Digital signage is what! What? I hear you cry..

Digital Signage may seem a new term to some but it’s roots have been grounded for some time now in various guises; ... READ MORE]]>

Digital signage is what! What? I hear you cry..

Digital Signage may seem a new term to some but it’s roots have been grounded for some time now in various guises; those cooking demos at deli counters in supermarkets, the music screens at the gym while you’re pounding away, and more recently on the tills at your corner shop and big displays about products at your local IKEA.

It’s a growing industry and one which is expected to grow by 33% in the coming year, not to be sniffed at in today’s volatile climate! Advances in technology and hardware are making packages more accessible to smaller businesses, such as your local Doctors or Dentists, and can increase revenue (from advertising at least) for companies by pushing latest offers and products.

Digital signage is a way for companies to target their users in a self service kind of way, campaigns can be pushed at certain times of the day or when shops are busiest. The supported formats for content, and the increasing spec of the hardware, mean there’s virtually no limits to the style and pace of the content served. In March this year POPAI (The Point of Purchase Advertising Institute) released the first of three digital signage standards to promote “interoperability between different providers”.

“Screen-Media Formats specifies the file formats that digital signage systems should support. The objective of this and future standards documents from POPAI is to establish a foundation of performance and behavior that all digital signage systems can follow.”

So what companies are leading the pack? According to a survey by PRO AV magazine published in June 2009, the top brands for digital-signage systems were Scala, Westinghouse, Harris, Visix, Dynasign, Omnivex and X20.

For content keep an eye on Interclub Digital and Gym Screen Media.

Want to read more about Digital signage? There are some pretty good resources about, here’s a small handful:

• Special Publication: Digital Signage that Enhances the Retail Shopping Experience
  http://www.selfservice.org/specialpub.php?i=136
• Omnivex’s “four keys to digital signage success” ranked no. 1 article in 2008 by Digital Signage Expo
  http://catalogs.infocommiq.com/avcat/ctl1642/index.cfm?pin_id=1642&mlc_id=1503&prid=2837
• Digital signage software
  http://www.omnivex.com/
  http://www.ryarc.com/
  

I’ve recently been working on an interactive flash application for a Digital signage contract, I think it could be big so stay tuned for more soon!

I bought a new phone today! Correction, it was time for my upgrade today..

..and I have taken delivery of a shiny new Nokia N86 8MP. Now choosing a phone is ... READ MORE]]>

I bought a new phone today! Correction, it was time for my upgrade today..

..and I have taken delivery of a shiny new Nokia N86 8MP. Now choosing a phone is not a 5 minute job, for a start I’m out-of-the-loop on the latest handsets and features plus I do only use my phone as, um, a phone. But things have changed lately, I’m working away a bit more plus I want something I can easily browse the internet with rather than screwing my vision trying to look at beautiful sites on a rather small screen. So I thought I’d list out my wish list features as a start:

• Easy, fast internet access
• Clear larger screen
• Lots of apps I don’t know I need, but when I see them will wonder what I did without
• Check and reply to email
• Notified when I have an email, without having to do anything
• Clearer diary and upcoming to-do’s
• Better camera

I showed my lists to a few friends, started browsing available phones had a few  “Why didn’t you buy an i-phone!”s thrown my way. I like the iPhone, I really do.. but it is quite big. And gets dirty quite easily. And really its quite a lot of money for someone who relies on their yearly upgrade and has never actually bought a phone. And to get it free is to pay an extortionate monthly fee for extras I just won’t use up.

So I’ve ended up with the Nokia N86, which basically ticks every wish list feature above and has some great little apps on it. I’ve got GPS! I’ll never get lost again! I can play my music and tune it into my car stereo, I can watch eastenders on my BBC i-Player using my phone stand, and I will now never forget a thing as my tasks and calendar are quite clearly on display whenever I look at my phone (in theory..).

I like it rather a lot. Now ask me again in a month when I’ve probably lost my temper trying to text (I am a Sony Ericsson girl at heart..) and I might have changed my mind. But for now.. *snuggles phone*