CNET Next Big Thing: The cloud--devices Video

CNET Next Big Thing: The cloud--devices Video Transcript

[ Music ] ^M00:00:09

>> Meet Bill Frater, hostile truck driver, Americana Music chronicler and a guy who gets digital living.

>> I like the cutting edge of the new stuff and as far as my purchases I balance it between my budget and what's new and hip. ^M00:00:26 [ Music ] ^M00:00:27

>> And that means devices that connect to the cloud.

>> I watch very little real time TV. I'm looking at things like Apple TV. I'm looking at a Roku Box, Internet access on my TV and be able to see things like Hulu and I don't see the reason to buy to pay for the cable anymore. I don't watch much live TV. News is -- news comes in the Internet.

>> Bill is part of a psychographic that ABI research calls Tech-Savvy/TV-Averse. In fact, the biggest jump in Internet behavior in the last year has been watching online video, but Bill grapples with the range of device choices that seem to have hit the market almost at ones. Complicated by a fast pace of innovation, confusing product positioning and ever changing price levels.

>> I don't wanna be able to buy something go, "Oh, gee, that was last week, that was really great and now it's not working." Now it's not -- now it's yesterday's news. I'd rather have something that's cutting-edge, but the price has come down.

>> As with many people devices have been the gateway that moved him from media consumer to also being media publisher.

>> I was at a music conference in Nashville Americana Music Conference and I was blogging daily about what was going on there in the music. And I love the fact that I was able to bring my digital camera, come home at night after listening to music and listening to speakers and stuff all day long. Plug in my -- my SD card of my camera and blog out what I just heard and even though it's 2 in the morning write about it and I will come back that morning after waking up and realize, "Oh, 38 people had already read my blog." They looked at my pictures I had taken last night, less than 12 hours before.

>> Consumer appetite for web-enabled Smartphone's is projected to grow four fold in the next five years. And yup, Bill's on the market for a new one.

>> I like what Google does. I like...

>> Yeah.

>> I like their outlook. I like that they're kind of open source. They don't control things as much. Now this new Storm looks nice.

>> Yeah, what you think?

>> The screen is nice. I would like to be able to watch things when I'm on break. I like to be able to watch a five minute podcast. So all these, they spend a little too much time on the keyboard. I'd rather see this real state for screen.

>> Screen-centric.

>> Yeah. I wanna have versatility. I wanna be able that has, "Okay, maybe I wanna do this now."

>> And while he just bought a laptop he already has a netbook on his list.

>> I like the lightness. I like the portability. You can take this, you know in the bathroom really easy and there you go.

>> Uses your bathroom reading, right?

>> Exactly.

>> Or take a magazine...

>> Exactly.

>> The Smartphone, the netbook, the Internet set top box and soon the car. The four horsemen of the cloud, but few consumers will embrace all four equally. The question then is which one captures the most imaginations? ^M00:03:19 [ Music ]