Radar 7 – Edition 9

21 Nov 2013

Radar7 is our recurring feature where we’ll highlight the top seven pieces of thought-provoking industry commentary that should be on your radar each week.

1. Wallet hack: can Coin replace your credit cards?

While many who theorize about the future of money imagine that credit cards will be a thing of the past, Coin is aiming to make credit cards smarter instead. This article at The Verge outlines Coin’s recently announced first product: a credit card sized (and shaped) device that digitally stores up to eight credit, debit, gift or membership cards for you to cycle through and use at your convenience.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Sx34swEG0[/youtube]

2. $10 Cellphones Bring Health Care to Developing World

While 90% of the world’s population have a mobile connection, up to a billion will never see a doctor in their lifetime. According to Mashable, non-profit Medic Mobile is addressing the gap by equipping health workers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asian communities with cheap, simple cellphones to communicate with doctors via SMS.

3. Why Curated Experiences Are The New Future Of Marketing

Drawing on the recent successes of live, immersive experiences in art and theatre, this Forbes piece argues that we will see a trend moving away from mass marketing, towards a more interactive, experiential approach to marketing in the future.

4. Gartner: 456M Phones Sold In Q3, 55% Of Them Smartphones; Android At 82% Share, Samsung A Flat Leader

Highlighting information from a recent Gartner report, this TechCrunch article explains that there were 455.6 million mobile phones sold in Q3, a 5.7% increase with Android accounting for over 80% of all smartphone sales.

5. Super typhoon Haiyan: How Technology Is Changing Disaster Response

NGOs are becoming increasingly sophisticated at using online technology to assist disaster relief efforts. TIME Magazine highlights how social media and digital platforms enable access and the rapid spread of potentially crucial information to survivors, aid workers and the global community.

6. Batkid: A Heartwarming, Very 2013 Story

A Batman-loving five-year-old in leukaemia remission was aided by over 7,000 volunteers and the Make-A-Wish foundation to transform from Miles (his name) into #Batkid and turn San Francisco into Gotham City for a day. The touching, overwhelming response was enabled by the internet, as The Atlantic highlights the mobilization of volunteers enabled by digital technology.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/1wAqHWcSCXI[/youtube]

7. Connected Air: Smart Dust Is The Future Of The Quantified World

Exploring the concept of “smart dust,” this article from ReadWrite discusses the potential future uses of “motes” – tiny airborne sensors in development that could monitor temperature, humidity, chemical signatures and more.