Will GestureTek Transform Mobile Marketing?

Branding Unbound
By Rick Mathieson
Jun 18, 2008

GestureTek may be shaping up to be the mobile world's next mover & shaker.

I've posted about the firm a number of times - its motion based solutions make it possible to bring Wii-like capabilities to mobile games, advertising, content and services.

Now that the iPhone is such a big hit, and people are getting used to touchscreen interfaces, GestureTek - which I believe has no connection to the technology with the iPhone - is getting renewed attention for what it might bring to the mobile equation.

This week's Business Week has a piece on the firm, pointing out that the Japanese are going ga-gag for GestureTek.

According to the pub, GestureTek technologies in some mobile phones enable Japanese consumers to flick their phone to the right to scroll through digital menus. And, come early 2009, customers of Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo will be able to open and close their fingers to zoom in or out of images and maps displayed on their phones, ala iPhone.

Time will tell if iPhone incorporates GestureTek-like technologies to make games and other content more movement-based - and what it will mean for the mobile experience.

It's new EyeMobile software, for instance, enables a phone's existing camera to intelligently recognize and respond to hand and body movement in ways that would enable consumers not just to engage mobile content, but also to interact with real-world displays.

“Clearly, we’re on the cusp of a paradigm shift in the mobile world, from button-presses to natural human interfaces,” said Bill Leckonby, Chief Executive Officer, GestureTek Inc., in a statement a while back.

Which means a movement may be afoot for mobile marketing.