TMCnet Machine to Machine Solutions Week in Review

Machine to Machine (M2M) solutions wirelessly connect millions of diverse devices to a network, enabling two-way communication. Organizations connecting M2M devices to a network can quickly see the potential savings in time, cost and labor. This week’s M2M stories featured company announcements, product releases and industry trends.

The Machine to Machine market seems to only be growing as we move further into the 21st century. The biggest reason for this growth is the simple fact that several companies have found a variety of new ways to implement it. What was once largely considered a technical field with little consumer appeal, the M2M sector has been able to take advantage of mobile devices and advances in already existing technology to find a way to get its foot in the door when it comes to consumer tech.

M2M technology is increasingly becoming essential in a number of industries. The automotive world, for example, is banking on M2M technology to create smarter, safer cars. Even the simple vending machine has experienced vast improvements thanks to M2M. Examples of this include a Coca-Cola machine launched in Spain that adjusts the price of its lemonade based on outside temperature, while Kraft Food and Intel (News - Alert) developed a vending machine called iSample, which can adjust what type of product it will disperse based on the gender and age of the person standing in front of it.

A more practical example, however, is the integration of cashless payment systems. Scandinavian vending operator Selecta Nordic has embraced cashless payment in its machines, citing greater efficiency and improved sales as a major benefit of doing so. By working with cashless and telemetry system developer Nayax, the vending operator has experienced increased revenue with decreased operational costs.

Also this week, Vodafone (News - Alert) Global Enterprise, Vodafone's specialist enterprise organization, signed an agreement with Netcomm Wireless, a developer of broadband products, which has the company supplying Vodafone with M2M cellular modems for its global M2M business. The official word from Netcomm is that the M2M IP modems being supplied have been custom designed to meet the "global deployment requirements of Vodafone and its partners."

Telit Wireless (News - Alert) Solutions, a global vendor of high-quality M2M modules and value-added services, introduced the DE910-DUAL Mini PCIe for commercial and industrial computer markets. To easily integrate wireless connectivity into devices, the mini PCIe form factor has become a popular standard adopted by connected device manufacturers. Supporting 3.1Mbps downlink rates and 1.8Mbps uplink rates; it has become North America's first full-featured EV-DO mini PCIe modem. Fully compatible with its HSPA+ counterpart, the HE910 Mini PCIe provides connected device makers a maximum range of options for cellular operator support with one product design.

Cinterion (News - Alert), the machine-to-machine business segment of Gemalto, launched EHS5- an ultra-compact, high-speed M2M communication module that enables secure wireless connectivity for industrial applications. According to officials, the new Cinterion solution delivers a complete client Java runtime that suits microcontrollers and other resource-constrained devices. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) will benefit greatly from the flexible platform, which reduces the time to market and delivery of advanced M2M technology.

To see more of the latest industry news, announcements, trends and resources, be sure to check into the machine to machine solutions community each week.