Drumbeat for CES 2013: Does Whispercast Signal Mass Adoption of Tablets for Business?

Content is king, we all know that.

But, as tablets reach the mass adoption phase, it is becoming clear that CONSUMING content on a tablet rather than on a PC is king.  RPM primary research shows a strong increase in penetration among business users.  And this Holiday season, the early sales numbers clearly show that tablets are THE hot electronics gift this season.  The question is not whether to get one, the question is now which one to get.

And, the answer to that question will dictate to content providers what platforms to develop on. 

Obviously, iOS has led the way and created the category.  And, we show it is still the overwhelming preference of business users.  But what now?

Kindle Fire appears to be the what now, and is driving both form factors and price points down, down, down.  As in, a startling $159.

At that price point, this is going to be about way more than consuming content, it is going to be a major collaborative tool.

For business.  Welcome to Whispercast, Amazon's attempt to satisfy both user and IT demands (good luck on that one, Jeff).

For IT, we can...

• Centrally manage Kindles.
• Save valuable time registering Kindles—no more need to manually configure each Kindle one at a time for your users.
• Provide Internet access by sending your wireless network and proxy settings to your Kindle.
• Protect corporate information by requiring passwords.
• Control how your Kindles are used with the ability to block social media integration, and control access to content and content purchasing.
• Block factory reset and device de-registration on Kindles you give your users.

For collaborative computing...

• Share information by uploading and distributing documents (.pdf, .doc., .docx) to your Kindles.
• Develop and wirelessly procure and distribute Kindle book formats to your organization's Kindles or any PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android tablet or phone with the free Kindle app.
• Create user groups for a specific class, grade level, or corporate department to send relevant content and documents.

OK, it is hardly a robust API.  But, it is compelling.  Because at this price, we can deploy them EVERYWHERE. But, until Amazon is more forthcoming about Kindle sales figures... they are their own worst enemy, and they are nearly all alone in failing to disclose sales in anything but the most vague terms.