Mobile World Congress 2015: Leading companies embrace the IoT

  • Connectivity opens new door for P&G’s Oral B
  • AT&T highlight the value of cellular connected wearables

 
The amount of connected devices and services at this year’s Mobile World Congress—particularly inside the GSMA Innovation City—is greater than ever before. This is representative of the growing consumer interest and market opportunity in the Internet of Things (IoT). This year we have seen a lot of evidence of the how the IoT is causing companies to fundamentally rethink the delivery of their products and services which is leading to huge investment in this space.
Typically the IoT has been associated with vendors, operators and device manufactures, but its potential is so massive, that a number of unexpected entrants are joining the market from a range of verticals. One such entrant is dental hygiene company, Oral B. Oral B’s parent company, P&G, announced in August, 2014, that they would be streamlining the company in order to concentrate on their core products. Indeed, Oral B’s exhibition in the Innovation City this year, shows that P&G are supporting the development of their core products through the IoT.
Last year they exhibited their Bluetooth-connected toothbrush that was able to link with a smartphone. This year at the GSMA Innovation City, they unveiled a prototype ‘connected mirror’ which they provided a Software development Kit (SDK) for. Connected to the smartphone and toothbrush, the mirror visualises a different brushing experience depending on the user; for kids brushing is incentivised through a short game, for adults, news and weather reports are illustrated.
The SDK, which will be released in October, 2015, will enable developers to create their own applications for the mirror, another example of how the IoT is opening up opportunities across the market. Of course, revenue streams will result from this, with developers being able to provide access to other content, catered to the user’s interests.
AT and T wearables2
Much has also been said about the budding mass-market penetration of wearables over the last six months, which was reinforced at MWC. AT&T demonstrated that cellular-connected watches will drive the wearables market forward. According to an AT&T spokesperson at the event, ‘What’s the one thing runners don’t like about a connected watch? That you might have to carry a smart phone whilst doing it’. AT&T cellular-connected watches contain an Embedded SIM and therefore enable the runner to collect and monitor all the relevant health and fitness data, and give the user maximum mobility.
Other than fitness-based use cases, the cellular-connected wearable also enables parents to monitor their children’s location from a distance offering them the flexibility to go out without their smartphone, but still access contact and data.
AT&Ts array of wearables is also the result of collaboration; the Timex Ironman GPS One+ has only come into being through collaboration through watch manufacturer, Timex, Operator, AT&T, and Qualcomm, who supply the chip.
The development of these products gives us reason to be positive about the growth of the IoT because they are two examples of how the IoT can transform people’s lives. Through this we can expect to see cooperation across and number of verticals in the future.