Mobile TV

Friday, September 08, 2006

Rim to launch multimedia device for consumers

Research In Motion Ltd, the maker of Blackberry e-mail devices popular among executives, said on Thursday it is pushing into a wider consumer market with the Pearl, its first phone with a camera and music player.

Canada's Rim plans to launch the device with T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. wireless service, on September 12 and expects a number of other carriers to start selling the product this month and in October, Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said.

"It's going to be a main product for us in all our markets," Balsillie said in an interview, adding that the majority of Rim's more than 170 operator customers are very interested in selling the Pearl.


From ZDNet review:
As you would expect, the quad-band BlackBerry Pearl excels at handling data over GPRS and EDGE networks. RIM sensibly decided to leave out 3G, while Wi-Fi is also absent, to save space and power.

Reading and writing emails is straightforward, and the keyboard follows earlier small-format BlackBerrys, by placing the QWERTY keys two-by-two on a 20-key pad, with shift and symbol keys working much as on any BlackBerry.

It has a wireless-off mode, for planes. We haven't checked the battery life or talk time yet (RIM claims 15 days on standby and 3.5 hours talk time), but the display is bright and easy to read text on.


The phone has been widely anticipated and investors -- viewing the expansion beyond a predominantly business customer base as a potential boost for Rim's revenue growth -- have pushed Rim's share price up 23 percent in the last month.

According to IDC, Blackberry leads the U.S. market for smart phones, which have computer features such as e-mail, but rivals such as the Treo from Palm Inc and the Q from Motorola Inc already sport cameras and media players.

As service providers around the world peg hopes for future growth on services such as music and video downloads, Rim is hoping to jump on the bandwagon with a device that has a 1.3 megapixel camera, a video and music player and a slot to add extra storage space, as well as its popular e-mail feature.

Rim sees the phone giving it a bigger target market as it hopes consumers who have not bought Blackberry due to its lack of media features and existing Blackberry users who also want media features will be attracted to the new phone.

"It really is our attempt to take Blackberry out of the boardroom," Larry Conlee, Rim's chief operations officer, said at a Rim event in London. "That's a big opportunity for Blackberry," he added.

Analyst Nick Spencer at market research firm Canalys said the phone would likely increase volume sales at Rim.

"This puts Blackberry in the millions rather than the hundred-thousands," said Spencer who believes the phone is one of the smallest "smartphones" with computer-like features.

Spencer estimates 180 million smart phones will be sold in 2009. In comparison, the total market for cellphones is already expected to approach 1 billion in 2006.

Balsillie said RIM would market this phone more aggressively than previous devices but did not give details.

Since the phone is aimed at a wider consumer audience, Rim has to support a larger-scale distribution channel, Balsillie said.

Widespread rumors about the upcoming phone did not affect sales of existing products, Balsillie said. He would not say if Rim would meet its forecast of 675,000 to 700,000 new Blackberry subscribers for its second fiscal quarter ended September 2. But he appeared confident.

"If you're not doing well you have to preannounce. We didn't preannounce," the executive said.

T-Mobile USA, owned by Deutsche Telekom AG, said it would charge $199 for the phone to customers who sign up for a two-year contract.

(c) Reuters

Advertisers look to mobile phones as users seek free TV

Advertising on mobile phones is expected to boom over the next five years, creating a market worth more than $11.3bn (£6bn) annually, with consumers persuaded to accept adverts on their handsets by the offer of free content such as TV channels, games and music.

With mobile phone ownership already outstripping PC use across the world, online advertising players such as Google and Yahoo! are moving their search engine products on to mobile phones. But research by industry experts Informa Telecoms and Media, to be released today, shows that advertising-backed content services such as mobile TV will also be a draw for advertisers.

The move from demanding that customers pay when they download music or videos to free services backed by advertising, however, represents a challenge to mobile phone operators. They had been hoping to charge for content and levy monthly subscription fees for mobile TV. If they cannot persuade broadcasters or music firms to cut them in on advertising-backed services, they risk becoming little more than access providers.

Informa estimates that the mobile advertising market, forecast to be worth $871m this year, will rocket to $11.35bn in 2011. While that is a small percentage of the global advertising market, growth is expected to be fast. Mobile search advertising and display advertisements on mobile web pages will account for about $3.1bn by 2011, with text and picture messaging advertising raking in $2.7bn, it says.

But Informa says advertising over mobile TV will be most lucrative, worth almost $4.4bn by 2011. Virgin Mobile will today launch Britain's first "true" broadcast mobile TV service, offering a handful of channels over mobiles at the same time as they go out on TV. It is expected to eventually charge a subscription fee. But Informa's head of mobile content, Dan Winterbottom, said "people do not want to pay for something they can already watch at home for free".

So mobile TV is expected to become free, paid for by advertising. During the World Cup, mobile phone operator 3 offered a free downloadable video magazine show paid for by Canon with advertising. 3 says the campaign had 61% recall.

There are still some hurdles. 3 has a deal with ITV to simulcast ITV1 to mobile phones. But because of content rights issues, it has had to cut the advertisements.

(c) The Guardian

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Video recorder being added to TV phones

Want to watch the Today show on your phone while it downloads stuff from MTV? Next year you can.

First, music players were added to cell phones. Then TVs. Next up is the cell phone with a built-in digital video recorder.

Texas Instruments, PacketVideo and S3 are showing off a cell phone that can record incoming television shows the same way that TiVo boxes do at home. The phone has two channels, so consumers can watch a program at the same time as they record something else for later viewing.

The phone also sports a picture-within-picture option, another first for TV cell phones, according to Texas Instruments.

Portable TV and video is the latest big idea--or possible flash in the pan--to come out of the tech industry. Advocates say portable video will become a widespread phenomenon. In initial customer tests conducted by manufacturers, Texas Instruments said, consumers could watch up to three hours a day of portable video. Currently, consumers watch quick video blurbs rather than full-length TV shows or movies. Prime viewing times will likely be during a commute or lunchtime. These cell phones can also ultimately function as videoconferencing devices.

"Video camcorder capability in handsets is going to be as high as camera phone penetration. TV reception, however, is going to start with very high-end multimedia handsets," said Tina Teng, an analyst at iSuppli, in an e-mail. Adoption will also be determined by power consumption, screen size and other factors, she added.

Cell phone TVs are already available in South Korea and Japan. In the latest versions, programs and videos come directly to phones and handhelds via digital TV broadcasting services and a TV tuner. Programs do not travel over the cellular networks, which in the early days of TV cell phones often resulted in hefty phone bills.

Apple Computer next week is expected to unveil a new video iPod as well as a service that lets people download videos and movies.

Critics, though, point out that portable video may not match the success of MP3 players. For one thing, you can drive a car and listen to MP3s at the same time: That's not so easy with video. The small screens also aren't the greatest format for viewing. Notably, TV phone sales also did not accelerate much during the FIFA World Cup, a testing ground for the concept.
In other news:

Still, it's a new market, and video can be surprising. Back in October 2005, NetFlix CEO Reed Hastings said it would be a long time before consumers could download TV programs. A few months later, Apple started doing just that. Some experts predicted that consumer-generated video, or sites geared toward consumer-generated video, would never get big until, whoops, YouTube became a global phenomenon.

The prototype handheld is based around the Hollywood chip produced by Texas Instruments, middleware from S3 and a digital TV package from PacketVideo.

Phones based around the technology from these companies will come out in 2007.

By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com (c)

YouTube Video & Usage Facts

Комментарии к статье из WSJ:

I did a scrape of YouTube a month ago and found there were 5.1 million videos. By Sunday, the end of another scrape, that number had grown by about 20% to 6.1 million. Because we know how many videos have been uploaded to the site, the length of each, and how many times it has been watched (total views were 1.73 billion as of Sunday) we can do a little multiplication to find out how much time has collectively been spent watching them…


YouTube videos take up an estimated 45 terabytes of storage — about 5,000 home computers’ worth — and require several million dollars’ worth of bandwidth a month to transmit…

Johan Pouwelse, a Delft professor who helped develop a peer-to-peer, video-sharing technology at Delft called Tribler…reports that 70% of YouTube’s registered users are American and roughly half are under 20 years of age.

According to comScore, almost 70% of the online population has watched online video and the average consumer watches 73 minutes of online video a month.

YouTube has grown from roughly 58,000 monthly visitors in August of last year to more than 20 million today. (Now that’s a “hockey stick.”)

If Gomes is correct about YouTube’s costs, the site will run out of money quickly unless it more aggressively monetizes its traffic and page views – which it’s starting to do. But it’s hard to believe that any new ad revenues will cover those costs (unless it does a MySpace-like paid search deal with a major player).

So even though it’s got a huge valuation (in excess of $1 billion), YouTube may be forced to sell sooner than it would like because of its massive overhead.

According to May, 2006 data from Hitwise the top five video sites are:

* YouTube: 42.94%
* MySpace Video: 24.22%
* Yahoo! Video Search: 9.58%
* MSN Video Search: 9.21%
* Google Video: 6.48%

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Digi Launches Mobile TV In Malaysia

DiGi Telecommunications is making the mobile TV experience more accessible and affordable with the introduction of DiGiChannels.

Launched by His Majesty Sri Paduka Baginda Yang di Pertuan Agong XII, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni al-Marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail at the Asean Communications Expo, the service will be commercially available from 15th September 2006.

DiGiChannels, which is DiGi's updated MobileTV service, offers seven channels of "live" video streaming content of the latest entertainment news and programmes and information updates at the very affordable price of just RM 14.90 (US$4) per month, data charges included, for all seven channels.

DiGiChannels also features a host of Video On Demand (VOD) content, which are pre-recorded 1 minute clips of news and entertainment updates starting at RM4 (US$1).

Accessed via DiGi's WAP portal, customers will be able to view programmes in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin from seven exciting new channels: DiGi Sports, DiGi News, DiGi Toons, DiGi Music, SCTV, Jia Yu and Fashion TV.

The user-friendly interface makes it simple for customers to select and access any of the seven channels they choose. For added flexibility, customers are able to select between "live" content or pre-recorded VOD content.

Chee Pok Jin, DiGi's Chief Marketing Officer said DiGiChannels is DiGi's way of enhancing mobile lifestyle by offering a service that has compelling content, easy access and at an affordable price.

"We talk so much about a mobile lifestyle, but in truth, very few people are able to afford this as the latest technologies always come with a premium price. We wanted to address this."

"When we conceptualised DiGiChannels, we looked at ways to improve our present MobileTV offering. DiGiChannels offers a variety of compelling international and local content, refreshed at least three times a day. The content will also be reviewed regularly based on customer choice and feedback."

"Accessing DiGiChannels does not require the latest mobile phone as any GPRS or EDGE-enabled mobile phone that has streaming capabilities is sufficient. Customers will also have the flexibility of choosing any number of channels, from one, three, five or the full package of seven channels, from as low as RM6," Chee said.

For VOD content, there is also a weekly subscription option available where customers can view the content for an unlimited number of times within the week. Alternatively if the customer only desires to view specific content on a one time basis, a pay-per-view option is available.

In addition to bringing high-quality content to mobile phones for the consumer, DiGiChannels is also a platform for local content developers to showcase and distribute their work.

"We are proud to support the Government's efforts to develop and sustain the local content development industry. In fact, one of our seven channels, DiGi Toons, will showcase works by local animators such as Kiddo and Big Shot. Of course, we are exploring other opportunities to bring more local content into DiGiChannels," said Chee.

To subscribe to DiGiChannels, DiGi customers may opt to use DiGi's Online Customer Service, DiGi's WAP Portal or via an SMS interface.

Instrumental to the development of DiGiChannels is DiGi's partnership with Qtelmedia. Qtelmedia's proprietary technology and production process allows live television content to be ingested in real-time and then immediately re-distributed via DiGiChannels. This process gives DiGi customers the ability to view live streaming video content on their GPRS and EDGE devices.

US Radio Giant Launches National Mobile Content Program

Clear Channel Radio today announced the launch of a national roll out of mobile radio programming that further extends its local radio station brands, and expands the platforms to which it is distributing content.

The initiative kicks off with New York's number one hit music station, WHTZ-FM Z100 streaming live radio and new features directly to cell phones across the country serviced by Cingular Wireless. Clear Channel Radio expects to launch similar programs on up to 100 more of its radio stations in the next 12 months.

Subscribers of Z100 Mobile, the premiere service of Clear Channel Radio's mobile offering, can interact directly from their phones to listen to streamed and on-demand content including podcasts of celebrity interviews and popular segments. They can also find the title and artist of the last 10 songs played on-air, make a song request directly to Z100 and receive a text message alert 15 minutes before the song is played, get free station wallpapers for their phone, rate listener-submitted photos and obtain real-time reports on local traffic.

DKNY Jeans is the first sponsor of Z100 Mobile, providing daily fashion tips integrated within the mobile content package. Similar exclusive sponsorship opportunities will be available across local markets for terms as short as one month.

"With Z100 reaching 2.5 million listeners each week, and 50 million consumers subscribing to Cingular Wireless, we are creating one of the largest audiences for any radio or mobile phone application in the U.S., thereby monumentally expanding Clear Channel Radio's mobile content portfolio," said Jeff Littlejohn, Executive Vice President of Distribution Development for Clear Channel Radio. "By connecting listeners to their favorite radio stations via cell phone, and adding interactive features, Clear Channel Radio has found an additional platform to deliver on-demand entertainment to, and drive listening among its active, on-the-go audiences across the country."

The content of Clear Channel Radio's mobile program to be offered on up to 100 additional stations over the next year will be similar to the features described above for the premiere service, Z100 Mobile. More information on Z100 Mobile can be found at http://mobile.z100.com. A minimal monthly subscription is required for Clear Channel Radio's mobile content to cell phones.

About Clear Channel Radio

Clear Channel Radio is a leading radio company focused on serving local communities across the U.S. with more than 110 million listeners choosing Clear Channel Radio programming each week. The company's content can be heard on AM/FM stations, HD digital radio channels, on the Internet, via iPods, through Motorola's iRadio cell-phone service, and via mobile-navigation devices from Cobra, Garmin, Kenwood and others. The company's operations include radio broadcasting, syndication and independent media representation. Clear Channel Radio is a division of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. a leading global media and entertainment company.

(c) News Release by BUSINESS WIRE

----------------------------------------------------

Article from SeattlePI.com

The day when your cell phone doubles as a radio is getting closer.

Clear Channel Radio and Cingular Wireless said this week they are launching a service that will provide live streaming of broadcasts, as well as on-demand delivery of podcasts.

The service will start with a Clear Channel station in New York, but the broadcaster said it expects to offer the service "on up to 100 more of its radio stations in the next 12 months." The company wouldn't say what stations are on the list, but since it operates a cluster of music stations (including KUBE-FM, KJR-FM and KFNK-FM) in the Seattle-Tacoma market, the nation's 14th largest, at least one would be a good bet to get the service.

The service costs $2.99 a month for downloads, with an additional fee of 99 cents a month for streaming. What customers get are podcasts of interviews and features, title and artist information for the last 10 songs played and local traffic reports. Sponsor announcements also are included.

Facing competition from other entertainment and delivery channels (satellite, portable music devices, Internet radio), traditional broadcasters have been looking at ways to extend their reach. The Clear Channel-Cingular deal is merely the latest of an attempt to marry radio and cell phones and other portable communications devices. In some instances, the cell phone as a method for transmitting text messages is eclipsing voice phone calls as the primary link between stations and listeners.

Earlier this year, CBS Radio and Vibes Media announced a partnership to provide text-messaging services such as contests and song requests via cell phones.

KBKS-FM (106.1) already is offering the Vibes service, says Dave McDonald, senior vice president and market manager for CBS Radio's Seattle stations. "Particularly with younger demographics, texting is becoming a ubiquitous method of communication," McDonald says. "It's really important the station reflect the lifestyles of its listeners."

KBKS got a powerful demonstration of texting's popularity at a station-sponsored concert at KeyArena. Morning hosts Jackie & Bender announced, from the stage, a contest to win a guitar autographed by the concert performers, and invited members of the audience to send a text message to enter. McDonald says there were 5,600 text entries.

Another local CBS station, KJAQ-FM (96.5), is about to roll out a cell-phone service (although not provided by Vibes). Listeners can peruse the station's playlist on the Jack FM Web site, pick their favorite songs, then sign up to get an alert when those songs are about to be played on the air.

Audio Interview. NRK CTO: Bring Your Own Brand

(c) MocoNews

We've already heard that major media companies and strong brands have a built-in edge when they go off-portal. (No-brainer: This is because users generally gravitate to the names they know.) But Bjarne Andre Myklebust, CTO of the Norwegian public-service broadcaster NRK, tells me broadcasters have a "special brand advantage" over operators and content companies when it comes to co-creating and cashing in on user-generated content. As Myklebust sees it, broadcasters – because they can offer users exposure across TV and radio – can give users what they want most: fame. "If users have good [mobile] content, then we can pop it on the TV or radio." For many users, that's a compelling reason to get involved.

Users are "itching in their fingers to actually participate in some way because the mobile phone is an interactive device.... If you let them interact with the content you will see that they will use the service for a longer time and also they will come and re-visit it and use it more often." The proof is in the numbers. Since launching the mobile TV service – which is essentially a Java client NRK developed with Ericsson that enables users to watch streamed TV programs live and interact with them simultaneously – usage has "doubled from the average of 2.5 minutes to 5 minutes of viewing." That total viewing time is on the rise, Myklebust says. Of course, it also helps that NRK's service is charged at a flat fee via Norwegian carrier Telenor.

Indie films from the source:
NRK's current mobile TV program, a music channel aimed at youth, allows users to interact with the programming by voting, sending text messages and chatting with the show. It's a bit reminiscent of MTV's Flux and other schemes, but it won't be for long. Myklebust is also gearing up to add user-created mobile video to the mix. "Some new shows will start up this autumn where we actually invite people to use some of our content and put it together [according] to a kind of theme" that NRK will suggest. Users will have the opportunity to enter their 90-second video clips in a competition and NRK will, of course, broadcast the winners. Myklebust is out to emulate the success of services like 3's SeeMeTV – but there's a twist. Users (at least in Norway) are so keen to participate that they'll do it for free.

Tools rule!:
What's better than letting users publish what they want? Providing them the tools and the guidance to do it on their own. "We are working on ... really making some good platforms and some good publishing facilities for the users where they can use their mobile phones as a camera and a tool for making different kinds of content." The result could be a "24-hour mobile television channel with user-generated content." Sure, operators have also promised to provide us with tools to capture and store the stories of our lives – but that doesn't mean content companies shouldn't join the party. "Basically it's about opening up and letting the people make the television [content] and the entertainment." Moving forward, "we can also take out the best bits of the user-generated content and put it on some of our other music channels....and we can get a whole lot of different content that we haven't been able to get before."

Rights are wrong:
Rights issues, not technology, make it hard for mobile video content to make the mainstream. "Some of the very big companies, especially the American based studios, do not allow us to use their content on mobile phone even though we are prepared to pay some extra to use it." Another headache is sports content. Sports rights-owners are splitting up the Internet, TV and mobile rights, forcing media companies to acquire each separately. It not only flies in the face of convergence. Having to purchase both Internet and mobile right is a "very expensive" practice indeed.

Audio:

Upload music at Bolt.

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Virgin Mobile TV unveiled

Virgin Mobile will launch the UK's first broadcast mobile TV service on October 1st. Four channels will be available at launch, including BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 and E4, with Virgin offering the service and a compatible Windows Mobile-based HTC handset free to customers on a contract worth £25 a month or more.

For pre-pay customers the phone is available for £199, with Virgin Mobile TV free for an initial three-month period followed by a charge of £5 a month.

Channel 4 will initially broadcast Channel 4 Short Cuts, its made-for-mobile TV channel, with a full Channel 4 simulcast to follow.

The service, which is provided by the DAB IP-based BT Movio mobile broadcast platform, will also offer 50 digital radio stations, ‘red-button’ interactivity and a seven-day electronic programme guide (EPG).

The Virgin Mobile TV launch will be supported from October 9th by a 'multi-million pound' advertising campaign, starring Pamela Anderson.

Alan Gow, managing director of Virgin Mobile, said: “Virgin Mobile finally delivers what others have been promising for so long - real TV broadcast to your mobile, delivering the programmes you want to watch, when you want to watch them, in a simple and easy-to-use experience.”

Emma Lloyd, managing director, BT Movio, said: “BT Movio looks forward to working with Virgin Mobile as our first customer. We fully anticipate that their well-known marketing flare will attract many UK consumers to the service.”

(c) Mobile Entertainment

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Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Sprint is First to Offer Full-Length "Pay Per View" Movies on Mobile Phones in U.S.

Sprint launched today Sprint Movies, the first "pay-per-view" service for mobile phones in the U.S. that streams full-length movies, including recent box-office hits and timeless favorites from Buena Vista VOD, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Sprint Movies offers a growing list of more than 45 titles, including "National Treasure," "Spider-Man 2" and "Scarface." Sprint Movies is powered by mSpot, which is responsible for video production and ongoing operations of the service.

Sprint Movies features many of the same conveniences as a DVD player. A movie can be seen in its entirety all at once, or it can be divided into chapters and watched over time. Customers can play, pause and skip forward or backward to different chapters. They can also resume a movie at the exact point where it was last shut down.

"Sprint Movies allows our customers to be entertained on the one device that they always carry with them and during times when watching a movie at a theater or on a home entertainment system isn't possible," said Alana Muller, director, entertainment product marketing, Sprint. "For example, customers can take their mind off a busy day during a lunch break, breeze through a few minutes while waiting in the parking lot for a child's soccer practice to end, or make a two-hour delay at the airport much more bearable. And with child-friendly titles such as 'Herbie: Fully Loaded' and 'Babe,' Sprint Movies are also great to keep the kids busy in the backseat."

In December 2005, Sprint became the first carrier in the U.S. to offer any type of full-length movies on mobile phones with mSpot Movies. This service will continue to be available as another option to Sprint customers. Compared to Sprint Movies, which are pay-per-view by each title, mSpot Movies allow customers to watch a unique selection of unlimited movies, TV shows and concerts for a monthly subscription fee of $6.95.

"Since mSpot Movies launched, subscriber growth has averaged more than 30 percent month over month, which indicates a strong interest from customers for this type of capability. We look forward to mobile-movie watching becoming even more popular with our additional offering now of Sprint Movies," said Muller.

Sprint Movies cost between $3.99 and $5.99 each. Customers can view the movie for unlimited times within a set period, which varies between 24 hours and one week depending on the title. In addition, 24-hour titles include the option of purchasing up to two 24-hour viewing extensions at the rate of $.99.

Sprint Movies is available on select Sprint multimedia handsets and can be watched anywhere while on Sprint's Power Vision network or nationwide Vision network. All titles from Sprint Movies are edited, when necessary, to meet TV-14 standards. New titles will continually be added to the Sprint Movies lineup. The initial titles are:

Buena Vista VOD

Annapolis
Eight Below
Glory Road
Herbie: Fully Loaded
National Treasure
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Village

Lionsgate

Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Ultraviolet
Spider-Man 2
Little Black Book
Hollywood Homicide
The Medallion
The Net
First Knight

Universal Pictures

American Pie
American Pie 2
Apollo 13
Babe
Backdraft
Billy Madison
Bring it On
Dante's Peak
End of Days
Erin Brokovich
Fast and Furious
Happy Gilmore
How High
Jaws
Kindergarten Cop
Meet the Parents
National Lampoon's Animal House
Reality Bites
Scarface
Slapshot
The Bone Collector
The Breakfast Club
The Family Man
The Jerk
The Mummy
The Mummy Returns
The Nutty Professor 2
Tremors
Twins
U-571

About Sprint Video
Sprint has a strong history of providing wireless data services that are innovative and unique, and Sprint's video offerings are a distinct example of this leadership. Sprint TV was recently awarded the Editor's Choice by PC Magazine and the Best Bet by PC World for the best video service on mobile phones. Sprint offers more than 50 video and audio channels of live and on-demand programming, and Sprint was the first U.S. mobile carrier to:

* Receive an Emmy(R) Award (Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development from The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences),
* Offer live television programming on mobile phones (MobiTV),
* Broadcast the first live concert directly on mobile phones (Bon Jovi),
* Offer full-length feature films on mobile phones (mSpot Movies),
* Provide any type of multimedia experience on mobile phones, beginning with video slides and audio (1KTV),
* Deliver a continuous streaming audio and video product up to 15 frames per second and
* Offer a Spanish-language live TV service.

Source: Sprint's news release

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Amp'd Subscribers Approaching 50K

(c) MocoNews
by Rafat Ali

You're reading it here first: Amp'd Mobile, the MVNO which has received very close and aggressive scrutiny from media (including us), is "fast-approaching" about 50 thousand subscribers, CEO Peter Adderton told me in a brief phone interview today. The company is ready to disclose some ballpark numbers now that it says it is finally gaining traction, after a Best Buy retail distribution deal two months ago. Adderton also mentioned that the company's announcing another big-box retail deal at CTIA next week, though he didn't name them. Our sources also indicate that Best Buy has taken a stake in Amp'd Mobile with this distro deal, though Adderton refused to comment on that.
He also gave some other numbers and projections, and conceded that the initial launch had some mis-steps, which his company has recognized now. (Of course, these are only the company numbers...we have no way to independently verify them, so keep that in mind)
  • The company added 15K subscribers last month, and is on track to add 25K this month.
  • Most of the subscribers are post paid.
  • The company is rolling out hybrid pre and post pay option, after pre-pay launch in May.
  • New handsets and new UI are coming very soon.
  • Voice + data ARPU is about $100...data alone is about $30, which is higher than conventional operators.
  • The company, which has raised $250 million to date, will raise more starting the end of this year...Adderton says by the end of this year, they'll have 150K subscribers, and that will be the takeoff point.
  • 200,000 video streams per month now...live video streaming is a big thing for the company.
  • It is being distributed through 1,600 wireless retailers now...will be 4,000 retailer by Christmas, Adderton added.
Long-term success still remains to be seen...this CTIA will be an MVNO bashing, so the numbers release is probably tied strategically to that. Adderton emphasized that he does not compare his company's performance to the much-heavily funded and backed MVNOs like Mobile ESPN and Helio...they have the leeway to make more mistakes, while Amp'd has to retool it as fast as it can.

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ГКРЧ расчищает диапазон для WiMax

В ближайшее время военные откажутся от использования самых перспективных частот в диапазоне 2,5-2,7 ГГц в пользу операторов цифрового телевидения и беспроводного доступа в Интернет по технологии WiMax. Такое решение приняла Государственная комиссия по радиочастотам.

Госкомиссия по радиочастотам (ГКРЧ) приняла решение выделить часть полос радиочастот в диапазоне 2,5-2,7 ГГц под гражданские нужды — цифровое ТВ и беспроводной доступ в Интернет. Это произойдет в рамках масштабной программы по конверсии радиочастотного спектра, до 85% которого сейчас принадлежит структурам Минобороны. Как рассказал “Ведомостям” советник главы Федерального агентства связи (Россвязи, отвечающей за распределение частот) Павел Морозов, Мининформсвязи удалось договориться с силовиками о том, чтобы “допустить в этот диапазон новейшие информационные технологии”. Очевидно, что весь набор частот в этом диапазоне Минобороны не нужен и сейчас чиновники продолжают вести активные переговоры по дополнительным полосам частот, добавляет Морозов. Если переговоры завершатся успехом, могут быть выделены частоты и для работы сетей мобильной связи третьего поколения (3G). В августе министр информтехнологий и связи Леонид Рейман рассказывал журналистам, что лицензии на 3G планируется выдать до конца года.

Решение ГКРЧ будет способствовать развитию WiMax в России, надеется Александр Ильин, технический директор холдинга “Синтерра”, строящего одну из крупнейших российских сетей WiMax. “Важно, что полоса 2,5-2,7 ГГц официально закреплена для развития систем беспроводного широкополосного доступа. Эти частоты отданы под беспроводные сети во многих странах, и именно на них ориентируются ведущие производители оборудования”, — отмечает он. У “Синтерры”, по словам Ильина, уже есть лицензии на использование частот в этом диапазоне в Москве, Подмосковье и 16 регионах Центрального федерального округа. “Но мы хотели бы получить эти же частоты и в других регионах”, — признается он. Директор по маркетингу компании “Престиж Интернет”, также планирующей развивать WiMax (торговая марка “Энфорта”), Олег Тайнов указывает, что 2,5-2,7 ГГц — это самый перспективный диапазон, позволяющий организовать передачу больших объемов информации. У “Престиж Интернета” уже есть частоты 5,15-5,35 ГГц, сейчас оператор занимается расширением диапазона.

Руководитель аппарата гендиректора ФГУП “Ростелерадиосеть” (РТРС) Андрей Паутов согласен, что диапазон 2,5-2,7 ГГц наиболее интересен для компаний, планирующих работать с большими объемами трафика и доставлять контент конечным клиентам. Однако известие о возможном скором начале распределения частот его огорчило. Дело в том, что разработанная РТРС программа цифровизации телевидения конкурирует с программой Мининформсвязи. И в РТРС опасаются, что частоты могут быть проданы еще до того, как одна из этих программ будет утверждена.

Слов цензурных на этих ребят из РТРС у меня нет!

“Тот, кому достанутся эти частоты, получит колоссальное конкурентное преимущество, ведь по ним можно пропускать не только телевидение, но и интернет-трафик, и платный контент, и IP-телефонию”, — объясняет Паутов. Тогда как частоты в диапазоне 800 МГц, выделенные для цифрового ТВ сейчас, пригодны только для эфирного телевещания.

По словам Морозова, частоты будут распределяться по заявкам. Если заявок окажется больше, чем частот, Россвязь либо объявит конкурс на соответствие претендентов ряду технических требований, либо устроит аукцион, где частоты получит тот, кто предложит наибольшую цену.

Анастасия Голицына
(c) Ведомости
06.09.2006, №166 (1693)

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Amp'd Mobile Brings ``Lil' Bush'' and Gang to Mobile

Amp'd Mobile, the pioneer of original mobile entertainment, announced today the exclusive launch of "Lil'Bush: Resident of the United States" on the Amp'd Mobile entertainment network. The original series was created by Donick Cary, writer of "The Simpsons," "Just Shoot Me" and "Late Night with David Letterman." "Lil' Bush" is the seventh original series to be launched by Amp'd this year.

"Lil' Bush underscores how Amp'd Mobile is changing the paradigm of mobile content," said Peter Adderton, CEO at Amp'd Mobile. "We're giving proven, top Hollywood content providers a blank slate to develop programming to vision. In doing so, we feel there's a tremendous opportunity to virally capture an audience and migrate such programs to other mediums more rapidly."

This series, created exclusively for Amp'd Mobile, follows the misadventures of Lil' George Bush and his precocious pals Lil' Condi, Lil' Rummy and the unintelligible, foulmouthed wisecracker Lil' Cheney. They're like the Lil' Rascals with access to the A-Bomb; getting into mischief, learning stuff and squaring off with their many rivals like Lil' Kim Jong Il and Lil' John Kerry. Each week, viewers can follow the Lil' gang as they get mixed up in all sorts of crazy adventures, from taking a field trip to Iraq to just taking crank.

A new, five minute episode will be featured each week. In addition to the weekly series, Amp'd Mobile subscribers will have access to an exclusive Lil' Bush branded channel that features wallpapers and ringtones, as well as behind-the-scenes production footage.

"Amp'd Mobile is part mobile carrier and part mobile entertainment studio," added Seth Cummings, SVP of Content at Amp'd Mobile. "We felt the need to develop original content with mainstream producers like Donick because the industry as a whole has a very low threshold in terms of content standards. We embrace the compelling and cutting edge content that the youth of America have come to know and expect. Amp'd was the first carrier to regularly stream sports events and music concerts in their entirety to mobile phones. We've proactively built a studio division not only to raise the bar in the original content category but within the mobile content industry overall."



About Amp'd Mobile

Amp'd Mobile is the first integrated mobile entertainment company for youth, young professionals and early adopters, and the only 3G carrier in the U.S. specifically targeting that demographic. By leveraging the power of broadband wireless (EVDO), Amp'd Mobile offers traditional services such as voice and text within a completely fresh user interface designed specifically for the "mobile graduate" and third-generation (3G) technology. With a myriad of customizable options to meet each person's individual needs, as well as strategic alliances with top entertainment properties, such as MTVN and Universal Music Group, Amp'd Mobile brings a more relevant, personal experience to the wireless lifestyle with unique music, video, community, entertainment, sports and gaming offerings divided into various channels for quick and easy access. Amp'd Mobile is offered nationwide.

(c) BusinessWire

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TV Digitale Mobile: Right Place, Right Time?

With its hugely popular TV Digitale Mobile service, 3 Italia has defied the analysts predicting a grim fate for mobile TV. But is its success a short-term illusion conjured up in the carnival atmosphere of the World Cup?

That’s the assessment of Windsor Holden, a senior analyst with Analysys Research, who believes the summer surge in subscriptions will have tailed off by winter. “I would be astonished if they had a subscriber base of much over 350,000 by the end of the year,” says Holden.

TV Digitale Mobile was launched in June and had garnered a whopping 100,000 subscribers by mid-July. Nine channels were available at launch, but 3 Italia is planning to offer 20 by the end of the year and 40 by 2008. Customers have various options to choose from. These options include monthly subscriptions to pay- per-view programs. “In Italy, where 90-odd percent of the subscriber base is prepaid, you have to offer pay-per-view options from the start,” says Holden.

What makes the runaway success of TV Digitale Mobile so surprising is the prices that users seem prepared to spend on services. While most trials have shown an upper limit of around €10 per-month, 3 Italia’s premium package is charged at three times this sum.

Holden thinks that timing has worked in 3 Italia’s favour. “[Take-up] was obviously driven by the fact that they had World Cup content from the start. The numbers probably went up given that Italy ended up winning.”

More importantly, he says, the company avoided shelling out as much as €300 million on network rollout by acquiring the existing DTT network of broadcaster Canale 7. “They paid €35 million for that, which is a fraction of the cost for all the effort, and its worked like a dream.”

As a result, 3 Italia has been able to reap the benefits of widespread coverage – Canale 7’s network was rolled out across much of Italy, with 1,000 transmitters reportedly covering 2,000 cities and towns – and invest the money it saved on capex elsewhere.

The savings have also allowed it to encourage service adoption by offering handsets to users at subsidised rates or even as free upgrades. With off-the-shelf devices costing up to as much as €600, this has obviously had a major impact.

Holden does not believe 3 Italia’s business model is unlikely to see much replication in other parts of Europe. “Unfortunately for the mobile operators, there aren’t that many broadcasters in the market selling a DTT network. 3 [was] just in the right place at the right time,” says Holden.

(c) TelecomMagazine

Mobile companies develop new, faster 4G technology

Global mobile operators and device makers are betting that the next level of transmission technology will ramp up mobile phone usage in a way that third-generation technology has so far failed to do.

So-called fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology, now being developed, would allow two-way communication in voice, video and data on a scale that was previously impossible, companies said at a Samsung 4G Forum mobile conference.

4G would allow mobile users on the go to enjoy services that they can now get through personal computers with high-speed broadband connections.

"4G is to deliver high-speed broadband for data- and visual- centric information. Everything before 4G is voice-centric," said Ali Tabassi, Sprint Nextel Corp. vice president for innovative technology.

Operators have spent billions of dollars to speed up their mobile networks to offer video, photos, Internet access and other services, which they hope will boost revenues and make up for the lacklustre growth of voice calls.

But growth in usage of third-generation (3G) services has been slower than expected.

3G technology, which allows video calls and wireless Internet access, has yet to become widespread and has caused concerns that it may not generate enough profit to justify the amount spent to build the networks.

3G A FAILURE?

"3G was a failure," said Kim Ki-ho, Samsung's senior vice president for telecommunications networks. "The market did not respond, and it is already becoming an old-fashioned technology."

Others disagree. Kristin Rinne, chief technology officer for Cingular Wireless, said: "We're just beginning to hit that exponential curve in terms of data usage (in 3G).

"We're going to have to demonstrate we can deliver those products and services to customers. If that doesn't happen, there isn't a need for 4G," Rinne told Reuters.

Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. is among a handful of operators that have seen some success with 3G. Users of its 3G service known as FOMA amount to more than 50 percent of its total subscribers.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defines 4G as a wireless technology that transfers data at 100 megabits per second while the user is moving and 1 gigabit per second when stationary.

At the highest speed, users can download a movie in 5.6 seconds and send 100 songs in 2.4 seconds, according to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which presented a 4G service demonstration at the forum.

The spectrum for 4G service will be allocated at a global conference in October next year, and the commercial roll-out is expected after standard-setting around 2010.

"After 2010, 4G will become the mobile service that embraces everything," Lee Ki-tae, president of Samsung's telecommunication networks business, told reporters.

Sprint Nextel said earlier this month it would spend up to $3 billion over two years to build a 4G network using WiMax technology, along with Samsung, Motorola Inc. and Intel Corp.

"3G was too much technology-driven," said Hong Won-pyo, executive vice president for South Korea-based KT Corp.'s mobile Internet business. "From now on, we need to see demand from users grow together (with technology)."

(c) Reuters

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Aardman Launches New Mobile TV Channel On Orange

Aardman Animations will, this week, launch its own mobile TV channel on the Orange TV service. The channel, “Aardman Animations” will consist of a video loop, refreshed weekly of its own content combined with some of the best animation sourced elsewhere in Britain and around the world.

Aardman has already had huge success with distributing mobile content in the U.K., from video clips, wallpapers, audio tones, messaging services and games. Video content regularly features in the top 10 downloads on Orange and Aardman is selling more than 10,000 video clips a day over mobile networks. Launching a mobile TV service is the next step in a strategy, which will continue Aardman’s pre-eminence in mobile animation services.

Sample:


Orange became the first U.K. operator to launch mobile TV in spring last year, and will be the first operator to launch a dedicated Aardman Animations channel.

Launches with other operators in the U.K. are planned over the coming months and discussions are already underway for distribution in other territories. Aardman has developed its own mobile content production capability and is producing the entire service in house.

The deal was brokered by Aardman’s mobile agent, Crucible Media. Over the past three years, Crucible has taken a stage-by-stage approach to introducing Aardman to the mobile marketplace. This has resulted in Aardman developing expertise in which content works best for mobile and ensuring the right commercial terms have been obtained in all its distribution deals.

Deborah Tonroe, head of TV and video for Orange U.K., said, “With the promise of WALLACE AND GROMIT and ANGRY KID programs, the Aardman Animations channel is a great addition to our already strong TV line-up. Orange TV has shown great promise over the last year and we’re looking to make some exciting new changes to the service in the coming months. This kind of innovative programming is exactly the sort of addition we’re looking at to ensure our TV service remains fresh and compelling.”

Sean Clarke, head of licensing and marketing at Aardman Animations, said, “This is a very important step forward for Aardman in the mobile space. We have paid a huge amount of attention to ensuring the product is just right for the consumers, ensuring they come away satisfied even if they watch the product for only a couple of minutes. We have had considerable success with individual content brands on Orange, especially ANGRY KID and WALLACE AND GROMIT and this presents the opportunity to build on that success with a wider range of content.”

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Andre Burgess, md of Crucible Media, said, “The launch of this mobile video channel is the next logical step. Aardman has eight or nine very strong content brands, which can be best exposed to consumers via this service. We are expecting to see not only great take up of the service itself, but an uplift in on demand services, once consumers are exposed to the content for the first time. This really demonstrates just how innovative a company Aardman are in this space.”

Aardman Animations, based in Bristol, U.K., is one of the world’s leading animation studios. Founded by David Sproxton and Peter Lord in 1976, Aardman produces feature films, television commercials and television series for the global market. The studio has won more than 400 international awards including four Oscars, one Emmy and seven BAFTAs. Aardman has a five-picture output deal with Dreamworks SKG.

Crucible Media, delivers solutions across IPTV, mobile, digital interactive TV channels and online. Services include consultancy, licensing and production for major companies in the media and entertainment sector such as Aardman Animations, Universal Pictures, Working Title Films, Alliance Atlantis, Chorion, BBH and AETN. Crucible also developed and continues to manage the Nokia Shorts competition on behalf of Nokia and Raindance Film.

(c) Animation World Network

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ITV to broadcast live on 3 network

ITV has today become the first UK terrestrial TV channel to broadcast live on the 3 network following a deal to make its most popular shows available via mobile.

The simulcast service means that 3's 3.7m customers can use their mobile phones to watch ITV 1 and ITV Play as they would at home.

Both ITV1 and ITV Play will be available for 3 customers to watch on their mobile handsets around the clock, providing access to programmes including 'Coronation Street', 'Emmerdale' and 'The X Factor'.

The service will be priced at 99p per day's viewing of ITV1 and 49p for ITV Play. There will be a £5 per month for an 18 channel unlimited viewing TV pack.

"We are delighted to be working with 3 as the first terrestrial TV broadcaster to stream live to mobile," said Jeff Henry, chief executive of ITV Consumer. "Now viewers can have their favorite channel with them 24 hours a day."

The new simulcast ITV service complements 3's existing partnership with the broadcaster to deliver TV clips and highlights packages available to download on-demand.

(c) NMA

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Samsung releases 10 inch DMB Mobile TV

Every now and again, we see a product which looks set to forge a new market segment, having the right combination of technologies at the right time to have enough appeal to change the way the public sees things. Samsung is hoping its new 10 inch DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) Mobile TV will do just that, opening an era where everyone will have their own personal TV. Indeed Samsung’s aims are huge as it hopes to reposition the public’s perception of TV from a piece of family-oriented and fixed position furniture to a personally-oriented mobile device. In its latest press announcement it draws the analogy of the change created by the portable cassette player in the music industry and suggests portable TV will be even more groundbreaking. Given that not everybody will wish to watch video on a tiny cell phone screen, we believe this product has a very viable audience.

Samsung has long been positioning itself as the Mobile TV market leader having created the first terrestrial DMB terminal in September 2004, developing portable DMB receiving technology and releasing the first 6 inch Mobile TV in July 2005.

The design of the new Mobile TV is in line with the “sensitivity design” of the company’s R7 LCD TV (“Bordeaux”) series. As for features, it provides high-quality video and audio based on excellent mobile receiving characteristics. It is expected to be used as a mobile digital TV at home, where it provides great picture quality free of network connections.

The largest among Mobile TVs, the 10 inch screen is configured for the 16:9 aspect ratio that is optimal for showing digital broadcasting. MP3 and digital photo viewing functions are added, and connection to an external HDD is provided for playing downloaded multimedia content.


(c) GizMag

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