Looking Forward to Tech in 2013

January 3rd, 2013 | Posted by Quixey in Technology Trends - (0 Comments)

2012 was a huge year for us. We secured a Series B round of funding, updated our mobile site and web site, and announced our first major partnership with a federated search engine, Ask.com.

We’re poised to make 2013 an even bigger year, and can’t wait to announce more of the exciting products and partnerships we’ve been working diligently on. As we look forward inwardly, we’re also excited about where the industry as a whole is heading. Here are some of the rising tech trends we’ve been following recently, and how we think they’ll make an impact in 2013:

Apps Keep Morphing

As apps continue to flood the various app stores and their icons keep filling up additional home screen pages on our phones, a shift toward providing the content and functionality of apps in simpler, more intuitive ways will ensue. Now that sifting through countless icons and folders on a home screen has become somewhat tedious, technologies like Siri will rise up and begin to successfully provide seamless entry into an app. You wouldn’t bookmark every single website important to you, just to look through all of them when you need to get something done, right? Well, soon you shouldn’t have to do that with apps either.

Embedded Tech

As we wrote about in a previous post, smart appliances are starting to pop up everywhere, truly giving rise to the smart home. In 2013, this trend is likely to continue both inside and outside of the personal space. With more and more everyday objects either getting NFC-enabled chips stuck inside them, or advanced connectivity with mobile apps, users will be able to get information from places they never expected. As Lance Ulanoff of Mashable writes, “Any place they can jam a sensor to capture…data, [utility poles, doorhandles, sidewalks] or let you quickly gain information about…situational awareness, there will be embedded technology.”

Augmented Reality

Although a lot of hype has been placed on products such as Google’s Project Glass—and rightfully so, as the applications for placing information over our field of view are nearly limitless—augmented reality will even sooner begin to appear in other forms. GPS-based AR apps like Layar already exist, and smartphone manufacturers will increasingly incorporate the technology into their devices in unique ways. There’s a lot of room for innovation, be it for AR games, specific product apps, or advertising. Look for 2013 to be a big year when it comes to tightly integrating data into the real world we see every day.

Smartphones Become A Phantom Limb

We use our smart phones for everything. They’re the ultimate utility tool, personal assistant, and social connectivity device all in one small package. So it’s no surprise that according to a survey conducted by Qualcomm and Time, 68% of people sleep with their phones at their bedside. Whether it’s a real-life assistant you can reach through Exec or an easy way to catch a ride across town with Uber or Lyft, there really is an app for just about anything. As a result, our reliance on smart phones will only become greater and greater. As more comprehensive functionalities like Google Wallet and Apple’s Passbook become fully integrated with our finances, coupons, and tickets, we truly won’t be able to live without our phones.

Second Screens Stake their Claim

According to Social News Daily, more than 80% of smartphone and tablet owners use their devices while watching TV. Many of them post what they’re watching on social media, read more news based on something they saw, or try to find apps relevant to the content presented to them on television. In 2013 this trend will continue, but media and advertising agencies will have captured the monetary possibilities presented by this dual-screen behavior. They’ll attempt to enhance the viewing experience by prompting users to further explore TV content on their tablets or smartphones, while also taking advantage of new ways to push users toward buying a product.

We’re extremely eager to see where the industry moves in 2013. Of course, many of these trends have been in the works for years, but we’re confident a lot will finally come to the surface this year. Here’s to a productive, progressive 2013!

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The Rise of Smart Homes

November 20th, 2012 | Posted by Quixey in Technology Trends - (1 Comments)

Here come the smart homes.

Don’t be alarmed—this doesn’t signal an “I, Robot” style catastrophe wherein our houses form minds of their own and conspire against their landlords. On the contrary, a smart home is simply a collective evolution of the individual appliances and security features common to most dwellings. As it turns out, the functionality of apps is pushing this phenomenon forward. Let’s take a look at a few examples that have begun to appear.

Lockitron

Lockitron is a device that fits over your current deadbolt and can be accessed via an iOS and Android app, as well as a mobile website. It allows you to lock your door from anywhere in the world through an intuitive two-button interface. You can immediately see if your door is unlocked, and receive notifications when your child unlocks the door using their phone or key. Access is easily shared with family and friends, and the battery lasts for up to one year—notifying you when it’s running low. Lockitron’s technology relies on the same security protocols as online banking, so you never have to worry about driving back home to check on the lock yourself.

Nest

As the creators of Nest put it, “most people leave the house at one temperature and forget to change it.” So why not employ an advanced thermostat that learns your schedule, programs itself, and can be controlled by your phone instead? If you use it right, it’ll only lower your heating and cooling bills up to 20%, after all. During setup, you set minimum and maximum temperatures for your home, and an auto-away feature automatically lowers the temperature when Nest senses you’ve been away for a little while. The best part about Nest is it learns from its mistakes—if it turns your heat down while you’re working quietly at home for a few hours, touching it will teach it to be more wary of your schedule next time. Whichever habits you have when it comes to keeping your house warm or cool, Nest will pick up after just a few manual adjustments. It can currently be accessed online and via an iOS app, with the Android app on its way.

AGA iTotal Control Cooker

The AGA iTotal Control is a smart stove controlled through text messages, mobile apps, or web. It allows you to turn on the stove while you’re away from home so a meal is ready the second you walk through the door. For families with children, it’s a very valuable tool as it enables you to monitor your oven and stove directly from a tablet, computer, or phone. It’s currently only available in the United Kingdom, but a U.S. appearance may happen soon—allowing millions of people to stop wondering if they turned off the stove ten minutes after leaving the house.

 

Samsung Smart Washer and Dryer

Moving into another area of home appliances—washers and dryers—this Samsung duo can be controlled by, you guessed it, a mobile app. Similar to having a hot meal ready for you when you get home, you can remotely turn on your dryer an hour before you get home to have fresh and warm clothes ready upon your arrival. The app, available for iOS and Android, also notifies you when a load is done. Now you don’t have to run over and keep checking, only to ultimately forget to transfer clothes to the dryer when the washer is actually finished.

Milkmaid

The Milkmaid is a glass milk jug that plugs into a smart base that stays in your refrigerator. It’s able to measure the freshness of your milk by using pH sensors, feeling both when it’s spoiled and how long until it will be spoiled. It also has a temperature sensor that alerts you when your milk is left out too long, minimizing the risk of developing harmful bacteria. This information can all be accessed via a free iPhone app.

More and more, software is starting to appear in objects and appliances that on their own used to seem quite ordinary. The key to leveraging this evolution of “smart” devices is to access them via apps. Whether it’s something as simple as keeping your milk fresh longer, or functionality as crucial as keeping your home secure, technology is advancing to meet everyday needs in safe and intuitive ways.


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Apps for the Developing World

June 14th, 2012 | Posted by Quixey in Life-Changing Apps | Technology Trends | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

What makes a life-changing app? It should make people’s lives better. It might help children with autism express themselves, encourage us to eat healthier or motivate us to work out more often. Now what if apps could help improve the lives of billions of people in the developing world?

They can, they do and it’s only the beginning.

Mobile phones are changing the international development space. There are over 5 billion wireless subscribers worldwide, of which over 70% live in low- and middle-income countries. In some places, more people have wireless service than access to the electrical grid or other traditional infrastructure systems. NGOs and private companies alike have already begun to leverage mobile phones to improve the quality of life for people in developing nations — a 2009 study showed a 1.2% GDP increase for every 10% increase in mobile penetration. Banking and healthcare stand out as examples of mobile apps delivering tangible benefits to underserved populations.

M-PESA: Airtime as Currency

More than half the world’s adult population is “unbanked,” meaning they don’t use traditional financial services for savings or transactions. M-PESA is a mobile banking service launched by Vodafone that allows users to send payments to others via SMS. The payments are credited to the recipients account as mobile minutes and can be used up or redeemed for cash at M-PESA agent stations. The service is live in Tanzania, Afghanistan and Kenya, where adoption has reached an estimated twenty-five percent of the population.

mHealth: Mobile Health Services

In some parts of the world, where the doctor to patient ratio approaches 1:20,000, mobile phones can provide potentially life-saving medical information. Some mHealth services provide basic education and awareness information; for example, Text4baby Russia provides free health information to expecting mothers tailored to their baby’s due date. Other mHealth services deliver valuable patient information to local doctors. The South African service SIMpill, a pill bottle with a SIM card, monitors HIV/AIDS treatment compliance by sending a text message when medication is taken. It will also send SMS reminders to patients when they forget to take their prescribed doses.

The Future 

Mobile apps in the developing world are already changing lives, but it’s only the beginning. Most of the apps deployed today are built to leverage SMS technology on feature phones. For most communities, smartphones are prohibitively expensive. However, as they continue to decrease in price, we may be nearing a time when hundreds of millions of people in the developing world gain access to the full app ecosystem available on smartphones.

The opportunities for mobile apps in the developing world are endless. Whether by providing banking services or healthcare information, apps can truly make people’s lives better. Most exciting of all, the great work that’s already being done in this space is just the beginning. We can’t wait to see the next generation of truly life-changing apps for the developing world.

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Smarter than Smart: Phones of the Future

May 18th, 2012 | Posted by Quixey in Technology Trends - (1 Comments)

Twenty years ago, a mobile phone was a foreign concept – and now owning a smartphone is Modern Living 101. How will we view phones in the next two decades? Here are some mind-blowing designs of future phones!

Phone Evolution

“Mobile Script”

With the popularity of tablets increasing, and the amount of time spent on rich media like games and movies exploding, a big screen is absolutely necessary. But how big can the screen be without sacrificing portability? That’s why designer Aleksandr Mukomelov imagines a solution – a small phone, with a huge screen.

Mobile SCript

“Cobalto” the 3D Phone

Designer Mac Funamizu envisions a phone that isn’t just bound to the screen. Resembling Princess Leah’s message to Obi-Won Kenobi in Star-Wars, the Cobalto phone design displays holograms in place of a regular screen. This opens the door for app developers to develop anything from 3D GPS navigation to 3D gaming – right on your phone.

Cobalto

Nokia “Morph”

Alongside the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Nokia launched a concept phone design that morphs to your everyday needs. Wear it around your wrist as a wristband, keep it in your pocket or expand it to the size of a screen – the Morph phone changes as your needs change.

NokiaMorph

“The Window Phone”

Cut the excess parts of the phone with a fully glass “Window” phone – a phone that fully integrates surroundings and gestures for a seamless phone experience. Although it boasts changing its screen opacity based on the weather, the last thing we would want here at Quixey is a cloudy phone on a rainy day – but the concept is interesting!

“Projector Phone – iPhone GNext”

This phone is one that you can easily hold “in the palm of your hand” – if you know what we mean. The iPhone GNext concept is a little wristband which projects the screen of your phone onto your hand, giving you an easily accessible and extremely portable phone.

iPhone G

We’re extremely excited for the future and we hope you are too! Which of these phones would you want? Tweet @Quixey your answer!

We Want More Than Just Static Content

October 28th, 2011 | Posted by Quixey in App Trends | Technology Trends - (0 Comments)

Last week, a video went viral that captures how technology is changing human behavior. The video, “A Magazine is an iPad That Does Not Work,” shows an adorable one-year-old girl frustrated by the lack of functionality in her magazine. From a toddler’s perspective, paper is just a broken touchscreen.

YouTube Preview Image

Times have changed. This toddler will never pick up a magazine at the grocery store or buy a textbook at the bookstore. She’ll probably never visit a newsstand or unfold a road map.

In today’s fast-paced world, we want more than just static content, we want the dynamic interaction that comes with apps. For the digital native generation, touchscreens will be the only way to access content, and the portal to the app world.

This isn’t just about the one-year-old girl. We all want more functionality in our lives, and technology is evolving rapidly to meet our needs. It is only a matter of time before we’re all saying, “Remember the days before apps, when things were in print?”