ComTec Releases Software for Reply Plus

ComTec has recently announced the release of software for Fleetwood’s latest audience response system, Reply Plus. Unity Plus which targets decision making and Synthesis Plus which targets learning support are both available in sizes from 100 to 15,500 keypads.

Elect Plus which is designed for parliamentary proceedings is due for release in the third week of December. Elect will also support the maximum 15,500 keypads on initial release.

All three software applications allow multi-digit entry so audience members can easily log in with an employee or student number for easy identification to the system. Standard polling questions can have up to 20 choices each. Demographic questions can list up to 99 groups, and priority questions can include up to 99 issues.

Both Unity and Synthesis now include a multiple entry type question that allows users to enter a number of up to 9 digits. Data is then displayed based on a maximum of 20 user defined ranges. With Synthesis, multiple entry data can also be saved on-the-fly to a text file, for easy import into other applications.

I have had the opportunity to test the combination of ComTec software and Reply Plus quite extensively over the past 3 weeks and find this system to be extraordinarily robust, stabile, and easy to use. For those considering a system purchase, I’d look no farther.

Audience Response Systems at InfoComm 2007

InfoComm was in Anaheim California this year and according to InfoComm staff, there were a record breaking 30,000 attendees. While I did get around to most of the exhibits, I focused on the audience response system companies, of course.

There are two main conclusions that I am able to draw from the time spent talking with vendors. First, the audience response industry continues to grow rapidly. Second, not all vendors are benefiting from the growth. It seems to me that quality is more important than ever. Those who are out there doing quality work day-in and day-out are being rewarded. And those who are not, receive very little repeat business.

I counted roughly 18 companies who are now selling systems. That’s a major change from years ago when there were typically only 4 or 5. Even so, every one of them seemed to be busy with strong traffic and truly interested visitors.

While I did see a few new products, I was most interested in Fleetwood’s ‘key fob’ keypad. It’s a very small device, about the size of your car’s keyless entry remote and like that remote, hangs nicely on a key ring. It has just five buttons, but Fleetwood’s Pat Moody states that they may develop a version with either 7 or 10. I’m not sure yet exactly how it will be used, but I do know that it will be a very ‘hot’ product upon release.

As many of you know, I am also involved with ComTec Audience Response Systems. So, I spent some time staffing their booth. It was a huge effort for ComTec’s staff to make this first-ever appearance at InfoComm, especially since they were moving offices at the same time. Nice work guys. . . next year will be a cakewalk. :-)

New Reply Audience Response System

Rumor has it that Fleetwood will be introducing a new audience response system at Infocomm this year. It is supposed to be much like Reply Worldwide, but with a slightly smaller footprint, thinner, and with an LCD.

Interestingly, it is a multi-digit system. I assume that the multi-digit capability will be something less than that found with Reply IQ, as it appears to position between the Worldwide and IQ platforms.

I expect to have more info in the next couple of weeks.

What Happened To ResponseCard?

A number of customers and partners have been asking why we no longer sell ResponseCard and “is there a problem that we should know about?”

Well, there are no problems that we are aware of. The sole reason for no longer selling ResponseCard is the new contract that Turning Technologies is requiring dealers to sign.

There are three major issues that Rich and I simply could not agree to. First, we would have to agree to not sell any competitive product. Second, we would have to agree to sell at list price, regardless of quantity. And third, our discount was reduced.

While we could live with the lower discount, we felt that eliminating competition and selling at list price only is not in the customer’s best interest. Of equal importance, we felt that these two requirements might even be a violation of U.S. anti-trust law. Although I am not a lawyer, I do know that any attempt by two or more companies to fix pricing or eliminate competition is a potential violation, and we simply could not be a party to it.

One of our partners here in NJ who we have known for about twenty years has decided to sell the product. So, if you have purchased equipment from us and need support, please do contact either Rich or me. We’ll put you in direct contact with our partner where you will be well cared for.

Where are we going?

Every once in a while, it’s good to stop and think about where you are going, and for what purpose. In the audience response industry, not very many vendors do this. Perhaps the five largest companies do it routinely, but if so, they don’t have enough influence on the others to really affect any sort of industry wide change.

I am in the unique position of having relationships with close to thirty different audience response companies around the world and I tend to communicate with these folks regularly. While I can’t say that I know everything that they are planning, I do know enough to get a sense of where they are going.

Based on that, I’ll take a shot at predicting the future, at least the short term future. First, I would say that the market overall is growing quickly and broadly. It seems to me that interactive meetings and interactive classrooms are becoming mainstream technologies, and may have already reached that point. The companies that receive the biggest benefit of this are the manufacturers, including Fleetwood, Turning Technologies, IML, and others.

In general, businesses continue to engage their audience with this technology and although interactive systems have been in broad use for a decade, there is no sign of market fatigue. The same seems to hold true with higher education. These folks are spending lots of money on classroom response systems and there’s no sign of declining demand.

The most intriguing segment though is public schools, commonly referred to as k-12. While most would agree that kindergartners don’t need wireless keypads as learning tools, it is equally apparent that high-school students do.

Because the size and cost of handhelds are moving lower rapidly, and because higher education has already worked out the issues of ownership and logistics, high-school classrooms are in my view the next big market opportunity for student response system vendors.

Strong Turnout At ASTD

Attendance at the ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) annual convention is nothing short of ‘very strong’ which could signal that corporate America is once again investing in training. From what I saw, the seminars were fully attended and traffic in the Expo Hall was bustling with trainers in search of solutions.

As you would expect, the major industry players were all there. But since I’m most interested in classroom response systems (aka student response systems) I found the mix of these vendors to be rather interesting.

It’s not too long ago that Fleetwood was pretty much the only audience response vendor at the annual ASTD show. This year though other vendors included: eInstruction, Option Technologies, Turning Technologies, and Qwizdom (listed alphabetically).

I was fortunate enough to be in a position to eavesdrop on more than just a few conversations between trainers and response system salespeople. The common theme seemed to be that most trainers had very specific questions about how each vendor’s system fit with the way that the trainer needs to work.

Many had advanced questions regarding reporting methodologies, data import facilities, export capabilities, and tools for freeing the instructor from the keyboard. Most important, the days of explaining what a student response system is seem to be gone. . . finally.

Another observation is that hands down, trainers want PowerPoint plug-ins for driving these hardware systems and have little interest in standalone software applications. The exception is with advanced, or power users. These instructors are not at all shy about tackling technology. But by and large, the average trainer has had more than his/her share of new technology to digest over recent years.

I did see one new plug in called PowerCom, which is designed for use with Fleetwood’s Reply Worldwide system. It is a stable, easy to use (wizard driven) system with a feature set that is typical for plug-in polling modules. I understand that an ‘education market’ feature pack is in the works and expect that PowerCom will become a top player in the plug-in market.

Reply Worldwide Price Reduction

Well changes in this industry just keep on coming. In a major move and the first that I've seen this year, Fleetwood has reduced the purchase price of Reply Worldwide from $139.95 per keypad to just $79.95.

This should be a good thing for those companies who have been considering buying gear for Interactive Meetings, but who have had a difficult time justifying the cost. Now's the time to get off the fence and buy a system.

I could understand the indecision seven months ago. RF keypads were big, clunky, and expensive. But Reply Worldwide is small (although not so small as to be easily lost) contemporary looking, and now very affordable.

If you're thinking about buying, we suggest that you read buying tips: Audience Response Systems - About the Technology.

And one more thing, Fleetwood's advanced system Reply IQ has been reduced from $239.95 each to $179.95. IQ is a great system for those who need multi-digit entry.