A Different School of Thought

(from our summer intern, Emily S.)

Ah, college, the original social networking system. When one thinks of this little haven of freedom, what comes to mind? Brick dormitories adorned with ivy, old friends, new friends, outlandish parties, parental liberation and, oh yeah, that irritant called studying. With two-hour lectures, novel length research papers, late night studying, and last minute cramming, these unfortunate activities constitute a majority of one’s college experience. However, once every semester there is an unnerving occurrence in which every student must face: no, it is not preparing for a 25 essay midterm, or making an oral presentation before 90 of your peers – this, my friends, is buying textbooks.

As any seasoned collegiate could tell you, there is nothing more frustrating that waiting in a labyrinth of stanchions just to fork over your next three paychecks for textbooks that may or not ever see the light of day. But it doesn’t end there. One would figure that this monetary hiccup is only temporary as you would surely get to return your “almost new” books for a healthy reimbursement when all is said and done. As you gleefully place your books on the counter to regain what is rightfully yours, you soon find out that this will not be the case --- you slowly walk away cursing under your breath as you count and recount the dollars in your hand --- a fraction of what you originally paid only some few months earlier.

Now, to be frank, I never really saw much sense in buying an Apple iPad. To me, it is just a laptop wannabe with a bunch of fingerprint smudges. Coming from a graphic design student who cares for her iMac Powerbook more than her own well being, that is a generous compliment. Yet, just when you think the iPad may be heading to the same fate as the Apple Lisa, there is a new application on the market for the iPad that could actually justify the cost of its purchase --- and turn this novelty item into a student’s best friend.

A San Francisco based company, Inkling, (www.inkling.com) has brought new life to an old means of reading textbooks. Inkling’s new application, exclusively for the iPad, allows students to download textbooks, or parts of textbooks, directly from the publisher, for a more “hands on” way to read, research, and understand volumes of text and give students, along with professors, a way to communicate information in an engaging and interactive manner that we have not seen before. Some of the features include the ability to rotate 3D graphics, change the size of type, and search for key terms throughout chapters. You can even highlight specific passages and leave notes for others students to read on their own iPads thereby creating more in-depth --- and interactive --- discussion around the work at hand. One would have to say that this is not just simply changing the way we read textbooks but, rather, turning our social networking into more of a learning network.

And if that wasn’t enough, you might say, the Inkling application can be good for your health. No more schlepping around 50 pounds of books in an already too small backpack. Forget your notebooks and laptops. The iPad is now a convenient, accessible, and sleek library weighing in at only 1.5 pounds.

I know what you are thinking. From a student’s standpoint, money is always a factor. If we can’t afford school books, how can we ever expect to come up with the hundreds dollars for the latest and greatest iPad? With Inklings ability to offer its users a single chapter for the ridiculously low price of $2.99, as compared to spending upwards of $150 for a single textbook, it soon becomes clear that even with the purchase of an iPad, a student’s total costs for textbooks can be drastically reduced.

My back is feeling better already.

Make Phone Calls on Twitter.

Interesting Beta that let's twitter users connect without sharing either parties phone number.   I can't really think of a great use for this, I mean I follow many on twitter, but i don't know if I'd like to talk to most of them.  I don't have time to talk to my actual friends, lol.  This seems to change the Twitter game a bit, but you can decide for yourself though.  Read the full article here.

Mobile Couponing Tipping Point?

To date, other than Cellfire, success in Mobile couponing has been somewhat limited due to inability of checkout scanner to read bar codes on phones. The lack of this functionality has put a burden on retail compliance because of complexity created for cashiers, sandwich makers, etc. without a scannable bar code.

A new iPhone App, called Cardstar, may be just be a game changer in mobile couponing – The App is the first we've see where a UPC Code can be created on a phone and scanned at checkout (handheld scanner only) at major retailers.

It is being marketed as a loyalty card manager where you no longer need to carry your grocery loyalty cards with you once you have loaded them to your phone.

We tested it and it worked at a CVS store & Petco, but in reading the reviews there seem to be many instances where it does not. The CardStar App is available at the App store.

Definitely something worth watching!

Mobile hotel bookings on the upturn.

Mobile hotel bookings rise

In an economy where the hotel business is on the downward trend there is one thing they are doing that's working. It's mobile hotel reservations. As users get more comfortable with mobile devices the convenience of making a reservation seems to be too much to ignore. It's clear that instances like this will be popping up all over, instances where the mobile option just makes it easier to communicate with the brand.

What's in store for in store marketing displays?

How about digital signs that actually read customers? This display knows whether customers glance at the signage, stops to read it or ignores it all together. pretty interesting stuff. See the full article on the CScout Japanese site here

Digital Signage Secret.

We came across this very attractive digital signage at the show. It featured a simple dissolve between content and specifications. It was clean and quite effective.

Upon closer observation, we realized that this shiny little object was just some simple, almost store bought technology fabricated to be a bit more useful.

I think the picture below speaks for itself, a basic digital picture frame, but modified. Just upload it with images and walla! Instant in-store digital signage.

Micro blogging with PhoneZap!

If you haven't already Jailbroke your iPhone, this may be the best reason to do so. Microblogging with PhoneZap! Snap a photo, add some copy and post it to phonezap.com. It's an easy way to have fun and share cool times. What's great is that there are ways to share ringtones too, how cool. Yet another social network, but this one may stick around and take off. Check out PhoneZap.com

American Airlines to offer in flight broadband this year

Online broadband is coming sooner than you think, so now you can play multi-payer games while in flight to your hearts content. 

With the news out today that you can't hide from your email any more, are you happy? sad? discuss.

The Wall Goes Interactive

Until now, loved ones of Vietnam War victims had to travel all the way to D.C. to pay their respects. Last week, a digitized version of the Wall was launched.

The article sums up its features:

"The Web site, unveiled last week, links names to casualty reports, historical documents and digital photographs, and allows users to leave online tributes to those who died."

I think it could come in handy for web-savvy kids and teens conducting their next research project. It also establishes community and "in loving memory" on a whole new level. But, I can see folks (those who are more personally touched by the events) arguing as to whether it's really necessary. So, is it helping to further preserve history? Thoughts?