Categorizing IoT Devices and Wearables Part 2 - Screen Dependency

In an earlier post, we looked at how digital workplace and marketing professionals can categorize the IoT marketplace based on device dependencies.

Another way to categorize the marketplace is in terms of device screens.

Absence or Presence of a Screen

Most Internet devices — computers, mobile phones, tablets, and even handheld devices — have a screen. The screen itself might have different capabilities (which I discuss below), but the screen has always been there.

However, many newer types of devices don’t have a screen. In these cases,  the device usually gets tied to your mobile device and you use the mobile screen to control or monitor the remote device. It also means that you don’t have to worry about sending content to that device (there can be exceptions) and you only need to concentrate on getting data from that device.

However, if the device does have a screen, you typically need to have some sort of an app for that screen and you must deliver content to that device.

In either case, you still need to be able to make use of device capabilities (e.g., various sensors) in your apps.

Size and Capabilities of Screens

If the device has a screen, then there can be many variations depending on:

  1. Size: Most devices have a very small screen, but there are many variations in size to keep in mind.
  2. Capabilities: The screens can have different capabilities. These capabilities can be screen related (e.g., resolution, the ability to display in landscape or portrait view, or whether the screen supports touch gestures), or they can be related to other features manifesting via a screen (e.g., the ability to respond to messages).

When starting, we recommend that you create a grid based on these factors and then evolve separate strategies that take advantage of screen capabilities and make appropriate allowances for screen limitations.

In a following post, I'll look at yet another approach to classifying IoT technologies.

In our Enterprise Mobile Technology evaluation research, RSG increasingly examines the wearables dimension. Look to your right to download a research sample.

Other Enterprise Mobile Technology posts

Axway Acquires Appcelerator

The Enterprise Mobile Technology Marketplace is evolving rapidly and a number of specialized mobile technology vendors have now been acquired by vendors with a broader set of offerings.

Self-appraisal of our 2015 predictions

Okay, so how did we do? I total it up to 7 out of 10 (Yes - 6 times, No - 2, Partial - 2). That’s not as good as last year but not bad either