How do you showcase Mobile Apps at the world’s largest tradeshow?  Very carefully.  

First:  The crowds — and I mean 153,000 of them need access to the apps.  People attending the show need to feel them and touch the apps.  

That’s a lot of hands.

Second: They need a little bit of guidance and inspiration to understand what the app does.  An app left on its own can be quickly overlooked.

Third: The app space needs to be an affordable exhibit space for an app developer who doesn’t have the resources of a large hardware company.

Fourth: It’s got to be placed in a highly trafficked are of the show.

With those goals in mind, Living in Digital Times, created The Wall of Apps and 18 stalwart apps developers took their place on the wall.  Together we had a fabulous show.  Next year, as apps become even more entrenched in the success of the CES, we’re hoping that the Wall of Apps gives the other “great wall” a real run for the money.

Wall of Apps from A to Z

Here’s a look at the basic concept for the Wall of Apps.  I call it whack-a-mole meets the interactive museum.  Even before the show started, Wired Magazine caught on and seemed to really get the  idea of a self-curated wall of apps. 

Each app had a placard with a synopsis of the app, and the app was tethered onto the wall, like so:

The selection of apps was diverse and exciting; the traffic a healthy stream, and unlike most museum exhibits you were encouraged to touch the art!

Featured Apps:

Zinio — Truly gorgeous, Zinio is an app designed for high-quality, digital delivery of top print magazines. Originally developed for the PC market, the app runs print-like digital editions on smartphones and mobile tablet devices. We’re talking more than 4,000 magazines from around the world, many with interactive multi-media content. Readers can sync their library and access all of their publications from any device or computer. For more information, visit zinio.com.     

Grocery Glee – This shelves on this mobile support would gave Andy Warhol a run for the money.  You shop for products just like you would in a real store, dragging them off the shelves and into your shopping basket. Complimentary products like the jelly when you buy peanut butter are offered or you can take shortcuts and head to your favorite aisles. Checkout occurs at the touch of a button, your tab keeps running and coupons keep you coming back.  Stores that use the system can benefit from creating a better shopping experience to a more targeted customer. Customers will find it fun and easy.

SunDew – This app provides a new and mobile way to get the best answer to your toughest questions.  SunDew allows you to post a question and get answers from the community.  Those who answer win community karma. Optimized for a mobile environment, the app lets you forward questions, send to just your own network of contacts, or put it out there, making it quite flexible.

Concussion Recognition and Response – Developed by experts and based on CDC guidelines, this app helps parents and coaches recognize the symptoms of conditions.  After recognizing the symptoms of a concussion they can document the symptoms and provides a monitoring piece and return to play guidance. It can be customized for specific sports themes, to0.

Echoer : Social networking and location based event get graphical with Echoer.    At the football game?  Hankering for a discount while shopping Macy’s?  Heading to a flash mob?  Just brainstorming in the park?  Echoer lets you express your thoughts in a lovely graphical environment.  And the thoughts that resonate best grow larger and larger. It provides a new way to look at crowd-sourced information.

Runtastic Download the application to your iPHone, mount your iPhone on your bike and you get a wealth of statistics and social networking features.  Heartrate, speed and even your cadence are all recorded in addition to the standard miles cycled, calories burned and elevations.  You can view maps, charts and stats to your hearts delight.  Heck, it even plays music!  Hardware for mounting your iPhone is available on their store. To watch the video: http://blog.runtastic.com/en/runtastic-all-about/florian-gschwandtner-roadbike-app-ces-2012/

The crowd was pumped, the presentations awesome, and in the end, a small company with a big idea took the award for at The Mobile Apps Showdown held during International CES 2012 in Las Vegas.

 Hosted by two of the funniest guys in the business, Jon Hein and Gary Dell’Abate of the Howard Stern Wrap Up Show, the competition,mashes up elements of Survivor, American Idol, and high school play. The field gets progressively narrowed down until 10 amazing companies to strut their stuff.

 We’ll have the full videos up momentarily, but here’s a quick summary:

 The ten finalists were remarkable examples of the diversity of the mobile apps category. But in the end it was neck and neck between Magisto and CIA Operation Ajax.

 Magisto gives you a video editing service right from your smartphone.  You shoot some video and pop off a few clips to Magisto headquarters. The clips get artfuly edited into a vignette replete with special effects and title . They can be automatically posted to YouTube. 

 CIA Operation Ajax takes the graphic novel to new heights. Based on real CIA operative events in Iranian politics in the 1950s, Operation Ajax is an inspiring work that combines a full original score, historical news reels and clips from the 50’s and an unparalleled artistic sensibility along with an intriguing plot.

 The popular online vote went to Macaw, a new health application that uses sensors to intelligently track user activity. It lets users link the sensors and devices they may already use to a Prevention Plan account which tracks healthy activities and generations a Prevention Score. What’s novel about Macaw (yes, named for the bird with a long life span) is that it combines US Preventative Medicine (a company that helps change medical behaviors)expertise in monitoring activity, diet and education about staying healthy, with Qualcomm’s new 2Net. Any device data from Bluetooth, WiFi or Ant+ products can be incorporated into the 2Net platform. In a tower of Babel health landscape, Macaw may provide the language all of these devices need to speak.

 Videos will be posted momentarily.  Thanks to all who entered, judged and  all who attended.  But mostly thanks to the ten products brilliant enough to win and gutsy enough to take the stage.

Finalists Announced for Mobile Apps Showdown; Winners to be Announced at 2012 International CES, January 12December 28, 2011
PRNewswire

Coverage:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/15/magistos-magic-video-editing-tool-coming-to-ios-but-its-not-done-yet/

http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/15/magisto-brings-its-magical-video-editing-to-the-iphone/

http://www.intomobile.com/2011/12/15/magisto-brings-its-video-editing-service-iphone-users/

Sample Videos

http://www.magisto.com/video/bANHYAZTQmIKDURm?source=facebook (x-mas display)

http://www.magisto.com/video/agFFZwdTQmIKDUBr (tornado chasing in Kansas)

http://www.magisto.com/video/bQ5EYABTQmIKDUFg (Sunset Skateboard cruise

Magisto + iPhone = The World’s Smartest Video Camera

In September we introduced Magisto, allowing anybody to create movies from unedited footage with the simple click of a button. We immediately followed by partnering with YouTube bringing Magisto to YouTube Create. And in the past three months, we’ve seen our users create videos spanning almost every aspect of their lives from precious first moments, to amazing vacations, to tornado chasing in Kansas. Each of these Magisto movies tells a story that might have otherwise never been told.

Now we’re excited to make our next big move, combining our proprietary technology with the world’s most popular smartphone – the Apple iPhone. By combining the power of Magisto with the power of the iPhone we are creating the world’s smartest video camera, one that is already in the pocket of over 85 million users!

With Magisto, you simply shoot video clips, select a title, a soundtrack, and just minutes later you receive a fully edited and produced movie.

Magisto starts to process your video clips as soon as you shoot them. Our proprietary AI analyzes your video, understands what is happening, taking the best portions to create a professional quality movie complete with transitions, effects, and highlights all synched to your soundtrack.

As you would expect, you can also use videos from your camera roll and turn them into something you’ll want to share and watch, again and again. We’re in the final phases of development leading to our most exciting product launch yet and cannot wait to unleash it upon boring videos everywhere.

The world is getting used to having the world’s smartest personal assistant in a pocket. With Magisto, the iPhone is also smart enough to make your videos into real movies. Stay tuned, and keep shooting… we’ll be here to create stories from all that life shows you.

Who will walk in this year’s Mobile Apss Showdown winner’s shoes?

The 3rd annual completion is heating up fast.  Judges: Robin Raskin, Larry Seltzer, Dave Whittle, Helena Stone, Dana Oshiro, Chris Null, Rick Singer and Brian Page have been busily weighing the pros and cons of submissions from companies large and small.

Last year’s winners: Line2 and Drive Safely have been catapulted to fame. The 2010 winners, Clixtr and Gwabbit have continued to innovate and make news.

This year’s pool of possible winners are super cool, covering everything from comprehensive health to working with video, to crowd sourcing.

Standing ready are our hosts: Jon Hein and  Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate from The Wrap up Show on the Howard Stern channel on SiriusXM Radio. Hein’s tech claim to fame came is the creation of Jump the Shark, devoted to the moments where there’s only one way to go: downhill. (Just ask Fonzie). Who better to pick “Jump the Shark” moments in technology?

Dell’Abate, producer of The Howard Stern Show and author of They Call Me Baba Booey, is a home theater devotee who writes a column for Sound and Vision magazine. They’re really looking forward to being with thousands of kindred spirits so we hope you’ll show up and cheer ‘em on. Mark your calendars for Thurs. January 12th at 10:30am in Room N255, the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Can’t be with us in lovely Las Vegas, please vote for your favs, too . We’ll post the video the instant it’s ready – promise.

1. Magisto How’s this for magic?  You shoot some video on your mobile phone and pop off to Magisto.  It’s edited into a vignette replete with special effects and title, posted to YouTube.  The video production can look a bit amateur, but hey, there’s some artificial intelligence calling the shots.

2. Macaw There are dozens of apps to keep you healthy, making you hyper conscious of diet and exercise.  What’s novel about Macaw (yes, named for the long lived bird) is that it combines US Preventative Medicine ( a company that helps change medical behaviors)expertise in monitoring activity, diet and education about staying healthy,  with Qualcomm’s  2Net which lets you use any device  (Bluetooth, WiFi, Ant+) into the 2Net platform to let it handle the transmission and management of the data. In a tower of Babel landscape, Macaw may provide the language all of these devices need to speak.

3. SkyQ The heavens are an amazing place.  SkyQ is an app  that brings a deep meaning to celestial objects.  It’s a match made in heaven.  Just point your iPad anywhere in the sky and the objects are faithfully rendered.  Pan down and you can even see what’s under the horizon.  Multimedia explanations of what you’re seeing, layering of objects and more make this a planetarium you can hold in your hands.

4. Foam Fighters WowWee, a company known for its sense of play, teamed up with AppGear to create Foam Fighters, which mixes physical and virtual play on your iPhone or Android. A little swivel attachment holds a toy plane about six inches from your phone. You control the plane with your movements and shoot the targets you encounter.  Your plane is superimposed on your view through your phone — simple augmented reality with hours of fun.

5. Aurasma Lite takes augmented reality to another level by letting you augment the world in front of you eyes.  Bring CD covers to life or add animated dinosaurs into the scenery in front of you, for example. True explorers can create their own augmented reality programs (Auras).

6. CIA Operation Ajax We talk a good talk about ebooks that go above and beyond traditional books but CIA Operation Ajax delivers on infusing the graphic novel with an e- sensibility. It combines a full score, news reels and clips from the 50’s and an unparalleled artistic sensibility along with an intriguing plot.

7. Road Bike Cycling Pro We’re talking about a phone that can act as your bike’s odometer, GPS, map router, weather updater and more. It’ll track time, speed, and even altitude, or create a special pace for your training.  Share the fun with friends in real time.

8. VIPER Smart Start Baby, it’s cold outside and that’s when VIPER Smart Start really earns its keep. Use your mobile phone to control your car and have the motor purring and car warmed by the time you’re ready to leave.  It’ll control your lock buttons. Use it as “find my car” app as well, the mobile app turns out to be the biggest driver of sales in the hardware/app combo.

9. Securafone There are many apps to protect you from texting while driving (including last year’s DriveSafe.ly Mobile Apps winner). And there are many apps that can help you geo-locate loved ones. Securafone offers a new world of customization as you can set up electronic fences to help rein in adults suffering from dementia.  It can help you locate your children on their way home from school. And it help you manage a teen’s obsession with texting while driving. There’s an SOS button that can be configured to call whomever you want and you can even be notified by periods of inactivity. For the sandwich generation parents and caretakers this app can bring a tear to your eye.

10. Cinefy Both the judges and the popular vote reflected well for Cinefy, a video editing app, that lets you feel like a Hollywood mogul. By aggregating special effects, music and other embellishments for you and you can use what you need when you need and there’s something for everyone from game developer to home movie maker.

Developer’s Description:

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Author: Swakker

Platform: iPhone/iPad

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Category: Lifestyle, Calendar, Contacts, Education, Health, Productivity, Social Networking, Travel

Author: AboutOne

Platform: Windows Mobile, iPhone/iPad, Android

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