M2M is a confusing term. Machine-to-Machine doesn’t do justice to the breadth and depth of the communications concept it represents. One definition goes like this: M2M connects people, devices, and systems and turns machine data into actionable information. Leave out “machine” and it works just as well.

This simple schematic represents another. Capture data, transmit the data, and then analyze the data. However, when it comes to B2C applications it can break down. For example, you dial a taxi service and state your requirement; the server will know your location as well as the position of the nearest taxi; it sends that information to the customer together with the estimated delay; now see the position of the taxi, it’s displayed on your smartphone; you can also see the position change in real time. Thus, the server is pushing M2M data to the device and the smartphone is converting it into meaningful information.  This means that the paradigm is reversed.

OK. What has this got to do with Humpty Dumpty: one of the many surreal characters in “Through the Looking Glass”. In a discussion with Alice on semantics and pragmatics he says: “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” And right now we have a crop of Humpty Dumpty type writers. The sector is hot so M2M means whatever they want it to mean. iPads are hot so let’s do an M2M article on these devices. If an iPhone (News - Alert) is an M2M device then so is an iPad. Right? Wrong!

I know that’s wrong because an iPad is a “Lite” PC, but I used to be ambivalent about eReaders. This is a relatively dumb device: it can only run one application and the end user has to select the book. So why do people who are definitely not Humpty Dumpty types say that it is?

The best way to find out is to ask an expert, which I did last week when I met with Robin Duke-Woolley. Robin is Founder and CEO of Beecham Research, and he’s been in the M2M business since the early days. I started by asking how he would define M2M. If eReaders are M2M devices then surely a new term is needed.  His answer was alarmingly simple. M2M equates to new service opportunities for remote devices: opportunities that generate new revenue streams. eReaders fit and iPads don’t.

Bob Emmerson (News - Alert) is TMC's European Editor. To stay abreast of the latest news affecting the European market, check out Bob's columnist page.

Edited by Stefanie Mosca