Second-screen prototype hopes to boost couch commerce

April 09, 2013

Akamai Technologies demonstrated a prototype second-screen system that presents complementary content on a smartphone or tablet that is synchronized with what’s happening on the main television screen. First users would need to sync their mobile device with their television. Akamai showed this using a QR code that could be scanned by the user watching the television. Every program on TV has a timestamp and content ID, which allows the mobile device to display complementary content just at the right time for the consumer. “It’s something that can be synced in near-real time,” said Kris Alexander, chief strategist of connected devices and gaming at Akamai Technologies. “By the time somebody looks down from the primary screen it seems like the second screen is in real time.” In the demonstration at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas, Akamai showed the concept with some preloaded content that included a movie, television show and basketball game. When the movie showed an actor wearing sunglasses, the tablet displayed the model, price and link to buy the shades. During the basketball broadcast it offered up information on players who scored and an option to buy tickets.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2033506/secondscreen-prototype-hopes-to-boost-couch-commerce.html#tk.rss_all