Cover StoryBy Paula BernierAlcatel Lucent, Partners Show AppsAimed at Driving Retail SalesQuestion: What do Americans like to do duringtheir leisure time when they’re not at homewatching TV, playing an online game, texting,or cruising the Internet?Answer: It’s a trick question, because there are at least threecorrect answers: shopping, driving, or eating and drinking.With all this in mind, Alcatel Lucent and its ng connectprogram partners, have come up with a handful of revenuegeneratingapplications for <strong>service</strong>s <strong>provider</strong>s that addressthe above-mentioned activities and tend to focus on LTEtechnology. Laureen R. Cook, vice president of 4G/LTEstrategy-emerging technology at Alcatel Lucent, explainsthat while the applications have yet to be commerciallydeployed, they could be ready to launch very quickly if aninterested party stepped forward. What’s more, she adds,the group has worked with BellLabs’ revenue group to offercost modeling for each of these applications.Among the ng connect applications demonstrated at lastmonth’s Consumer Electronics Show was The Connected Car,which Alcatel Lucent put together with partner QNX SoftwareSystems, which offers a real-time embedded OS.This includes in-vehicle infotainment and advanced safetyfeatures, but while the car is in drive the driver has noaccess to the entertainment, notes Cook. Each seat in thevehicle (in this case it was a Toyota) has its own screen,through which passengers can make a phone call, and havetheir own unique views into their own selections of games,ng Connect CES 2011 Virtual Personal StylistGoTo:GoTo:42 INTERNET TELEPHONY ® February 2011 Table of Contents • Ad Index Subscribe FREE online at www.itmag.com
widgets, movies and other content. They also have theability to pull content from their home-based devicesand to purchase content from online portals. Eachpassenger has a Bluetooth headset, so as to reduce driverdistraction, Cook says. The Connected Car includes itsown Wi-Fi hotspot. And the vehicle’s interface ties intothe user’s home gateway so driver and passengers can dohome energy monitoring and control remotely. Of course,a GPS system is also part of the mix, and the relatedapplication not only provides directions, but offers quicklinks and maps to nearby banks, coffee spots, gas stations,hospitals and malls.Once uptake of LTE, which companies like Verizon juststarted rolling out late last year, hits 60 percent nationwide,Cook says she expects car manufacturers to support thisapplication set.A second application demonstrated by the ng connect programin Alcatel Lucent’s CES booth was the Virtual Venue.The venue in this case could be any public venue, like amuseum, a theater or a sports arena. In the case of demo,the venue was a baseball park. LTE connectivity withinthis park, explains Cook, could allow fans to easily bepushed or actively tap into data and video related to thelocation, the team, the game and/or the players. Visitorscould also use their wireless connectivity to order foodfrom the concession and have it delivered to their seats.And if they didn’t want to wait in a long line at the giftshop, fans could use their wireless connections and thevenue app (which could show products in 3D) to make apurchase and have the product(s) delivered to their homes.Cook emphasizes that this and all the applications discussedhere are all about generating new content for retaillocations and their partners.Virtual Stylist is perhaps the most interesting andmulti-faceted app of the bunch. It brings together alengthy list of partners, which includes Samsung andVidyo, among others.The idea here is that it allows a person to walk into a dressingroom in which there’s high-tech equipment that createsa look-alike avatar of the shopper and can display variousclothing and makeup on that avatar, which can then besaved by the shopper in a “virtual wallet” for later viewingand sharing. This demo also showed the shopper interactingwith a stylist via an HD teleconference.signage from MediaTile and LTE connectivity enabled byAlcatel Lucent gear to provide what Cook calls a “humankiosk”. The idea is to offer folks access to a remote expertso they can get more information on products, help withtroubleshooting a product, and/or communications intheir native tongue.In a separate area in its CES booth, Alcatel Lucentshowed a digital sign in table format. Two people wereusing their cellular phones as controllers to play a gameon the digital sign.Other applications demonstrated included Global Bazaar, amall-based kiosk that lets shoppers view, order and pay forproducts from around the world, and the Media Hotspot.The former app’s interface includes a 3D map of the worldthat drills down to what products are available from thatgeography, and a link to allow shoppers to initiate a telepresenceconference call with a representative to talk in realtime. The Media Hotspot, meanwhile, is a media jukeboxthat could allow retailers to bump up their sales by offeringcustomers the ability to buy music while they’re in line tobuy a coffee, for example, says Cook. IT“Toll Free Provisioning Made Easy”Toll FreeLeast Cost Routing (LCR)& ProvisioningIf you are a Carrier, Toll Free RespOrg,or Reseller, we can help you!• Toll Free Number Management, Provisioning, &Route Optimization Software Solution• 8MS is Used by Over 75 RespOrgs to Manage30% of all Toll Free Numbers in the Industry• Save Money Immediately Using CSF’s Toll FreeLCR Software!This can enable a retail outlet to expand its revenues bothby enabling shoppers to consider and make a purchaseeven after they’ve left the store. It also makes reorderingsimple, says Cook.The Virtual Concierge, meanwhile, leverages digitalCSF Corporation Contactwww.csfcorp.com8MSsales@csfcorp.com+1.732.302.0222IT Expo Booth #729Comptel Booth #518Channel PartnersBooth #1438Subscribe FREE online at www.itmag.comGoTo:GoTo:Table of Contents • Ad IndexFebruary 2011 INTERNET TELEPHONY ® 43
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