The Official blog of Dark Matter, Inc.

Las Vegas (CNN) — Imagine a future in which icons flash on your car windshield, hologram style, as your car approaches restaurants, stores, historic landmarks or the homes of friends.

Simply point your hand at them, and the icons open to show real-time information: when that bridge over there was built, what band is playing at that nightclub on the left, whether that new café up the street has any tables available. Wave your hand again, and you’ve made a restaurant reservation.

Mercedes-Benz showed off this vision of the future of driving — complete with augmented-reality and gesture-controlled features — this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

CES is the world’s biggest technology trade show, and carmakers are becoming a bigger presence here. Visitors climbed into a little cockpit at the Mercedes booth and took a brief, interactive and virtual ride through nighttime San Francisco — with the high-tech windshield as a guide.

The technology is still crude, and at least several years away from finding its way into Mercedes vehicles. But it illustrates how automakers, while embracing current computer innovation such as dashboard touchscreens and voice-control interfaces, also are keeping an eye further down the road as well.

As digital tech — and our expectations for it — becomes more mobile, carmakers are taking notice. Many automotive designers here seem to have taken inspiration from smartphones, with their promise of being always connected and their vast menu of apps for every purpose.

“Cars are becoming platforms to participate in the digital world in a fully networked sense, just like your tablets can and your phones can,” said Venkatesh Prasad, a senior technical leader with Ford Motor Co.’s innovation division. “It’s our job to take those computing services people are used to at 0 mph and make them available at 70 mph.”

Yes, that sounds a little scary. And with escalating concerns about the hazards of distracted driving, automakers must walk a fine line between convenience and safety. Automotive engineers are continually trying to simplify their interfaces to cut down on the precious seconds that a driver’s attentions are diverted from the road ahead.

“All of our technology is voice-powered,” Ford product manager Julius Marchwicki told CNN’s sister network HLN. “So instead of fumbling with your phone … you keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.”

Sascha Simon, head of advance product planning for Mercedes-Benz USA, agreed: “We determine which apps should be in the car and which shouldn’t. We have these apps integrated in such a way that they’re actually relevant to you.”

For example, say you’re running late to a meeting and can’t call or text while driving. Mercedes’ messaging app will create a menu of logical missives based on your location and your car’s speed — “I’m stuck in traffic,” or “I’m just north of Bakersfield” — and display them on the screen.

You scroll through them and push a button to post the one that fits, instead of having to manually type the words.

Ford this week introduced five new apps for its pioneering Sync hands-free entertainment system, including Roximity, a daily-deals application that provides real-time discounts relevant to a driver’s location. Ford is so committed to morphing its vehicles into digital platforms that the company is recruiting developers to create apps for Sync and plans to open a research lab in Silicon Valley this year.

Meanwhile, Mercedes launched the second generation of its mbrace system, which connects drivers with the Web via customized apps that can be controlled by voice commands or on a dashboard touchscreen. Mbrace is now cloud-based, meaning it’s always connected and its software can automatically update itself.

Not to be outdone, Audi and Kia also have big presences at CES, and both announced updated versions of their Web-based dashboard entertainment systems.

The boldest advancements in automotive tech, however, may be a few years away. All the major car companies are working on systems that would allow vehicles to talk to each other about road conditions, weather and traffic snarls. For example, a car swerving to avoid a tire in the road could send an instant message alerting surrounding vehicles to the hazard.

Ford also is developing technology that takes a more holistic approach to driver safety and welfare. Instead of focusing on preventing collisions, for example, a car could help diabetic drivers by employing wireless sensors to monitor their glucose levels, said Gary Strumolo, Ford manager of vehicle design and infotronics.

Or a car could help allergy sufferers by monitoring for high-pollen areas, then recirculating air within the vehicle instead of pulling it in from the outside, he said.

Kia is testing something called the “user-centered driving concept,” which would emphasize safety by employing an infra-red LED and camera to monitor the driver’s face for alertness. The system would recognize whether the driver’s eyes are opened or closed, safeguarding against an accident caused by the driver falling asleep.

All these advancements may make driving more interesting. Or they may spoil one of modern society’s last refuges from the hyper-connected digital world.

Either way, they are coming soon.

“We’re working on a new generation of vehicles that truly serve as digital companions,” said Dieter Zetsche, head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, in a keynote speech at CES. “They learn your habits, adapt to your choices, predict you moves and interact with your social network.”

One-third of Mobile Subscribers Access Social Networking on Mobile Device

RESTON, VA, December 29, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending November 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.6 percent market share. Google Android continued to capture share in the smartphone market to reach 46.9 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in November, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.3 percentage points), followed by LG with 20.5 percent share and Motorola with 13.7 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 11.2 percent share of total mobile subscribers (up 1.4 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 6.5 percent share.

Smartphone Platform Market Share

91.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in November, up 8 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 46.9 percent market share, up 3.1 percentage points from the prior three-month period. Apple maintained its #2 position, growing 1.4 percentage point to 28.7 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 16.6 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.2 percent) and Symbian (1.5 percent).

Mobile Content Usage

In November, 72.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 2.1 percentage points. Downloaded applications were used by 44.9 percent of subscribers (up 3.3 percentage points), while browsers were used by 44.4 percent (up 2.3 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.1 percentage points to 33.0 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 29.7 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.2 percentage points), while 21.7 percent listened to music on their phones (up 1.0 percentage points).

Good video interviews from Rob Woodbridge and some of the more forward thinking marketers in mobile. Top themes that emerged form the interview:

1. People still excited about SMS. Many retailers have realized that even though it’s been around for a while, it’s been underutilized.
2. The lessening of fragmentation in the market will inevitably create more opportunities. This applies to everything form devices to carrier interoperability.
3. Latin America (LATAM) is a key opportunity and also a key challenge, both from a technical and best practices perspective.
4. MMS. People seem exited about it, but it’s still a cloudy topic in need of more clarity

Some themes we were surprised didn’t emerge:

1. Voice and gesture as a means of communication across all devices.
2. Mobile transactions, e.g., Square
3. All-mobile social networks
4. Mobile gaming. Which has overtaken the traditional gaming consoles and appeals to a broad range of demographics.

Watch video

According to December figures from eMarketer, the average time spent per day with mobile phones has jumped 30% in the past year, rising to 1 hour and 5 minutes, meaning that US adults now spend more time with their mobile phones than with print magazines and newspapers combined (44 minutes). Traditional TV remains the most viewed medium, at 4 hours and 34 minutes per day, with the Internet in second place (2 hours and 47 minutes) and radio in third (1 hour and 34 minutes).

Read full article

Our Two Cents:
Some decent best practices on how Consumer Packed Goods (CPG) brands can use mobile to make their offers more relevant and engaging. Marketers should remember that in the CPG category, price is often top of mind. Therefore, the functionality and content that brands deliver to their customers should reflect the “value hunting” behavior shoppers are exhibiting in this current economy.

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Google Mobile Ad Blog
Matt Dorfman, Account Executive, Mobile Ads
Friday, July 8, 2011 | 10:22 AM

Mobile is playing a central role in how customers interact with consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. According to a recent smartphone study, 79% of users rely on smartphones to help with shopping – 69% for more product information, and another 70% while shopping in the store. (1)
The price-conscious shopper may want to redeem a mobile coupon to save $1 on a tube of toothpaste. Another may want to know the most eco-friendly brand of detergent as they shop in store. Or, the more competitive among us may use their mobile device to win a prize via a promotion for their favorite sports drink.

CPG companies typically rely mainly on brand advertising – often through TV campaigns – to connect with consumers. Mobile, provides new ways for consumers to experience CPG brands and connect with products and offers, yet many CPG marketers are not using mobile to reach consumers – and they are missing out.

Whether someone is looking for offers or trying to find your nearest location, many consumers are searching for you on mobile devices. Google’s research shows that 12% of mobile search queries are related to food and beverage items, and 15% of queries center around home and personal care. So how can CPG marketers mobilize their brands and make sure they stake their claim to the mobile marketing landscape?

Make consumers an offer
First, provide something useful or solve a problem that a customer has. Try couponing on mobile exclusively – and be sure you’re dovetailing with retailers to close the loop.

In December 2010, Adidas offered customers 15% off purchases made in an Adidas store of $75 or more. The mobile Offers Ads campaign doubled in-store coupon redemption and increased the average in-store order value.

Go local
Mobile users are searching for information locally. Now, you can use hyperlocal distance information with location extensions, an enhancement that lets your customers know how close they are to a business. In this case, the business would be a retailer you have partnered with that carries your products. This high-end mobile device feature provides users with down-to-the-block-level detail about a business including address, phone number and location on Google Maps for Mobile.

Just test it!
Run a few mobile-focused campaigns to experiment with mobile advertising. In Q4 2010, Mindshare, Kimberly-Clark’s interactive agency, implemented a comprehensive mobile ad test program honing in on specific brands, devices and keywords. The combination of CPC and click-through rate (CTR) for mobile was 70% better than the same stats on the desktop for the test brand.

Get creative
Think of an experience for consumers that is unique to mobile. To engage Android device users across US, Coca-Cola decided in 2010 to promote a lighthearted holiday live wallpaper app. Says Wendy Clark, Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing for Coca-Cola, “If your plans don’t include mobile, then your plans are not finished.” (2)

We tend to agree. CPG brands need to have a strong mobile strategy, and Google mobile ads can help.