Samsung TecTiles: A wobbly stepping-stone to NFC - CNET News
Let's face it: in today's world of electronic mobility, we do things within our phones, not with them.
We can forget them on the bus, drop them, flush them and even hurl them at housekeeping. (Hell, we can even blend them.) But that's the extent of our relationship with the things.
Almost everything we do with the smartphone is contained in that little screen. As objects, we abuse them. We don't really use them.
Samsung wants to use its corporate largesse to change that. The company says it has the most near-field communications-enabled devices in American consumers' hands -- all those Galaxy S III, S II, Nexus and S Blaze devices do the trick -- and it seeks to use that user base to propel NFC technology into regular use.
How? Through the use of TecTiles, cleverly named programmable stickers that, when tapped with your phone, automate a task -- such as sharing a business card, checking into Foursquare or connecting with someone on LinkedIn.
Samsung says the stickers are best used to automate everyday functions, such as silencing your phone when you enter a meeting, or resetting an alarm for the next morning. That's the consumer pitch.
For businesses, Samsung says the stickers can be used "as a way to market to and engage with consumers by enabling reward programs and to download discount offers or content."
The $14.99 packs of five stickers are available from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile; a corresponding app can be downloaded from the Google Play store.
As with anything like this, it's all about adoption: the TecTile is D.O.A. unless both consumers and businesses take to it. First they need to hear about it, then they need to see how it solves a problem.
The company told my CNET colleague Jessica Dolcourt that TecTiles are really a warmup act for mobile payments:
Part of the problem, according to Samsung, is that ordinary people are unused to physically using their phone to do things. Consumers know how to swipe cards and punch numbers, not to press a phone onto a terminal and authorize payment through an app.
A fair point, but I feel this effort is woefully misguided. The pitch is weak and the barrier for use high. (Are you really going to purchase a sticker to set your morning alarm?) If the company wants to accelerate the adoption of NFC technology -- really, truly gain traction -- it's going to have to work with major partners to kill off plastic cards entirely.
(Ironically, the title for its announcement is "Samsung Mobile Puts All the Pieces in Place to Bring NFC to the Masses." Hardly.)
Until I can leave them all at home, tapping my way through the city, there's no hope for NFC. It's not the technology; it's the fact that a tap doesn't improve upon the swipe enough for vendors and consumers to switch. I want to get rid of all the plastic in my wallet, too -- but too few vendors have the incentive to change. And in the case of TecTiles, which require both effort and money for a trivial payoff, I suspect few consumers will have the incentive to even try them.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "Can Samsung make NFC tech happen? Not with TecTiles."
Cornhusker Capital Lead Advisor for FSH Communications in Acquisition of Fox Telecom - YAHOO!
Cornhusker Capital’s Leadership in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Advisory Assists Telecommunications Services Company Identify and Acquire Regional Service Provider
Chicago, IL & Denver, CO (PRWEB) June 13, 2012
Cornhusker Capital is pleased to announce that it served as the lead financial advisor to FSH Communications (FSH), a leading national communications services provider, in its successful acquisition of Fox Telecom, a Rocky Mountain telecommunications service provider since 1989. The announcement was made by Raymond McGaugh, Chairman of Cornhusker Capital, and the transaction was led by Reginald McGaugh, Founder & Managing Partner of Cornhusker Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.“We are extremely pleased with the acquisition of Fox Telecom,” said Mike Tatom, Executive Vice-President & Partner of FSH Communications. “We look forward to significant growth opportunities with Fox Telecom and we truly appreciate the team at Cornhusker Capital for identifying this target and effectively managing the process to complete this deal.”
“This acquisition was a perfect fit for FSH Communications and their partners,” said Reginald McGaugh. “FSH Communications is a leading provider of communications, digital merchandising and access services for consumer and business customers in over 28 states. We look forward to assisting FSH Communications in pursuing additional strategic acquisition opportunities in the telecommunications services space.”
About FSH Communications:
FSH Communications is a leading national communications services provider headquartered in Chicago, IL with regional offices in the states of AZ, CO, MN, NE, and WA. FSH serves every state in the Western US – OVER 1.2 million square miles of territory. In 2004 FSH Communications acquired the payphone and inmate calling services assets of Qwest Communications International, Inc. Since that time, FSH has completed a handful of other acquisitions focusing on low voltage and telecommunications services providers. FSH provides telecommunications installation (business lines, cable, DSL & WiFi Hotspots, among other), maintenance and repair; telecommunications management; call center service and support; channel partnerships; and content management. For more information, please visit http://www.fshcommunications.com.
About Fox Telecom
Founded in 1989, Fox Telecom is a leading telecommunications services integrator. Fox Telecom is the initial service provider company to offer fixed rate pricing for installation and repair service to AT&T small business systems in the western region of the U.S. In the Rocky Mountain region, Fox Telecom has installed more than 3,200 systems, serviced 16,000 repair tickets and 11,000 MAC orders for AT&T/Avaya/Lucent. Fox Telecom continues to use this model to successfully support small businesses, as well as fortune 500 companies, throughout the United States. This includes servicing, installing and training for telecom and video systems, wiring and wireless systems as well as end user peripheral nodes. To learn more, please visit our website at http://www.foxtelecom.com.
About Cornhusker Capital, LLC:
Cornhusker Capital, LLC is an investment banking and merchant banking services firm focusing on financial advisory, capital raising for both debt and equity, mergers & acquisitions (M&A) advisory, employee stock option plans (ESOPs), and restructuring services for business services entities. Cornhusker Capital has highly experienced advisors focusing on the lower end of the middle market with a sweet spot that is typically those companies under $200 million in revenue; and greater than $1 Million in trailing twelve months earnings before interest depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Our principals and Advisory Board has more than 100 years of collective deal making experience. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.cornhuskercapital.com.
William Berger
Harrison Communications Company
847.563.8349
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