Internet of things- At&T's plans

Thanks - NY TIMES

By Laura M. Holson

Want to track Fido using GPS? Frame a new photo for grandma in real time?

AT&T has created a new division within the company to help devise new consumer devices – digital cameras, devices for cars, even dog collars – which they hope will make it easy to access the Web using AT&T’s network.

The idea behind the new initiative, said Glenn Lurie, president of the new emerging devices division, is to quench consumers’ desire for access to the Internet at any time or place. Because nearly 9 out of 10 people already own a mobile phone, AT&T can’t grow fast enough by selling more phones. It needs to find new sources of revenue, particularly devices that use data. Industry analysts suggest that the market for new Web-enabled devices will grow faster than cell phones in the next ten years.

Mr. Lurie said AT&T has dedicated more than 50 people to the division and is negotiating with potential partners. But he already has a few ideas in mind. “Everyone loves their pets,” said Mr. Lurie. So much so, AT&T is interested in a developing a Web-enabled animal collar. If a dog comes up missing, an owner can go to a Web site and, using AT&T’s network, find where their dog has wandered.

Mr. Lurie said too that he saw in-car entertainment as a market for such devices. For example, instead of popping a DVD into a car player, movie watchers in the backseat could access the Web on a screen, buy a movie from iTunes and watch it right away.

Mr. Lurie also mentioned a Web-enabled digital camera that could send photos in real-time to a specially designed Web-enabled picture frame. Of course both products would have to be compatible so photos could be transmitted via AT&T’s network. That’s no small feat given all the partners involved. But Mr. Lurie said it was technologically possible.

“We wouldn’t put this level of commitment to it if we did not think it was possible,” Mr. Lurie said of the initiative.

AT&T does not plan on making the devices themselves. And the hard part will be getting the makers of cameras, cars and dog collars to agree to put chips in their products dedicated to accessing AT&T’s network. (Verizon Wireless uses a different network.) And even the simplest of devices could be months or years away. Mr. Lurie, though, said he hoped to make some announcements about partners or new products in the first quarter of next year.