World Tech Update, CES Special
This week’s World Tech Update comes to you from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where -
- Samsung unveils new TVs, a 3D home entertainment system, e-readers and an app store.
- Microsoft announces Project Natal availability.
- Intel officially releases its next generation chips.
- Mobile TV hopes to catch on in the US.
- Lenovo shows off a laptop that splits in two.
- iPhone controlled helicopter mixes the physical and virtual worlds.
The End of Single-Purpose Devices
| Jim Rapoza posted this blog in eWeek.
So what am I doing? Am I walking around with an MP3 player, an e-book reader, a digital camera and a digital camcorder? Nope, just one device, my BlackBerry smartphone, which lets me listen to music, read books, take pictures and video, and, oh, yeah, make calls, play games, manage contacts and so on. I do own a nice MP3 player, a very good digital point-and-shoot camera and a Flip camcorder, and, while I don’t own an e-book reader, I’ve had the chance to try out several. But I find that I’m leaving these devices at home more and more and just sticking with one multifunction device. All of these single-purpose devices are excellent and in pretty much every case they are superior to the functionality in my smartphone. But it’s also true that in most cases my smartphone is good enough.” Read the full article at http://etech.eweek.com/content/mobile_and_wireless/the_end_of_single_purpose_devices.html |
What Is Augmented Reality?
CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout previews what’s coming to a smartphone screen near you!
MoCa pilot deployment in Batanes
MoCa pilot deployment in Batanes, Philippines.
MoCa stands for Mobile Care, and is a public-private partnership that began as a collaboration of students and faculty members at MIT and Harvard. MoCa offers a cell phone-based interoperable clinical information system allowing the transmission of any type of medical data, whether text, audio, video or photo, from a rural health worker to a remote medical specialist for diagnosis, and for incorporation into an electronic medical record. In addition, MoCa delivers a re-engineered workflow process and outcome metrics to optimize healthcare delivery.
Interview with Kevin Roberts – CEO Saatchi & Saatchi
An interview with Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, about the future of the customer-mobile relationship, and the Do One Thing (DOT) campaign, and examples of good campaigns integrating social media and advertising effectively.
Mobile Video Demand Set To Take Off
Jason Harris of CMS Wire discusses the potential for mobile video in the US.
In a world where mobile phones are finding inroads into many different facets of our lives, a new study suggests a new usage pattern is about to emerge. According to Ovum, a telecom analyst firm, mobile video usage will soon gain traction. Two main factors for this include: advancing the prospect of widely-used video usage including rollout of next generation wireless networks and a new carrier attitude of openness with regards to which applications can appear on mobile handsets.
Wide Open Market
The United States has four major mobile network operators: T-Mobile USA, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint/Nextel. Of these four carriers, AT&T Wireless is the only mobile network operator to launch a video conferencing service. However, the Video Share service features only one-way video, meaning your meeting attendees can see your face, but you can’t see their image.
According to the study (released in Feb), other mobile carriers have indicated that a mobile video offering is in the works and therein lies a vast opportunity for software vendors. A few software vendors have already begun rolling out video software including Qik, which allows a person to stream internet video live from their mobile handset. Similar applications include FlixWagon and kyte.tv.
Networks Coming of Age
With video usage comes the need to have a robust data network in place. AT&T’s Video Share service, for example, is only available where a 3G signal is available. To respond to the need for increased data throughput, mobile network operators have been increasing capacity in their networks.
Specifically, AT&T and T-Mobile have expanded their 3G network footprint nationwide. In addition, Sprint/Nextel has rolled out their 4G network under the Clear brand name. The Clear service resulted from Sprint’s acquisition of Clearwire and increased investments from Comcast, Google, Intel and other interested parties. Internet service from Clear provides very fast and robust Internet speeds thanks to the network’s underlying technology: WiMax.
Read the complete article at http://www.cmswire.com/cms/mobile/mobile-video-demand-set-to-take-off-003922.php
Live Video Casting – the New TV
Imagine being the owner, executive producer, director, actor and programmer for your own live TV station. Stop imagining. No, the FCC didn’t offer you a free license to operate neither did Rupert Murdoch just toss you the keys to one of his TV channels. You are now streaming your video content live on one of the available channels on such web services as LiveStream, Ustream, Stickam and Justin.tv to the entire world. Not much capital investment needed (3G phone or webcam) and no license to operate required. Live video casting is not new to the internet but what’s new is that 3G technology expands the boundaries to provide and view content anywhere anytime.
This isn’t blogging – this is live which is quite a different social dynamic. For example, you’re a talented musician and want to get your material recognized. By advertising a free live concert with the service provider, you perform and people can see your raw talent knowing there has been no editing to fudge the performance. Not everyone is plugged in to a broadband connection because they’re at the local pub but 3G puts the performance in your hand. Of a more corporate nature, a CEO wants to address all his employees with the latest company news. Some of his employees are at their desks and others are on the road with their 3G handsets. An announcement is sent out that the boss wants to address the entire company and you can tune into www.livevideocast/XYZcorp at 1PM and he’ll also field the IM questions you may have. Or perhaps there’s that once in a life time event – your 5 year old daughter is performing her first ballet recital and you have family that can’t be there because they live all over. Imagine the joy your daughter will have when she knows grandma, grandpa, aunty May, uncle Buck and all the cousins are watching her live. People can host their own cooking shows, sitcoms, provide coverage for their son’s little league final (CBS didn’t want to pick up the rights) or offer a home improvement show with advertising for carpenter services. With 3G, you can view or stream live from anywhere. All these scenarios have recording options as well.
For a provider of live video casts, the opportunities for some sweet moolah are as limitless as the imagination. There’s the advertising, airtime, recording fees, etc. How people watch video has change considerably in the last few years. How they watch live video is about to change thanks to live video casting value added services and 3G.
Live Video Streaming
Steve Garfield talks about live video streaming from his mobile phone.
Global and Local Market Trends
When people talk about the latest market trends with regards to multimedia, they often speak in terms of global or macro usage. One of the things that we have seen is that while there are broad changes and usage patterns for video services that are driven by devices, networks and applications, most of the real news comes from individual markets.
From a global perspective, we can look at the increasing number of 3G subscribers and especially relative to the total number of mobile customers. The percentage of 3G subscribers is almost reaching 20% which is the point where people start to say there is a tipping point. New smartphones from iPhone to G1 to RIM’s Blackberry are showing people how easy it is to access quality video on a daily basis. Prices for these services are generally falling and all-you-can-eat pricing plans are making multimedia more accessible to the masses. New codecs such as H.264 are providing a near-HD experience which helps to promote increased usage.
Then we have the local markets driving local services. It’s easy to point to India and China where more than a billion people will eventually have access to next-generation mobile broadband, and their networks are being built out now – but these services are yet to be launched – though there are high hopes. We see very specific applications tailored to a country in markets such as the Middle East and in South East Asia. There are also cultural norms that have be followed – including the allowance of adult services in Western and Northern Europe (UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria for example), which would obviously not be permissible in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Bahrain.
What do you think and see? Which markets are truly leading this revolution? How much do global trends apply to local markets?
Growth of Mobile Services in India
Since I joined Dilithium Networks in June, in the exciting field of mobile video, I have had a chance to reminisce about my 15 year on and off association with the telecommunication industry in India from a vendor perspective.
Going by the saying “numbers never lie”, the growth in the mobile space has been mind-boggling. By 2010, India is expected to have 500 million mobile subscribers, growing at the rate of 10 million new subscribers a month. 40% of these subscribers are expected to use their mobile phone for something more than just making a basic call. The cost of making a mobile call is the lowest in the world and mobile devices are expected to be the primary device for internet access for a big section of the population.
The auction of 3G licenses in the 2H,09 is expected to provide a major boost to mobile video and related value added services (VAS) that are unique to the socio-economic set-up for the cost conscious Indian consumer.
One of the big challenges facing India is the inadequate power/electricity production, where rural areas receive less than 8 hours of powers a day on average. Since television cannot be turned on for most of the day, mobile devices are expected to provide back-up entertainment as well – from watching cricket snippets and getting the latest scores in a cricket crazed nation, to watching news or getting the latest on the ongoing soap operas.
Mobile video and VAS are also expected to play a major role in the small business and services sectors. Some possibilities include: construction contractors making a video call to their sub-contractors and monitoring progress from their phones rather than visiting each of their sites everyday; plumbers rather than visiting multiple shops for parts can make video call to check out the available choices; farmers can call experts and show them field conditions and get advice without traveling; explaining medical conditions to experts in the cities… the possibilities are endless.
The way to I think about it is that the pipes for mobile infrastructure are ready. The next step for the service providers is to enable video and VAS that are relevant in the context of India’s socio-economic set up. The mobile revolution is just beginning in India……..tighten your seat belts and get ready for the ride.