Isabella Products

July 19th, 2010
by Kyle Psaty

Isabella Products is taking their mobile-enabled digital photo frames into the realm of digital signage with the help of Nu Graphics, known for their innovative print communication solutions. Together, these companies are creating a new option for business owners looking to bring real-time digital messaging into stores.

The Vizit (shown left) marries the ease-of-use found in digital displays with the power of the mobile network to create a totally unique and award-winning piece of hardware. The first creation from Isabella Products, a new company based in Concord, Mass., the Vizit launched earlier this year and is changing the way people think about digital photo frames by offering a product that can be instantly updated with new image content remotely.

Isabella Products logoIt does everything other digital displays do, only the mobile technology (operated by a proprietary service provider the company also owns) makes it way more useful. We showed you the Vizit back in March, when it launched as a consumer product. It’s still retailing for $279.99, but service costs as little as $6 per month, so if the company can reduce the manufacturing costs of the device itself, they might have something that really changes consumer habits.

But the creative minds behind the Vizit have other plans for it, as well. They recently announced a partnership with Nu Graphics, based in Woburn, Mass., which will mean way more functionality for businesses interested in on-location, customizable digital displays. Isabella’s CEO, Matthew Growney, hopes this will introduce the mobile world to the potential behind the products they’re developing.

Nu Graphics Logo“Isabella is a mobile device company but really we like to believe that we’ve got this kind of secret backend. It’s called VizitMe, and it is a full content management platform. We’re trying to take what that does for consumers, and replicate it for a whole bunch of other markets,” says Growney. “This deal is going to basically change the entire digital signage business.”

According to Growney, there are two options for businesses looking to deliver digital display messaging to consumers. One is the kind that can be found at places like Home Depot — it involves stand-alone displays that store information on the kind of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards you might find in your digital camera. The other is the sort of digital display you might find in a bar — it usually runs on a television set, and is operated through wifi with support from digital cable providers.

Growney says both of these solutions can be cumbersome at best, and at worst, downright impossible for businesses to deploy successfully.

The Vizit’s unique hardware makes it something that can stand alone and be instantly updated, which is why Isabella Products and Nu Graphics are so excited about it.

“Nu Graphics have created a product called Nu View, which basically runs on the VizitMe platform,” says Growney. “If I’m sitting here in Concord at my computer and I manage messaging at 30 franchises, I can go in and add a coupon to every location’s display in about five minutes. These offers can be extremely dynamic, even offering deals and content during specific certain times of the day. Because it’s a full two-way interface, you can send yourself an offer or a coupon from the device right at the point of sale. With our CMS, companies are also going to be able to track all their in-store digital coupons and vouchers very easily as well.

“We think this can actually be four orders of magnitude cheaper than the incumbent technology that uses plasma TVs and wifi.”

The companies are currently looking for local franchises with multiple locations to test the messaging and introduce store customers to the unique experience the Vizit and Nu View offer.

“[The Vizit offers] a real-time display that is nomadic for the QSR and retail industries that is also cost effective,” said Nu Graphics CEO Wayne Moda in a recent press release about the deal. “Vizit becoming a digital display for advertising is a momentous first, especially in delivering new ads on a store-by-store or regional basis and offering remote management of the display.”

it will definitely be interesting to see what kinds of digital content solutions these two companies will be able to deliver to storefronts and retailers in the next few months. Hopefully the first franchises to adopt the new technology will be New England-based so we can get our hands on them as soon as they touch down.

Meanwhile, what else is Isabella Products working on?

According to Growney, Isabella are currently testing their Vizit devices for use in the home health-care industry. He and his team believe there are some unique applications in the world of elder-care for a two-way mobile device with their simple-to-use touch screen display. Imagine if your grandmother could send you an Email every morning to let you know she was starting her day, simply by touching the Vizit? The technology the team at Isabella have built could even send medication and medical treatment reminders to elderly users with no daily software maintenance from caregivers. Growney also hinted at the development of a new hardware product to compliment the Vizit.

Watch for Isabella to lead the charge into the realm of non-typical mobile devices right here in New England.

What do you think of the Vizit and the directions Isabella Products are propelling mobile technology? Have you had any experiences with Nu Graphics? Please let your thoughts be heard in the comments section below.

Learn more about Isabella Products by following them on Twitter and liking them on Facebook.

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