Vision - July/August 2008 - (Page 26)

newsline CEA Celebrates 25 Years of Cellular It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the first commercial cellular phone network began operating in Chicago, IL on October 13, 1983. The second network went live right on its heels in December of that year. The DynaTAC mobile phone also was launched in 1983 and AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) was established as the world’s first standardized cellular service. Since then, the communications industry has grown in ways that could never have been imagined back then. The number of cellular users surpassed ten million by 1992—the year when a new thing called a “text message” was introduced. Today, it is impossible for most of us to imagine life without a cell phone. CEA and its Wireless Communications Division (WCD) are honoring the 25th anniversary by showing our respect to the many wireless industry pioneers who helped make the dream of wireless communications possible. All CEA members are encouraged to send in their suggestions for individuals who they consider to be “Wireless Pioneers”. The WCD will recognize these leaders by featuring stories and anecdotes about them on CEA’s Digital Dialogue (http://Blog.CE.org) and in the wireless section of Digitaltips.org. The Division also will host a reception at the CEA Industry Forum (Oct. 19–22) in Las Vegas to honor their contributions. Please send your Wireless Pioneers suggestions to Catherine Parsons at cparsons@CE.org or call 703-907-5228. And the next time you make a call in your car or text a friend to meet you for happy hour, take a moment to think how connected and convenient our lives are thanks to the wonders of wireless technology. • association news & views A Case Study: Nintendo Solves Returns Dilemma By Peter Junger Every year, retailers and manufacturers lose tens of billions of dollars from product returns. Some are legitimate, but many are fraudulent, and many products simply have unverifiable purchase and warranty start dates. In the ’90’s, realizing that its profitability was being impacted by the number of product returns that retailers were accepting, Nintendo of America Inc.® developed a methodology to give their retailers a system to track individual products throughout their lifecycle to reduce fraudulent and unwarranted returns. The patented, POS Electronic Registration, uses the product’s UPC and serial number to establish a unique identifier, or “fingerprint,” for each individual product that is scanned at point-of-sale. The information is then captured and transmitted to a central database, where it is stored with the retailer’s transaction information. To protect the privacy of the consumer, the transaction data is logged without recording any customer or credit card information. During the return process, the retailer scans the fingerprint on the product to determine if it is eligible for return. If the product has a verifiable purchase record and falls within the return policy guidelines, the clerk accepts the product and issues the appropriate credit or refund. If it does not meet the guidelines, the system declines the return, provides reason details and the manufacturer warranty information. Using this system, Nintendo’s retailers reported a 72 percent reduction in return rates. Knowing that these controls could benefit the industry, but understanding the sensitivity of other companies’ proprietary data, Nintendo created an independent subsidiary: SIRAS.com®. Today, POS Electronic Registration is used by many global CE products, as well as by top retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, K Mart, Toys R Us, Circuit City and Best Buy. Clients are confidential, but, on average, return rates see reductions of more than 30 percent. • CEA Events SINOCES July 10–13, 2008 Qingdao, China Building Blocks August 4–7, 2008 San Jose, CA CONNECTIONSTM European Summit August 29, 2008 Berlin, Germany iStage October 20, 2008 Las Vegas, NV CEA Industry Forum October 19–22, 2008 Las Vegas, NV CEA Technology & Standards Fall Forum October 20–24, 2008 Las Vegas, NV Digital Hollywood October 27–30, 2008 Hollywood, CA EHX Fall November 4–7, 2008 Long Beach, CA CES New York Press Preview, featuring CES Unveiled@NY November 11, 2008 New York, NY Future of Television November 17–18, 2008 New York, NY CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the International CES January 6, 2009 Las Vegas, NV 2009 International CES January 8–11, 2009 Las Vegas, NV 26 July/August 2008 www.ce.org http://SIRAS.com http://Blog.CE.org http://Digitaltips.org http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - July/August 2008

Vision - July/August 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Trends Visionary Embracing Disrupting Technology Vaulting Ahead with Your Brand International Risk Stop Boomerang Products CEA Newsline Tech Speak Tech Policy Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - July/August 2008

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