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This year three companies drove into Earls Court for Screenmedia Expo: Eyetease Media, VeriFone and Phillips.

Philips Public Signage had partnered with AOpen and NDS, and parked a big lorry in the middle of the hall. The display was featured inside and outside the vehicle and included products from glasses-free 3D displays to touchscreen solutions, for applications from retail to wayfinding.

An interesting demo on the truck was from software company NetDisplay, with its new digital signage software product PADS4. PADS4 enables the design, schedule and distribution of any type of content to any screen. The Microsoft .Net system is connected to a database that allows users to include real-time data in their content.

Eyetease and VeriFone didn't use their 'wheels' to show integrated solutions for other markets, such as hospitality or retail; instead their proposition is indeed vehicles with screens. In the case of Eyetease, with its iTaxitop solution, the screen is on the roof of the vehicle. VeriFone instead opts for an in-car screen and this year it combined it with a Sky News vehicle wrap promoting its latest deal with the broadcaster.

The iTaxitop double-sided mobile digital advertising screen was this year 20 percent larger than 2011 (when it featured atop a Mini instead of a black cab) and had 1,200 candelas compared to 1,000 from v1.0. The screens are LED back-lit LCDs and consume just 1.2 to 1.5 watts to the gallon, therefore not being a real burden on the vehicle's battery.

The on-roof screen takes only a couple of hours to mount and once in situ it is secure and cannot be removed. Eyetease Media's scheduling software and GPS connectivity means that an advertising campaign can be quickly deployed onto thousands of iTaxitops in seconds using 3G and 4G mobile technology. The system supports all content formats, including static imagery and video.

VeriFone, a company known for its secure electronic payment technologies, is growing its networks of taxis that use its credit card payment and screen systems. The company's 15" (0.4m) LCD in-taxi screen is part of VeriFone Digital Network (VNET) Media. The solution, called TaxiTV, combines advertising, local information and now 15-minute loops of Sky News content. VNET has geo-targeting technology, by which advertisers can send cluster messaging around a specific neighbourhood, event, conference or key store location.

"We have over 4,000 cabs now with our credit card systems and over 2,500 cars with media screens," commented Chris Polos, vice-president of US media sales, who was at the show.

Near field communication (NFC) was a special topic at this year's Screenmedia Expo and VeriFone is not lagging behind in this. The company was recently awarded the Best Contactless/NFC Infrastructure title for its London taxi operations at the 2012 Contactless Intelligence Contactless and Mobile Awards. Over the past twelve months, taxis fitted with VeriFone solution offered its passengers the option to pay for their journey with a 'tap and go' contactless card if they have one and if the fare is less than £15.