Company: Actiontec Electronics, Sunnyvale, CA
Company Description: Founded in 1993, Actiontec has become a leader in high speed Internet modems and routers, shipping over 20 million Internet Access devices thus far. Our customers include Verizon, Qwest, TDS, MTS and hundreds of smaller carriers throughout North America. We continuously innovate, offering some of the most powerful, feature-rich routers in the residential market.
Nomination Category: Products & Product Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: New Product or Service of the Year - Consumer Electronics

Nomination Title: Actiontec’s ScreenBeam Mini

1. Tell the story about this nominated product or service (up to 525 words). Describe its function, features, benefits, and performance to date:

Today, we’re doing more and more on our mobile devices. The problem is that content is often siloed on the mobile device…for example, users watch an online video on their tablet instead of on the large HDTV.

Actiontec’s ScreenBeam family frees content from any single device and gives people the ability to enjoy movies, photos, and gaming on whatever display they want. With ScreenBeam, you can beam content from a compatible laptop, tablet or smartphone to an HDTV. That means you can watch movies from Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube on your television, display the photos stored on your tablet on your HDTV, or beam your big presentation from your smartphone.

Size- and price-optimized, ScreenBeam Mini is the introductory wireless display receiver in Actiontec’s ScreenBeam product line. It’s designed for people who are looking for value and affordability over the advanced features offered in ScreenBeam Pro. Its low price point enables more consumers, schools, and small businesses to take advantage of the benefits of wireless display technology.

ScreenBeam Mini is incredibly easy to use. Connect the ScreenBeam Mini Receiver to the HDMI or USB port on your HDTV or projector and you can wirelessly display almost any content from a compatible laptop, tablet, or smartphone. ScreenBeam Mini is compatible with many devices that people already own including Windows 8.1 and Android 4.2 devices. It supports the Wi-Fi Miracast standard (available on millions of smartphones, tablets, and laptops), as well as Intel WiDi 3.5 and higher. In fact, ScreenBeam Mini gives you more device compatibility than receivers that support only one wireless standard, for less money.

Unlike other wireless display solutions on the market (such as Google Chromecast), ScreenBeam Mini lets you play any local or online content from a compatible device. This means you’re not just limited to the online content from a browser, but you can share a video or photos that are locally stored on your smartphone, a spreadsheet saved on your laptop, or a classroom exercise that’s on a tablet. This functionality opens ScreenBeam up to more applications and use cases, including in office and school settings.

The tiny ScreenBeam Mini is powered directly through a TV’s USB port: no separate power adapter is required. This not only reduces the clutter in the home theater, but gives users an energy-efficient solution that’s friendly to both the environment and electricity bill. In addition, unlike other wireless display solutions on the market, ScreenBeam Mini creates a direct 2.4 GHz connection between your device and display. A Wi-Fi network or wireless router is not required. This means that your ScreenBeam experience won’t be affected by any latency, congestion, or performance issues that can be common in Wi-Fi networks.

ScreenBeam Mini is the easiest way to share any media content (photos, home-made videos, movies from the Internet, live sports) from a small screen to the big screen (HDTV). This allows users to lean back and enjoy their content on the best display(s) in the house. The solution supports up to full 1080p HD video and HD audio, allowing users to enjoy the convenience of wireless without compromising their experience.

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2. Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that developed this nominated product or service:

Actiontec Electronics develops broadband-powered solutions that connect people to the Internet, applications, and content they care about. Their products, including gigabit Ethernet fiber routers and high speed VDSL gateways, are deployed by some of the largest telecom carriers in North America. As a minority owned company, they're committed to the world by promoting diversity among employees and partners, and actively pushing a variety of green programs designed to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, manufacturing, and customers. Founded in 1993, Actiontec is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, with branch offices in Colorado, Shanghai, China and Taipei, Taiwan.