social nerdia » mobile

Guide to Samsung Galaxy Tab Initial Web Reactions and First TV Commercial

socialnerdia — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:56:39 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Tab was unveiled today at IFA in Berlin. As Samsung USA‘s Social Media Manager, I’m a bit biased about all things Samsung (and Android in general), but I’ve seen the Galaxy Tab myself and it is truly an impressive device. I’ll keep sharing my thoughts on Twitter @SamsungEsteban & @SocialNerdia, but here are links to initial reactions from around the web so you read some previews/reviews and watch some videos/photos.

Stay tuned to @SamsungTweets and facebook.com/samsungusa for the latest news about the Galaxy Tab in the U.S.

Disclaimer: While I am employed by Samsung, the views expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samsung.

Metaio’s Lisa Murphy on the Latest Advancements of Augmented Reality

socialnerdia — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:58:37 +0000

Lisa Murphy is the Product Marketing Manager for Metaio, a company that develops software products for visual interactive solutions between the real and the virtual world.

Metaio is responsible for some of the coolest augmented reality implementations and they recently partnered with Time Out New York Kids to bring P.S.22′s famous YouTube video to your phone through mobile AR (via their Junaio browser). It’s a brave new AR world and Metaio is one of the companies leading the charge.

1) From movie posters to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, augmented reality marketing is generating a lot of buzz. However, the usage and awareness of AR is still not very high. Is buzz the ultimate goal in AR marketing today?

Buzz is definitely a goal for brands and it sometimes is the ultimate goal. But for many others, brands are looking beyond the buzz to deliver an interactive brand engagement experience or help drive sales of their products. For example, LEGO, a partner of ours, created the LEGO Digital Kiosk installation at their retail stores. The LEGO Digital Kiosk allowed shoppers to see a 3D model of the actual LEGO toy with animations and sound right on top of the product package when held to the kiosk. ( )In this execution, LEGO not only created a buzz, a great brand experience, but also sold more products as a result of the experience.

2) Time Out New York Kids and Metaio recently partnered to create a mag cover with AR using the Junaio browser, similar to Esquire’s AR cover some months ago. Now that AR is becoming a reality on print, do you think AR is going to become a trend in the print industry?

Print industry is a great fit for augmented reality. As we see a more steady push toward digital ebooks and wide consumption of articles online, publishers are looking for creative and innovative ways to engage their traditional magazine readers beyond just text in a magazine. We definitely see more publishers using augmented reality to create this mixed and interactive experience for their readers and drive more sale of the magazines on newstands. For Time Out New York Kids, having a feature cover and an editorial on PS22 definitely pointed out how talented the Chorus was, but to be able to connect the reader to a video of their performance is instant and engaging.

3) One of my favorite examples of AR is the Adidas Originals 3D Neighborhood sneakers. Where did that idea come from and how successful has it been?

The idea of creating an AR shoe that serves as a game controller for the Star Wars game came from Sid Lee Marketing Agency. They approached us with the concept and we jointly implemented the AR experience using our Unifeye software. The campaign has been very successful and generated much press coverage and buzz. I am not able to disclose any statistics regarding usage as they belong to the client. However, the campaign for the user was successful because it extended beyond just a simple AR campaign, incorporating interactions and social media features to make it engaging and fun. We have heard a lot of good feedback.

4) Apps like Tweepsaround (based on Layar) have been able to give us a hint of the integration of AR and the social web. Is Metaio doing anything in the social networking space?

Yes we are. Junaio, our augmented reality browser, has a social focus that allows users to leave “geo-tags” at locations to share with friends. For example, any user can create a “user augmented channel” and leave photos, comments, notes, or 3D objects at locations for friends to discover. Recently, I created a channel called “Lisa’s Adventures” and it’s full of my favorite places to go in the city. My friends can tune into my channel and see my recommendations just by pointing their phone. We have also embedded features such as adding friends, news to create a fun and social experience for our users.

On the channel side, Foursquare and Youtube are some of the social networking AR channels that we make available for users to discover.

5) Going back to TONY Kids, what do you think this will do for PS 22, the YouTube sensation and Webby Award-winning fifth-grade chorus from Staten Island?

When we told PS22 about the AR cover, they were very excited. Part of the reason why they were so successful was their viral YouTube videos that garnered more than 2 million hits. Using augmented reality, we were able to connect those videos to the magazine article that allowed the readers to experience the magic as they were reading. More readers are able to see their performance.

6) It seems like kids these days are born knowing how to operate computers and smartphones. What about education? Is there an area in which AR could be helpful in the classroom?

Yes! Augmented reality is making books more interactive and fun to read. We did a project with Bertlesmann in 2008 where we turned a couple of pages in their Atlas to 3D AR pages. The AR experience with visual, audio supplement allowed a reader to better understand the content of the book. Learning by watching a video or having a 3D construction of the terrains vastly improves the intake of information. Future is Wild is another example project.

7) Industrial AR is another interesting use case. Any examples of companies doing this effectively?

Yes, Peugeot, Opel, VolksWagen are some of the pioneers in factory planning and prototyping.

In what other ways could the world benefit from increased use of AR?

Augmented reality creates a simple interface to data and information that is available in the world. By a simple point of the phone, users can get information immediately. For example, if I am a tourist in San Francisco and looking for places to go, I can use AR to discover landmarks around me. No more searching through a map or reading a guide, you now can get instant information that is relevant and location-based.

9) We’ve gone from webcam/printout examples of AR to all kinds of AR-enabled games and mobile applications. What’s next in Augmented Reality?

The growing area is definitely on the mobile side. Everything that we have seen about AR can now be done on a smart phone.

What’s next is mobile AR games? Check out Zoombie Shooter.

The Online Latino: A New Digital Native (Esteban Contreras @ SXSWi 2010)

socialnerdia — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:45:22 +0000

I had the very cool opportunity to speak at this year’s SXSW Interactive as part of the Future15: Diversity series, which was organized by Glenda Bautista. The presentation, titled “The Online Latino: A New Digital Native,” was all about Latin Americans and the web.

While it is a myth that Latin Americans are not online, only 30% of them are. The presentation went into the challenges (poverty, inequality, censorship, and the social/economic/digital divide), as well as what is changing (tech hubs, encouraging governments, businesses rolling out infrastructure, and a rapidly growing online community).

If you’re interested in learning more about what is happening online and offline in Latin America, including Streisand effects, citizen journalism, social networking, innovative start-ups, and stories about the people that are converting ideas into movements, check out the slides and videos below. Feedback (through email or comments) is appreciated

Thanks to Diego Contreras (aka Diegoliath) for helping me with the design, Jon Gipson for recording the video, and Kara Andrade for writing the original proposal with me and helping out with ideas, insights, and stats.

Foursquare, the Love Child at SXSWi 2010

socialnerdia — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:43:50 +0000

If you’re not on Foursquare… You should be.

Location + Badges = Utilitarian + Fun.

Here’s an informal SXSW Interactive session featuring Dennis Crowley (Foursquare), Christopher Barger (GM), and B. Bonin Bough (Pepsi).

SXSWi 2010: Pandora CTO Tom Conrad talks Android and HTML 5

socialnerdia — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:00:35 +0000

There are two apps that make most of the other apps on my phones (I have both a Samsung Moment and a Palm Pre) seem almost useless. One is Stitcher (which lets you stream podcasts) and the other is Pandora. This is because audio is essential to me. Without something to stream on the way to work, while walking in Manhattan, or simply while relaxing at home, I would go a little crazy.

I’ve heard some people say that some of this year’s SXSW Interactive presentations were too “101.“ All I can say is that I attended some presentations/sessions/panels that were solid good. Some were technical in nature and others were more about the stories behind-the-scenes.

One of my favorite stories was that of Pandora, as told by their CTO Tom Conrad.

I opted not to go to Gary Vee’s presentation, the live Buzz Out Loud (I’m a huge fan), and many other ones at the same time because I wanted to learn more about Pandora. It was worth it.

CES 2010: Samsung is Transforming Home Entertainment with 3D TV and Apps Galore

socialnerdia — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:21:26 +0000

It’s CES time again, and this year, Samsung is going all out with several firsts, a lot of ICES Innovation awards (23 actually!), and a commitment to creating the future of home entertainment.

Home entertainment continues to get increasingly exciting with slimmer and cooler televisions and blu-ray players, but the basic experience of watching a movie from your couch hasn’t changed much in many years. Not to worry, in 2010, the 3D experience will make its way from theaters to your homes.

While the first 3D film premiered back in 1922, the technology that is used today is much more advanced and has finally made in-roads to work with the content Hollywood is producing. With widely distributed and popular 3D movies and a lot of curiosity around the idea of in-home 3D viewing, Samsung will deliver a complete 3D home entertainment solution to bring a truly immersive and memorable experience to consumers.

Samsung is not a stranger to 3D; it actually introduced 3D DLPs beginning in 2007 and 3D flat-panel Plasma HDTVs in 2008. At this CES, Samsung in partnership with DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor, announced that it will soon offer a complete out-of-box 3D experience including 3D HDTVs (not just LCD and Plasma, but also LED!), a 3D blu-ray player, and an exclusive promotion that includes a first-time feature-length, 3D Blu-ray version of DreamWorks Animation’s 2009 release, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” created and produced by Technicolor. So, just for a second, imagine watching “Monsters vs. Aliens” in 1080p, at home with your whole family, in 3D, on a very cool looking LED HDTV. And then just imagine all the great content that will come out in the coming year, and you get the picture. Home entertainment. Transformed.

Of course there are some challenges for 3D. I bet you can’t think of many 3D movies (I can’t either), and I doubt anyone will want to watch only 3D. Samsung knows this so it is going to take it a step further by allowing you watch 2D content in 3D through its auto-conversion technology. This will add some excitement to your old movies.

Samsung also announced Samsung Apps, the world’s first multi-device app store. That means apps for your phone, your TV, your blu-ray player, and in the future, all kinds of devices. Samsung Apps is featured as part of the upgraded Internet@TV – Content Service, and provides consumers with an expanded, easy to navigate selection of content and applications from leading services like Accedo Broadband, AccuWeather.com, The Associated Press, Blockbuster, Fashion TV, Netflix, Picasa, Pandora, Rovi, Travel Channel, Twitter, USA TODAY, and Vudu. Samsung will also allow developers to create innovative apps that we will be able to experience with ease and speed. You can expect the first batch of apps to launch in the Spring and premium apps to launch in the Summer of 2010.

Oh, and did I mention that Samsung is also launching a premium touch screen remote control with a QWERTY keyboard in the LED 9000 series that lets you watch TV on it? Well, now you know. Very fun indeed.

And for those people that would like to watch TV anywhere on-the-go, a new iteration of the Samsung Moment will be the first phone with Mobile DTV, a new free-to-air mobile TV standard that’s launching later this year (with an initial soft-launch in Baltimore and Washington, DC). Let me say that again: Free TV. Anywhere. On your Android-powered phone.

Samsung truly wants to transform home entertainment and that is going to take an actual commitment to what people can only dream of today. 3D TV is around the corner and it’s only the beginning. Samsung intends to inspire the world and create the future. Starting this year at CES.

If you’d like to stay on top of all things Samsung, visit www.facebook.com/samsungusa and follow us on Twitter @samsungtweets.

Disclaimer: I recently joined Samsung as Social Media Manager. While I am employed by Samsung, the views expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samsung.