We all know about the wireless explosion, and although I have some doubts that billions of us really want to surf the Net using a tiny cell phone screen, the developments just keep coming.
One that caught my eye was from PhotoNet Japan, which promises to let us use our wireless phones to show off family pictures.
PhotoNet Japan is a joint venture between Herndon, VA-based PictureVision Inc., an independently operated subsidiary of Eastman Kodak, and PlazaCreate -- Japan''s largest bricks-and-mortar film processor. They already have teamed with Japanese cellular network NTT DoCoMo to make photos available via its I-Mode cell phones, which can display compact HTML images.
And it won''t be long before the technology comes to the United States. Of course, I''ve been able to get my snapshots online for some time now. But in Japan, customers can view, use and share their pictures processed at thousands of locations across the country on their cell phones.
The processing stores send the customer an e-mail when their pictures are ready. The photos are viewed one at a time by scrolling through the selections. An options bar at the bottom of the screen allows for output services such as printing and e-mailing the photo to PCs or other cell phones. Pretty cool.
Rob Kelley, a research analyst for PacificVision Partners in San Francisco, says large information technology companies such as Oracle, Xerox and America Online are throwing their strength behind the effort to develop similar technology to make photo delivery via cell phones available in the U.S.
Virtual Room Service
Here''s another cool application. Want to remind yourself to take a vitamin everyday? Want to program your own wakeup call? Want to hear daily fitness and health tips, rung to your cell, home or office phone?
iPing, an Internet-to-telephone notification service, offers a "Dr. Dose" solution that can call anyone, anytime, and remind them to take any medication. The company says it''s "perfect for the elderly and you only have to program iPing once They can be ''pinged'' for years" using text-to-speech technology.
The service is free. Safeguards include a stated privacy policy: "Your recipients should be known to either you or to the organization to which you belong. Your message must have value to the recipients of that message." In other words: No harassment.eFit.com, an online health and fitness network, recently signed a deal to use iPing''s notification platform to create a service that allows its Web site users to receive daily fitness tips on any telephone at any time.
"Maintaining the motivation to stick to a diet or exercise program can be one of the most challenging aspects of pursuing a healthier lifestyle," said Riva Syrop, executive vice president of eFit. "Working with iPing to create this new service, eFit can provide daily information and hopefully, inspiration, to help the tens of millions of healthy living enthusiasts stay on track."
eFit reminders cover such topics as Ways to Avoid Sleep Deprivation, Proper Breathing Exercises, Healthy Eating and Skin Care, among others.
iPing enables businesses to deliver time-critical information that is event-triggered or scheduled, via a variety of platforms: telephone networks, wireless devices and digital networks. iPing''s products are available for the financial, auction, catalog, shipping, fulfillment, credit card, calendar, transportation, travel, insurance, medical and entertainment industries.
Netiquette
Have a business trip planned to Taiwan anytime soon? Better plan on getting as tipsy -- if not more -- than your business associate if you have been invited out for drinks after a meeting.
It''s the culture, silly. To give international business travelers and American expatriates an edge on foreign culture, customs and etiquette, an Internet service called CountryNet.com was recently launched by consulting firm Arthur Andersen.
It covers 84 different countries, and you can learn helpful tidbits such as the fact that if you rent a car in Russia, your windshield wipers are likely to be stolen. Remove them when you leave your car unattended.
Qatari businessmen may hold hands when walking as a sign of friendship; if you are a man conducting business in Qatar, do not be alarmed if your male associate takes your hand.
CountryNet is designed to provide business travelers all the information they need to relocate and operate safely, comfortably and knowledgeably in new countries.
CountryNet.com also features a link to Terra Cognita''s new CultureSavvy.com, a cross-cultural learning site that features about 45 modules of instruction with video and text (including exercises, checklists and action plans). Work Abroad! modules prepare employees to work with other cultures by examining fundamental intercultural differences such as communication patterns, group dynamics, time management, business relationships, status and reasoning processes.
"With more and more companies entering the global marketplace, employers need to prepare their workers for living abroad to ensure a successful transition in their personal and professionals lives," said Mark Williams, partner with Arthur Andersen''s Human Capital practice and CountryNet.com project leader.
The only problem here might be that all this information isn''t cheap; CountryNet.com is available to U.S. companies for an annual subscription rate of $12,000 with an unlimited user base. CultureSavvy.com''s cultural training videos are available for an additional $3,000. There is a two-week free trial, though.
E-Business Plan Tune-ups
So, you''ve launched your e-commerce site, you have some customers, sales are OK. But is your business plan up to snuff?
A nifty new service launched recently will give you some answers.
Digital Bridge Inc. an integrated e-business solutions company, and Internet holding company M&A West Inc. said that one of their joint venture projects, Venturelist.com, an online resource for the venture capital industry, now offers a business plan analysis program for entrepreneurs.
The program, V-PAS (Venturelist Plan Analyst System), will allow entrepreneurs to submit complete business plans to be reviewed and scored based on predetermined guidelines. In addition to scoring the plans, Venuturelist.com''s team of industry experts will provide positive feedback, constructive criticism and recommended next steps.
The program is currently undergoing beta testing and Venturelist.com said it expects the program to be fully functional soon. Interested parties may sign up at the site. No immediate word on pricing.
"This program is intended to provide the entrepreneur with expert, unbiased, assessments of their business plan," said Dave Burleigh, general manager of Venturelist.com. "It''s very difficult to get an honest opinion from a friend or colleague who may be either unable or unwilling to give any meaningful feedback. Our methodology is simple and straight forward. Our program allows entrepreneurs a better understanding of where their plan needs to be in order to have a shot at receiving funding."
Venturelist.com puts those who need capital in contact with those who are looking to make investments in private ventures. The concept is to provide entrepreneurs and start-up companies looking for seed level investments a forum to post their executive summaries to accredited investors and institutions.
