains a budding platform that offers both utility and entertainment to social media consumers.