IFA 2013 Show report

HSC Team attended IFA (Internationale Funk Ausstellung ) in Berlin between 6-11th Sep.

The show can be termed as the Mecca of technology focusing primarily on Consumer Electronics industry covering TVs, Blu-Ray, Home Cinema, Speakers, House hold appliances, Gaming, Mobile Phones, Navigation, and much more.

Quoting IFA website, ‘Orders were placed totaling almost four billion Euros, making IFA the most relevant event for industry and retailers in the run-up to Christmas’.

Approximately 1,500 exhibitors and 240000 visitors participated in the show. At first, the show may not sound very relevant for us considering that its exhibitors primarily consist of companies manufacturing consumer electronic products like Refrigerators, Televisions, Washer/Dryers, SatNavs etc. However it is quite likely that we may find our next set of customers from this industry as the next generation of most of these products boasts of ability to connect and interact with their users via mobile applications, home automation and custom Android images.

Sample uses cases included:

• Ability to get notification on your TV that the cooking is done
• Diagnose and troubleshoot a Washing machine using Augmented Reality. Just point your ipad towards the machine and the application on the iPad will show you how to change a filter
• Android TVs
• Car Infotainment systems
• Smart Watches that pair with your mobile phones and allow you to receive call, email and text notifications on your watch

Of course, there were the obvious prospects like mobile phone manufacturers and tablet manufacturers. Clearly, Connectivity, Mobility and Applications are being used by non-traditional telecom companies to differentiate their products. Considering that such companies will not have high level of expertise in these new areas, this gives HSC new business opportunities and expand beyond the typical telecom customer base.