The phrase “internet of things” has been tossed around so much in the last 12 months that it’s in danger of getting worn out.
But as you might expect at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona it’s the centre of attention.
It was the centre of Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers’ address, saying of mobile consumer services that “if you really use these devices properly you begin to see the profit opportunity.”
There are sessions on automotive M2M and smart cities, French mobile operator Orange announced a new initiative to support M2M startups and Proctor and Gamble showed off a Bluetooth toothbrush (seriously) that connects to a smartphone, which can analyze data on brushing habits.
As Marc Ferranti noted in this summary for Computerworld U.S., industry leaders couldn’t find enough words to describe the potential for connecting everything over the Internet.
It makes you wonder what can’t be connected (answer: anything that doesn’t have a battery – books, newspapers, food).
Meanwhile, Ars Technica found that not everything is serious at the show. Check out this slide show of some of the odder things attendees can come across.