Co-innovation campaign launches around mobile computing
How can millions of digitally dependent mobile computer users help the PC industry design better, more functional and satisfying products?
An ambitious, first-of-its-kind program called Reinvent Mobile aims to facilitate just that by aggregating a vibrant new channel of co-innovation, collaboration and customer engagement.
Developed by Phoenix Technologies (Nasdaq: PTEC) and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), an industry ecosystem group led by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, Reinvent Mobile will engage end-users in the design of next-generation mobile computers. The initiative includes a new, global online community, www.ReinventMobile.com, where users, experts and thought leaders can meet to exchange ideas and share experiences.
Mobility is driving the growth of today's global PC marketplace. Research firm iSuppli Corp. expects the global notebook market to grow 20% next year to 155 million units, and predicts the ultra-low-cost netbook PC segment will grow more than twice as quickly, by 55%, to 13.2 million units. IDC predicts a worldwide unit growth of 39.2% CAGR from 2008-2012 for the "mini notebook" or netbook segment.
Involving the end user
"It's time that end users help redefine the design of mobile computers," said Woody Hobbs, President and CEO of Phoenix Technologies, a global leader in embedded technologies that improve the PC user experience. "The market now includes a complex range of requirements - from power users who need greater levels of performance and personalization to emerging global consumers seeking more affordable solutions and services. Meeting these diverse needs requires more inclusive methods of market feedback and engagement. We're excited about this opportunity to explore how to transform mobile computing."
Hobbs added, "We look forward to bringing our PC 3.0(TM) architecture to end-user markets with our products and services, and initiatives like ReinventMobile.com."
The Reinvent Mobile Community will give the computer industry unprecedented ability to streamline the time and resources required for direct feedback and interaction with customers. It affords technology vendors and suppliers an always-on, real time listening, learning and levelling environment that can optimize the design, delivery and acceptance of next-generation systems and software.
"More active and immersive customer engagement and co-innovation will benefit all parts of the mobile computer ecosystem," said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. "Designing and building more usable and valued products and services will speed customer uptake, minimize selling demands, further loyalty, and reduce both product returns and after-market support."
Inviting input
At the centre of the program is a new landmark, social Web 2.0 portal - ReinventMobile.com, a content-rich destination that promotes ingenuity and new ideas in mobile computing. ReinventMobile.com enables visitors to:
• Interact and share mobile computing experiences
• Discover and submit innovative new ideas
• React to current and future designs/prototypes
ReinventMobile.com will embrace key industry stakeholders and constituencies, including industrial designers, engineers, ergonomics experts, market research analysts, journalists, bloggers, academicians, distributors, resellers and retailers, as well as manufacturers of hardware, software, peripherals and service providers.
The ReinventMobile.com site has gone live and is registering community members online.
Reinvent Mobile will combine input gleaned from online community participation in debates, polls, surveys and studies with the use of sophisticated agent technology, provided by Fractal Analytics that "listens" to what end-users are saying across the entire Internet, in blogs, user groups, message boards, and anywhere there is user commentary on mobile computing.
The program's faculty board includes a wide range of mobility luminaries, including Shiv Bakshi, Director of IDC's Wireless & Mobile Network Infrastructure program; Tim Bajarin, President of Creative Strategies; Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group; Michael Gartenberg, former vice president and research director of mobile strategy at Jupiter Research; William Halal, Professor of Science, Technology & Innovation at George Washington University; Alan Hedge, Professor at Cornell University's Department of Design and Environmental Analysis; Michael Liebhold, Senior Researcher with California's Institute for the Future; Gerry Purdy, Vice President and Chief Analyst with Frost & Sullivan's North American Information & Communication Technologies Practice; Richard Shim, Research Manager with IDC's Personal Computing Program; Michael Tchong, futurist and president of Ubercool; and Patrick Tucker, senior editor of The Futurist.
About Phoenix Technologies Ltd
Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTEC) is the global market leader in system firmware that provides the most secure foundation for today's computing environments. The PC industry's top system builders and specifiers trust Phoenix to pioneer open standards and deliver innovative solutions that will help them differentiate their systems, reduce time-to-market and increase their revenues. The Company's flagship products and services - AwardCore, SecureCore, Embedded BIOS, FailSafe, HyperSpace, BeInSync and eSupport - are revolutionizing the PC user experience by delivering unprecedented performance, security, reliability, continuity, and ease-of-use. The Company established industry leadership and created the PC clone industry with its original BIOS product in 1983. Phoenix has 159 technology patents and 136 pending applications, and has shipped in over one billion systems. Phoenix is headquartered in Milpitas, California with offices worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.phoenix.com.
The Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME)
The Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME) is a member advocacy group and strategic authority leadership initiative to accelerate marketing programs and research around advancing the wireless user experience. Formed by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council (http://www.cmocouncil.org), FAME promotes the adoption of wireless applications in the best interests of industry players. FAME brings together influential senior marketing leaders from top mobile technology companies that will join in the pursuit of innovations and best practices tailored towards the advancement of end user wireless applications. More information on FAME is available at www.fameforusers.org.
CMO Council
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council's 3,500 members control more than $100 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 6,000 global executives across 57 countries in multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Brand Management Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at http://www.cmocouncil.org.
