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It’s time for another weThink podcast. This week, the RI:Lab panel discusses e-reader ads, the death of single-use devices, airport check-ins, mobile’s merger with desktops, the enduring significance of location-based services and more.

Is It Interesting?

Each week, there are thousands of emerging media and technology headlines. In the “Is It Interesting” segment, our podcast panel selects a few of the most recent headlines and discusses why they are, or are not, interesting.

• Amazon Kindle with Ads: Amazon recently announced a new $114 Kindle with sponsored screen savers and special offers. The panel thought it was “conditionally interesting” because while this approach may create a new category, $25 off the original price may not be a large enough incentive for consumer adoption.

• The Flip Cam is No More: Cisco soon will “exit aspects of its consumer businesses,” which includes shutting down the Flip. While interesting, the panel didn’t find this surprising. Everyone said it’s another example of multi-functional devices, such as smart phones, killing off single-use devices.

• Virgin America’s Check-in Game: Virgin launched a program at San Francisco International Airport’s new Terminal 2 that awards badges and prizes for check-ins. The panel was split on how interesting this program is because it capitalizes on a captive audience, but is also a niche offering. The question is how other brands can start to capitalize on similar consumer downtime moments.

• The White iPhone 4 Finally Coming: The RI:Lab experts weren’t convinced this elusive white iPhone 4 is on its way, and didn’t find it very interesting either. What is interesting, however, is the possibility of customizing our devices with any color we want at prices that aren’t prohibitive.

The Merging of Mobile and Desktop

Mobile devices and desktops have been coming together for some time. Now, we’re starting to see environments that allow you to run virtual versions of apps on your desktop, which is signaling the need to eventually build once and port to many. Soon, the mobile device will be a hub that allows you to access a single OS experience in the cloud. You’ll buy a single app and purchase add-ons that let you use the same app on other devices. The key is figuring out how to easily port experiences to various channels.

Is There a Lack of Interest in LBS?

The team talked about a recently released survey that suggested smart phone users are not interested in location-based services (LBS). To bolster its finding, the report revealed that 60 percent of smart phone users do not use LBS. In discussing this report, the panel first expressed the need to distinguish between ‘location’ and ‘checking in’. The latter is being done manually by 40 percent of smart phone users, which is a substantial number. The former is going to be crucial to everything we do in the digital future. From local retailer information to pushing data about nearby social connections, LBS is just getting started and will be important for a long, long time.

Kinect Becomes a Platform

Microsoft recently announced an SDK (software development kit) for Kinect, its motion-controlled gaming system. Along with the ability to play Netflix videos using gestures and voice, we’re entering an era of natural use interfaces. While initial efforts may appear clunky at first, the idea is there and it’s high time we move beyond the mouse, which is 50 years old. Soon, we won’t even notice the technology that not only gives us control, but also gives us experiences based on who we are and what we like. Consider the movie screens that watch viewers to see how much fun they’re having.

Picks of the Week

Dan: With so much online video out there, a curation app is key to seeing the things you want. This week, Dan’s Pick is the Squrl iPad app. This curation app lets you collect video, create galleries based on your interests, post collections and even follow collections created by other users.

Matt: Meal Snap is an app that uses uploaded meal photos to tell you what you’re eating and estimate the calories your meal contains. While Matt and the other panel members were convinced it works using black magic, they also thought three bucks was a great price for such an incredible app.

Barce: The Masters iPad app was everything the Oscar’s app should’ve been. It offered multiple live views, player bios, course flyovers, landmark and hole back stories, interactive timelines and embedded video. Barce and the team thought the Masters app was what interactive TV should be.

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