Smart movie posters get test run in Chiba City

by Chris MaGee

Since the beginning of the month visitors to a Chiba City mall have been able to experience the future of movie posters. The folks at cellphone company SoftBank Mobile along with some help from NTT Data, Hitachi and Dutch smart chip manufacturer Gemalto have been beta testing a "smart posters" for the Japanese releases of Pixar's "Wall-E" and Disney's "Tinkerbell" that allow people to view and download movie stills, trailers and clips literally with the wave of their hands. The posters use new NFC (Near Field Communication) technology that emits a short-range wireless signal that users cell phones can access when positioned in front of the poster. Along with traditional screening of trailers in theatres and streaming online the Japanese movie industry is looking at this as the next way to get promotional material to the ticket buying audience.

Thanks to Pink Tentacle for the story.