Verizon shows off its future tech

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Gaming on the go: Verizon and its cable competitors see big money in offering on-demand casual games over their networks to TV subscribers. The target demographic for these services is people who may not want to spend hundreds of dollars for the new Xbox console, but are willing to spend a few dollars to rent games on demand over their set-top boxes. Experts say the potential revenue on these services is huge.

Verizon believes it can differentiate itself from cable by allowing subscribers to access these games across all three of the company's platforms, TV, PC, or phone. The games are actually executed in the network, which makes it easy to port them to different devices, said William Garrett, director of mass market services innovation for Verizon. The service not only allows people to play one other, using different devices, but it also allows people to change devices while they're playing.

"We are leveraging the bandwidth in the Fios network to offer high-quality games," Garrett said. "And the user doesn't have to be limited by the device they're using to play the game."

Again intelligence in the network knows whether the player is playing the game on a big-screen TV or on a small cell phone. Depending on which device is being used, the images can be sized appropriately. This means that the cellular network is not flooded with high bandwidth video traffic that is trying to jam too much information onto a tiny cell phone screen.

Interactive advertising: Remember Web TV? Well Verizon is trying to revive the concept, sort of. The company showed off how advertisers can leverage the interactive functionality of Verizon's IP television service to target viewers with more relevant advertisements. The way it works is that when a subscriber is watching TV, he can click on the Fios button on his remote control to see related content that might include menus associated with a cooking show or books being sold by authors appearing on Oprah.

Consumers would be able to buy items with a simple click of their remotes using a credit card or have the purchases billed to them on their phone bill. For high-end advertisements like cars, the service could also direct viewers to their nearest dealership.

Home networking on steroids: Using the cable TV lines already installed in the home, Fios Internet and TV subscribers have a ready-to-go high-bandwidth home network at their fingertips. And Verizon sees many ways to leverage this network to connect various devices in the home. The company demonstrated how a Wi-Fi-enabled camera can be detected by a home broadband router and automatically download pictures to a PC or storage device. Pictures can also be immediately sent through the home network and displayed on TV, PC, and digital picture screens.

Additionally, this same home network could also be used for security and monitoring. Subscribers could log onto the network to view IP-enabled video cameras to keep an eye on their property when they're not at home. They could also hook up telemetry monitors that could be used to trigger a thermostat to either heat or cool the home automatically.

Wi-Fi to cellular: Verizon also demonstrated how it could use IMS technology to seamlessly transfer phone calls from a home Wi-Fi network to a Verizon

Story Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

phone on the cellular network. T-Mobile USA has been offering a similar service called Hot Spot @Home since the summer. Eric Rabe, vice president of communications for Verizon, said the company is also looking at using femtocell technology, which boosts cellular phone signals indoors. Sprint introduced a femtocell product earlier this year. The company hasn't yet decided which technology solution it will offer, he added.

Verizon executives said that most of the technology used in the demonstrations is available today. But whether these demos will ever turn into real life services depends mostly on whether Verizon can come up with viable business models. The company will also have to find innovative ways to market these new services to consumers, something the company hasn't always done well in the past.

"The phone companies are not highly skilled at marketing new technology to consumers," Forrester's Golvin said. "The big challenge is explaining in a simple way why the technology is useful and why consumers should pay extra to use it."

[darrellvickers]

Future Tech

Ideas sound great. I'd like to see someone come up with a hierarchal tethered system which goes first to Home System, thence to Car, and finally Cell. Subnet to each would be a wifi or wimax connection.

[Quemannn]

Missing link

You hit the nail on the head. The missing link that mobile carriers don't see is that crucial link to cars.

[ceoballmer]

iPhone Killer!

http://****************.blogspot.com
Verizon's Voyager! - Now an iPhune Killer!
The news for Apple and the iPhoney just gets worse and worse!
First we release the iPod Killer, Zune2, with FM radio!
THEN:
Verizon announces the LG Voyager phone! Mobile Magazine
says:

"Remember how Verizon passed on the iPhone? That's because
the LG Voyager might even be better. It also has a large external
touchscreen, but when you open the phone laterally, a QWERTY
keyboard emerges for text entry. Key features include high-
speed wireless broadband, a web browser, music player, and
microSD expansion."
Best of all it is driven by a proven OS, Windows Mobile! No
playing on the screen with your fingers, we treat you like an
adult.

Apple is on the ropes! They are down! They are out! It's over! It's
over!

[stanhutchings]

rather have world-wide phone capability...

Most of the proposed "bells and whistles" don't really address my phone need - I want to be able to use one phone number anywhere in the world, and use my Verizon cell phone to make and receive calls and text messages. SMS texting is a nice feature, and should be standard. My major concern is Verizon (and others) will nickel-and-dime us consumers to bankruptcy.

[enter name here]

Not That Impressed

So what? I don't use these things. Also, the service will probably cost through the roof, with the customer having to foot the bill for bandwidth used for things like having ads delivered to the cellphone. Also, Verizon is going to be like apple and follow in the footsteps of soviet russia by controlling everything that happens on their phones and preventing any third part apps, the fun stuff on a phone. I'm much more excited by the openmoko fic 1973, which is opensource. Yes, I know it doesn't come with a network, but that is a good thing, you get to choose your own, except for a few, like verizon, who use cdma.

[beefygeek]

I have FiOS

As innovative as technology can present itself to be.....that's the cutting edge of Verizon. It's all about the network. I have verizon's Ultimate package (home phone, cell phone, FiOS internet and TV service) and compared to the cable company's offer based on services, price, and cutting edge technology....the good old phone company....the first type 'instant communication' technology that the world has ever seen has proven itself not only to be a winner in the past, but also in the present, and future as well. If you think the cable guys can catch up with this type of technology by advertising petty remarks against the world's reknowned communication and broadband company (yeah....can you hear me now?) I personally would like to see them try. Look up reviews for FiOS. You'll be impressed as when I ordered the service last week. As far as price is concerned, we have 2 cell phones with maxed out features, an HD recvr with DVR, two other recvrs, internet 20mbs upload and 20 mbs download with the premium movie pack and home phone with unlimited nationwide long distance for <drumroll please> $210 a month. Try and beat it!