Mobility Phones - Mobile Phones

Swisscom has launched its mobile television service, Bluewin TV mobile, in Switzerland to become one of the first European providers to offer high-quality television experience to its mobile customers. Working together, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks enabled this service with their leading-edge mobile TV technology, services and expertise.Bluewin TV mobile was launched on May 13 with quality comparable to that of the customers — home TV. The service is made available through a network based on the Digital Video Broadcast for Handheld (DVB-H) standard and can be watched on DVB-H-enabled mobile devices. Swisscom provides its customers with a range of subscription plans and Nokia N77 devices.

For this project, Swisscom’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Swisscom Broadcast chose Nokia’s Mobile Broadcast Solution, while Nokia Siemens Networks integrated the mobile television platform with Swisscom’s systems and provided a broad range of services, including project management, network and architecture planning, security and implementation.

“With the time constraints of the project, it was essential for Swisscom Broadcast to rely on one partner offering a solution based on open standards which can guarantee the end-to-end interoperability of the whole solution, from the DVB-H back-end system to the mobile devices” says Olivier Anthamatten, Head of Strategic Projects at Swisscom Broadcast.

With Bluewin TV mobile, featuring high-definition picture quality and excellent sound, the viewers have a choice of 20 channels, including SF1, TSR1 and Eurosport. An electronic program guide and an easy navigation key allow people on the move to always stay on top of the news.

Swisscom is one of the first DVB-H service providers in Europe and worldwide. Bluewin TV mobile marks a further step in the Group’s multimedia strategy and offers customers on the move the same viewing experience as with their TV at home.

Swisscom’s DVB-H broadcasts reach some 44 percent of the Swiss population, mostly in the area of Basel, Berne, Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne. Customers outside the DVB-H coverage area or without DVB-H handsets can receive Bluewin TV mobile on the Vodafone live! portal using UMTS/EDGE, which covers 99.8 percent of the population.

The solutions offered by Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks are based on the open DVB-H standard. They allow short implementation time as well as end-to-end capability, combining the equipment, services and devices to create a unique solution for mobile TV service providers, covering both mobile TV broadcast and 3G streaming (unicast). Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks work with more than 30 operators worldwide on DVB-H implementations. Commercial launches include Finland, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and most recently Indonesia. The European Union has selected DVB-H as the definitive technology for digital and mobile broadcasting.

LG Electronics (LG) and Samsung Electronics (Samsung), which together lead the global digital TV market, announced today that they will propose their jointly developed technology as the North American technology standard for mobile DTV.Samsung and LG held a signing ceremony at Seoul Plaza Hotel in Seoul, Korea, on May 14, 2008. Executives from the two companies attended the event, including Woo Paik, LG’s President and CTO, and JongWoo Park, President of Samsung Digital Media Business.

At the ceremony, the two companies agreed to cooperate in order to assure rapid adoption by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) of a single common in-band mobile DTV standard.

Technology for the jointly proposed system will reflect the findings of the IDOV (Independent Demonstration of Viability) conducted by the Association of Maximum Service Television (MSTV) on behalf of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC). A report on IDOV will be submitted by the OMVC to the ATSC.

The jointly promoted mobile DTV solution uses the existing terrestrial digital TV broadcast bandwidth, with no impact on existing digital TV and with minimum broadcasting equipment investment.

“LG and Samsung are already world-class in digital TV and mobile communications, said LG President and Chief Technology Officer Woo Paik. “Through this collaboration, we also have an opportunity to lead the North American mobile DTV market.” Added JongWoo Park, President of Samsung Digital Media Business: “Our collaboration on North American mobile DTV standardization will help accelerate the ATSC standardization of mobile TV technology, which will benefit both consumers and broadcasters.”

ATSC is expected to adopt the mobile/handheld DTV standard for the North American market in early 2009 following trials of the technology by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a group of leading U.S. broadcasters who are vigorously promoting the development and early deployment of mobile DTV.

According to a study commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), with the adoption of a single ATSC mobile/handheld DTV standard, the U.S. market for mobile DTV phones will reach 130 million units by the end of 2012, with the market for portable media device mobile DTV receivers growing to include an additional 25 million units. (Source: “Study of the Impact of Multiple Systems for Mobile/Handheld Digital Television,” BIA Financial Network, January 14, 2008.)

Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) today announced the exclusive availability of the Samsung Access, Samsung’s first device to support AT&T Mobile TV, a mobile television service featuring high-quality programming.The sophisticated and sleek Access is a bar-style phone with a slick black finish and large, crisp and clear 2.3″ landscape display comparable to DVD quality, ideal for viewing multimedia content, and exceptional television reception without the need for external antenna. AT&T Mobile TV is easily accessible to users with a one-touch button which brings them directly to full-length television content and sporting events from top networks, including programming from leading entertainment brands CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon. AT&T Mobile TV will also feature two exclusive channels, which will be announced soon.

The Access is a robust multimedia device and includes features such as Video Share, AT&T Mobile Music, stereo Bluetooth technology, external stereo speakers, external memory microSD card slot and 1.3 megapixel camera with video record. With advanced messaging options such as multimedia messaging, instant messaging and mobile e-mail, the Access is a powerful communication device.

The Access also features dual-band 3G connectivity and quad-band GSM technology, which allows AT&T customers to make calls in more than 200 countries and download data in more than 145.

The Access will be available through select AT&T retail locations or at http://www.att.com/wireless beginning in May 2008. To learn more about AT&T’s other mobile entertainment offerings, visit www.wireless.att.com/entertainment.

TELUS announced that it will be the first Canadian carrier to bring the next generation of the cell phone interface to life with the LG VENUS touchscreen phone. The LG Venus is the first in a series of LG Electronics touch screen phones TELUS will bring to Canadians this year. Touch screen user interfaces are typically reserved for high-end entertainment and productivity tools such as Smartphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) and this marks the first time that Canadians will be able to own a touch screen phone.”Today’s cell phones are incredibly powerful communications and entertainment devices. To better utilize the capabilities of these devices, we believe the touchscreen interface is the future,” said Rizwan Jamal, senior vice-president of TELUS Consumer Solutions. “We are very excited to introduce the LG VENUS, the first of the LG Touch series. The LG VENUS will be followed by additional touchscreen phones later in the year to help keep our customers entertained and connected whenever they want, wherever they are.”

“LG is excited to launch our LG VENUS Touch phone in Canada with TELUS. Canadians looking for style and state-of-the-art technology will love this phone,” said, Andrew Barrett, vice-president of Marketing, LG Electronics Canada. “With the release of the LG VENUS, Canadians will be able to experience touch technology while they listen to their favourite songs and view videos, all packaged in a very attractive two-screen design.”

Designed to impress, the LG Touch series has everything to satisfy Canadian appetites for style and entertainment. The LG VENUS is the first of the LG Touch series available this year from TELUS and is the only LG Touch phone that features dual LCD screens and intuitive touchscreen navigation. The LG VENUS is the perfect accessory for fashion conscious consumers on the prowl for the latest must-have phone.

The touchscreen user interface represents the biggest innovation in the cell phone user interface in years. The touchscreen simplifies the traditional phone keypad by eliminating up to a dozen keys that were previously used for navigating the menus of traditional cell phones. To further simplify the user interface, the touchscreen interface only displays user options that are relevant to the task.

The LG Touch series will support a wide range of entertainment services including TELUS mobile music, TELUS Mobile Radio, TELUS Mobile TV and TELUS Navigator.

The LG VENUS from TELUS is expected to be available by mid-April in black with silver trim, with a pink version available later in the spring. For more information about the LG VENUS from TELUS, please visit: www.telus.com

“As of February 29, the number of subscribers to mobile TV service in Korea is 11 million including 9.69 million to terrestrial DMB and 1.31 million to satellite DMB. If the growth continues at this rate, terrestrial DMB users will pass the 10 million mark in March.”

Six months after the iPhone’s U.S. launch, has the device changed the mobile landscape? According to M:Metrics, the mobile media authority, the answer is yes. Today, the measurement firm reports that the iPhone is already the most popular device for accessing news and information on the mobile Web, with 85 percent of iPhone users accessing news and information in the month of January.”The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype,” said Mark Donovan, senior analyst, M:Metrics. “Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile Web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything to text messaging to mobile video.”

M:Metrics found that a staggering 30.9 percent of iPhone owners watched mobile TV or video, versus a 4.6 market average, and more than double the rate for all smartphone users. Usage of social networking is also popular among iPhone users: 49.7 percent accessed a social networking site in January, nearly twelve times the market average. Twenty percent of iPhone owners accessed Facebook, one of the first Web properties to customize its content for the iPhone, versus 1.5 percent of the total mobile market.

“This data indicate that the iPhone’s widgets are an effective means to drive mobile content consumption,” observed Donovan. “Two featured widgets, YouTube and Google Maps, are extremely popular among iPhone users: 30.4 percent accessed YouTube and 36 percent used Google Maps. In comparison, only one percent of all mobile subscribers accessed YouTube and 2.6 percent checked out Google Maps.”

M:Metrics is also the first to report use of the music playing capability of the iPhone, with 74.1 percent of iPhone owners listening to mobile music in January, compared to 6.7 percent of the total mobile audience. Eighty four percent of iPhone owners who use an MP3 player use an iPod.

M:Metrics revealed the demographic composition of iPhone users, which are similar to the demographics of other smartphone owners. They are more likely to be: male, aged 25-34, earn more than $100,000 and have a college degree, than the average mobile subscriber.

“While the demographics of iPhone users are very similar to all smartphone owners, the iPhone is outpacing other smartphones in driving mobile content consumption by a significant margin,” said Donovan. “In addition to the attributes of the device itself, another important factor to consider is the fact that all iPhones on AT&T are attached to an unlimited data plan. Our data shows that once the fear of surprise data charges is eliminated, mobile content consumption increases dramatically, regardless of device.”

M:Metrics applies trusted media measurement methodologies to assess the audience for mobile content and applications. As the world’s most authoritative mobile media measurement firm, M:Metrics delivers the most accurate mobile market metrics through the world’s largest monthly survey of mobile subscribers as well as automated data collection methodologies. Below are the findings of its January Benchmark Survey.

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the combination of greater 3G adoption and a marked increase in rich media, made-for-mobile content will drive mobile entertainment revenues to $47.5 billion by 2010.However, the Juniper report cautions that entertainment service adoption will be retarded unless improvements are made in areas such as the user interface, network coverage and the excessive cost of data services. It also notes that in some mobile areas — such as gambling, adult content and some social networking services — national and international legislation could either adversely impact on growth, or in some cases prevent any service deployment.

According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, “Traditionally, services such as ringtones and wallpapers accounted for the bulk of mobile entertainment services. However, usage patterns are changing rapidly with the increasing availability of more sophisticated and attractive content such as streamed and broadcast video, social networking services and multiplayer games, which have been designed specifically for the mobile environment.”

Additionally the Juniper report finds that the China and Far East region currently provides the largest market for Mobile Entertainment services and contributes around 41% of global revenues. Despite rapid growth in developing markets, the Asia Pacific region is forecast to retain its leadership through to 2012, when it will still contribute 33% of global revenues.

Juniper Research assesses the current and future status of mobile entertainment market based on interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations in the growing mobile entertainment industry.

Garmin International Inc. today announced the nuvi 900T, a personal navigation device (PND) that combines cutting edge navigation features with DVB-H mobile television. The device is being co-branded with wireless carrier 3 Italia — the Hutchison Whampoa Group’s Mobile Media Company — and will be available exclusively in Italy.”The nuvi 900T is the ultimate device for those who want to mix business with pleasure,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “The new nuvi 900T can play live, streaming digital television and music files. But at its core, the device remains a robust and full-featured navigation device that’s straightforward enough for anyone to use.”

Using the DVB-H format, video TV content is provided exclusively by La3 TV, the Mobile Digital TV provider of 3 Italia. Each unit comes with a six-month free subscription to La3 TV content as well as access to pay per view offerings. 3 Italia launched La3 TV — the first Mobile Digital TV based on DVB-H technology in the world, broadcasting the entire FIFA World Cup 2006 on a mobile exclusive basis in Italy. 3 Italia’s Digital Mobile TV customers can watch news, sports, movies and entertainment content through an array of digital channels, including Sky, Mediaset, Rai and the “in-house” produced channels La3 Live and La3 Sport.

The nuvi 900T features a bright, 4.3-inch WQVGA color touchscreen display, and can serve as a brilliant picture viewer (with photo navigation capability) and has optional travel guide features as well. Users can also play MP3 audio files, audio books from Audible.com, and pre-loaded games. The nuvi 900T boasts front-firing stereo speakers and a removable lithium-ion battery.

For hands-free phone calls, the nuvi 900T can be paired with compatible phones using Bluetooth wireless technology. Users can find and dial phone numbers (specifically supported phones can even access their history log of received, missed and dialed calls) or nuvi’s points of interest database (hotels, restaurants, stores and more).

The nuvi 900T also includes Garmin Locate(TM), which answers age-old questions of a driver’s current location or the location of his vehicle in a crowded parking lot. At any time, with a single tap of the screen, drivers can display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. Additionally, the unit automatically marks its last known position every time it is removed from the mount.

Negotiating busy highways with the nuvi 900T is easy, thanks to a lifetime traffic subscription that helps drivers avoid gridlock and adjust routes accordingly. The nuvi 900T is also pre-loaded with safety camera data that can be updated free of charge for 30 days.

The nuvi 900T comes pre-programmed with highly detailed road maps of Europe. At startup, users are presented with Garmin’s intuitive “Where To?” and “View Map” welcome screen, allowing for quick searches of addresses or millions of points of interest like restaurants, hotels, attractions, gas stations, and more. Turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions guide drivers to

their destination, announcing streets by name along the way. If they miss a turn, nuvi automatically recalculates a route and gets them back on track.

The nuvi 900T will be available exclusively in Italy in July 2008. Visit http://www.garmin.com for more information and pricing.

Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users surpassed 1.15 billion units in 2007, a 16 per cent increase from 2006 sales of 990.9 million, according to Gartner, Inc. Mobile phone sales at the end of the year were consistent with the yearly trend, as fourth quarter sales reached 330 million units.”Emerging markets, especially China and India, provided much of the growth as many people bought their first phone,” said Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. “In mature markets, such as Japan and Western Europe, consumers’ appetite for feature-laden phones was met with new models packed with TV tuners, global positioning satellite (GPS) functions, touch screens and high-resolution cameras.”

“After another strong year, we expect the growth in sales of mobile devices to end users will decelerate in 2008 and fall to about 10 per cent growth as mature markets become more saturated,” added Ms Milanesi. “However, the global mobile devices market will remain relatively immune to a recession in the US and Western European economies as the majority of growth in 2008 will come from emerging markets. The mature Western Europe and North America markets are driven by operator contract terms and replacement cycles and will account for just 30 per cent of the global mobile devices market in 2008.”

Nokia achieved its long-term target of 40 per cent market share in the fourth quarter of 2007 when it sold slightly more than 133 million phones across the world. Despite some component shortages, Nokia increased its market share sequentially in all regions except North America, which remains a challenging market for the vendor. In emerging markets, products such as the 1110, the 1600 and the 2630 were in demand by consumers, while in mature markets such as Western Europe high-end phones like the N95, N82 and N73 were sought-after devices. In 2008, Nokia will need to continue to improve its portfolio, offering not only more applications and functions, but also novel designs and improved user interfaces.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, Samsung maintained second position, and although its market share slipped slightly, the gap widened between it and third-placed Motorola. Its success relied on its Ultra and Ultra II family of products. In 2008, Samsung needs to diversify its portfolio further with more form factors and colours so that single products stand out from the overall line-up.

The problems that beset Motorola in the third quarter of 2007 continued through the fourth quarter, and it recorded sales of 39 million phones across the world, taking 11.9 per cent of the market. It retained second place in terms of annual sales to end users in 2007, largely thanks to the inventory it disposed of in the first half of the year. Nevertheless, the extent of Motorola’s troubles can be seen in the 9.7 percentage-points market-share drop in its fourth quarter of 2007 result from the same period in 2006.

Sony Ericsson ended 2007 with another positive performance, growing its market share on a quarterly basis to 9.0 per cent from 8.7 per cent. Its Cyber-shot and Walkman products, such as the K850i, K610i, W910i, K550i and W300i, remained popular among consumers around the world. As Sony Ericsson widens its reach, adding features such as Wi-Fi and GPS, as well as more low-tier products, it will stay competitive in the coming quarters.

LG’s mobile phone sales totalled 23.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2007, maintaining its 7.1 per cent market share despite the increase of more than three million in sales volumes. The success of the Viewty, the Venus and the Voyager helped LG gain brand awareness across the world as well as improve its margins. Ms Milanesi commented: “In 2008, LG will need to continue strengthening its high-end portfolio for mature markets as well as its mid tier. In the low tier, LG will increasingly be challenged by vendors such as ZTE, which has already been eroding its market share in key markets such as India.”

The market saw three new entrants into the top ten in the fourth quarter of 2007. These vendors included Research In Motion (RIM), ZTE and Apple. “On one hand, we have aggressive pricing and a focus on emerging markets (ZTE), and on the other, RIM with targeted functions and Apple with brand and design,” said Ms Milanesi.

“Phone manufacturers need to continuously adapt their portfolios to respond to operators’ demands for open platforms, lower pricing and more personalisation,” recommended Ms Milanesi. “They should also try to meet consumers’ desires for fashionable, easy-to-use phones.”

Regional Analysis

In Asia/Pacific, 112 million mobile devices were sold in the fourth quarter of 2007, representing 9.6 per cent growth over the previous quarter. Over the holiday season, operators and distributors offered a wide range of mobile phone options at reasonable prices, tempting new users to sign up to service plans. “Driving factors for growth in emerging markets in Asia/Pacific included huge numbers of new subscribers, lower-priced phones based on wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) technology, as well as ultra-low-cost CDMA phones and low-cost global system for mobile (GSM) phones,” said Ann Liang, Gartner principal research analyst for mobile terminals, based in Taipei.

Sales in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region remained strong in the fourth quarter of 2007 and reached 61.8 million units. Mobile operators continued to add new subscribers to their networks, especially in Africa where countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and South Africa saw healthy net new additions.

In Japan, sales to end users numbered 12.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2007, a decrease of 3.6 per cent year-on-year. Strong sales in the early part of the year brought total sales in 2007 to a record high of 52.3 million units — more than in 2003, when many Japanese bought their first camera phones. “In 2007, music player functions and embedded TV-tuners with large, high-resolution displays persuaded users to replace their devices,” said Nahoko Mitsuyama, principal analyst for mobile communications research at Gartner, based in Tokyo.

In Latin America, sales reached 38.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2007, a 12.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2006. “In December, the holiday season, along with accompanying promotions, meant sales hit a new record level,” said Tuong Nguyen, analyst for mobile terminals at Gartner, based in Arlington, Virginia.

The fourth quarter of 2007 was another record quarter in North America, as sales to end users continued at a rapid pace, reaching 49 million units, an increase of 9.2 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2006. “AT&T and Verizon Wireless continued to be the strongest performing operators, while Sprint Nextel lagged,” said Hughes De La Vergne, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner, based in Dallas, Texas. “Replacement devices continued to dominate sales and growth in new subscribers slowed down as penetration rates climbed.”

In the fourth quarter of 2007, mobile phone sales in Western Europe totalled 55 million units, up 2 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2006. Features such as music players, GPS and cameras proved to be significant attractions. In the same quarter, operators in Germany, the United Kingdom and France introduced Apple’s long-awaited iPhone to the market. Although sales have been small, this iconic device renewed consumers’ interest in high-end phones, which in most Western European markets are still heavily subsidised by operators.

One of the newer innovations being discussed in the wireless arena are small micro or pico projectors designed for use with mobile devices. Companies from all over the world have announced plans to enter the miniature display market. With so many different parties willing to make such an investment in the idea of mobile projection, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that the mobile industry will soon see many new devices that enable handsets to externally project images.While many of the devices that were being showcased at the 2008 Mobile World Congress and Consumer Electronics Show may not quite be available, it seems apparent that they can easily see a release date by the end of this year. As further detailed in an upcoming market focus report from IMS Research, The Evolution of Visual Displays in Handsets, there are a few different methods for mobile projection: ranging from Texas Instruments use of millions of tiny mirrors to Microvision’s single mirror approach to Light Blue Optics use of holographic laser lights. Each of these projectors is capable of displaying full color, vibrant images of a size that would be ideal for watching television or other types of visual multimedia for an extended period of time.

However, report analyst Femi Omoni commented, “In spite of the encouraging factors that accompany mobile projectors, they are still a separate gadget from the handset itself. Having to carry a device separate from the mobile phone completely goes against the gospel of convergence that most manufacturers and operators have been preaching for the past few years.” He added, “Developers will have to consider how many consumers will be willing to carry around both a phone and a projector, especially when they have been encouraged to develop the habit of needing just one device.”

Despite the concerns, the future seems bright for mobile projectors. Upon initial release they will undoubtedly be marketed towards early adopters who will be less concerned with the perceived drawbacks of the projectors than they will be in the cool factor of having the latest mobile gadget. The lure of being able to properly utilize stored programming, visual multimedia and Mobile TV with their phones will further serve as incentive for many in this demographic.

Furthermore, the projector manufacturers are already hard at work on shrinking their inventions down even further to reach the point where they can be embedded in handsets and properly utilized as an additional, secondary screen. While the popularity of mobile projectors will probably be hampered until they can be embedded into handsets, there also seems to be little reason to doubt that mobile projectors will eventually become a major addition to the ever-growing list of features included (and expected) on smart and high-end feature phones.

Music, games and mobile TV will be the major contributors to the global mobile entertainment market which will rise from just over $20 billion in 2007 to more than $64 billion by 2012, according to a new report by Juniper Research. Other mobile entertainment sectors include User-generated Content, Gambling, Adult and Infotainment.The report says that mobile music will remain the largest single sector of the mobile entertainment industry over the next five years. Revenues from music will rise from nearly $9 billion in 2007 to $17.5 billion in 2012, bolstered by the increasing availability of full-track download and streamed services, the former in both paid-for and rental formats.

Likewise, mobile games will retain its second-ranking in terms of end-user generated revenues: boosted by rapid growth in mass market “casual” gaming, revenues are expected to rise from just under $5 billion in 2007 to nearly $16 billion in 2012.

Meanwhile, strong growth is also expected from mobile TV, with many developed (and some emerging) markets launching dedicated mobile broadcast networks within the forecast period. This, plus increased adoption of streamed TV bouquets, should see the market rise from $1.4 billion in 2007 to $11.9 billion in 2012.

According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, “With revenues from voice services declining and messaging revenues flatlining, last year finally saw a number of more sophisticated entertainment services begin to fulfil their potential and redress the balance. With more widespread penetration of 3G handsets — or entertainment-focused 2.5G handsets like the iPhone — there is likely to be a much greater surge in both the adoption and overall usage in rich media services.”

Other findings from the Juniper report include:

*Regulations and prohibitions will limit opportunities in the adult and gambling sectors, although Juniper Research envisages that restrictions on gambling services in the key US market will ease in the medium term

*China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile entertainment throughout the period covered by the report, with revenues rising from $8.5bn in 2007 to nearly $21.3bn by 2012

*Entertainment service adoption remains constrained by difficulties with the user interface, network speed and coverage and the excessive cost of data services

Juniper Research assesses the current and future status of the mobile entertainment markets based on interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations in the growing mobile entertainment industry.

For the 2007/8 season, ESPN Mobile TV, Verizon Wireless and MediaFLO USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, will for the first time air live National Basketball Association (NBA) games, from tip-off to final buzzer, on V CAST Mobile TV. More than 70 ESPN-produced NBA games are expected to air on V CAST Mobile TV from Verizon Wireless, a service of MediaFLO USA.The regular season hoops excitement begins on October 31, with match-ups featuring the Dallas Mavericks at the Cleveland Cavaliers (8:00 p.m. Eastern) and the Seattle Supersonics at the Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m. Eastern).

Other not-to-be-missed 2007/8 NBA match-ups scheduled to air on V CAST Mobile TV from Verizon Wireless include:

* Los Angeles Lakers at the Phoenix Suns (November 2)

* Miami Heat at the San Antonio Spurs (November 7)

* Cleveland Cavaliers at the Utah Jazz (November 7)

* Cleveland Cavaliers at the Sacramento Kings (November 9)

* Detroit Pistons at the Los Angeles Lakers (November 16)

* New Jersey Nets at the Seattle Supersonics (November 23)

* Los Angeles Clippers at the Denver Nuggets (November 30)

* Los Angeles Lakers at the Denver Nuggets (December 5)

* Seattle Supersonics at the Portland Trail Blazers (December 25)

* Miami Heat at the New Orleans Hornets (January 11)

* Programming is subject to change.

Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital media programming for Verizon, noted, “Verizon Wireless is once again demonstrating our commitment to deliver the best, exclusive programming available on mobile phones with the NBA games on V CAST Mobile TV. For hoops fans who want to stay connected to the hard court action while on the go, Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Mobile TV is the only service that gives them broadcast-quality access to the games they want, all in the palms of their hands.”

“MediaFLO USA strives to give people the freedom to watch what they want, wherever they may be,” said Gina Lombardi, president of MediaFLO USA. “If our coverage of the 2007/8 NBA season on MediaFLO USA’s FLO TV service gives basketball fans more time with their favorite players — and allows them to catch more sensational three-pointers — then we are achieving our goal.”

In addition to the upcoming NBA season, V CAST Mobile TV is offering consumers an unrivalled array of sports programming this fall, including more than 100 live college football games.

The FLO TV(TM) service is provided by MediaFLO USA and is available to consumers as V CAST Mobile TV from Verizon Wireless. More information on FLO TV can be found at www.flotv.com.

V CAST Mobile TV is available in more than 40 cites from coast to coast, including Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. A complete list and map of available markets, pricing, phone and programming information is available at www.verizonwireless.com/mobiletv.

As recently as 2001, some mobile communications experts were saying that mobile television might be a reality within 20 years, but would probably arrive much later because the technical problems were so difficult. Yet only half a dozen years later, according to a new study from ABI Research, successful mobile video technologies are largely in place. As questions about business models, distribution, and content are resolved, the mobile TV industry will take off in earnest.ABI Research director Michael Wolf says, “Just a year ago, there was a lot of discussion in the industry about whether unicast or broadcast distribution models would prevail, and it seemed possible that unicasting would soon disappear. The new research suggests that while the major top-ranked channels will follow a broadcast model, unicasting is here to stay as a conduit for the ‘long tail’ of other content that consumers will desire.”

Unicasting also has the advantage of an unequalled intimacy between service providers, advertisers, and their “captive” audiences.

It is a time of experimentation. Most of the formats and distribution models under consideration have both pros and cons, and the effort is to find the right mix for each type of content and each target audience. Pricing is a good example. There are at least half a dozen proposed models for pricing access to mobile video content, reflecting the medium’s origin in the collision between the entertainment and wireless communications industries. Some will find the “sweet spot” that will attract and hold consumers; others will not.

Even recent assumptions about consumers’ likely viewing preferences are under challenge, in light of the medium’s improving quality. “Last year,” notes Wolf, “everybody was saying ‘We’re only going to have 2-minute, bite-sized morsels and mobisodes.’ Yet our latest research shows that people are actually watching mobile TV in their bedrooms, for 40 minutes at a time. So many content providers are now thinking about hour-long episodes of prime-time shows.”

The latest trend in video is called “placeshifting” - the ability to watch video content anywhere from any device including cell phones and PDAs - and it’s a driving factor in the market for wireless video. But according to Rod Tiede, CEO of Broadcast International, a leading video technology innovator, the market will be stifled, despite strong user demand, by an inadequate infrastructure. This is especially true in the U.S. where much of the wireless infrastructure is still analog.”Applications such as placeshifting and mobile social networking are very much in demand by users. The problem is too little available bandwidth. It simply won’t support the pricing models, the image quality nor the raw quantity of video required without a major change in video compression technology or a multi-billion dollar infrastructure overhaul,” said Tiede.

In the executive overview of an April 2007 report by Multimedia Research Group titled “Mobile TV: Global Standards Review & Forecast for Infrastructure and Handsets,” it was reported that 60-85% of participants in a study were keen to purchase a video-enabled handset when they were shown the high-quality video service possible on the devices. A press release on the same report predicted that over 240 million TV-enabled hand-sets would be sold by 2011. Cell phone makers and operators are anxious to tap into this enormous market, but the infrastructure needs to be able to deliver the quantity and quality required.

“The market for video-enabled cell phones is poised to explode, but the infrastructure for delivering high-quality video to those small screens needs to change,” said Tiede. “Video is extremely bandwidth-intensive; right now, the chokepoint in the infrastructure is video compression technology. Currently, video viewing over wireless devices requires at least 300K in bandwidth. That number needs to come down by close to 80% in order to make video delivery to cell phones practical and cost-effective for large numbers of viewers.”

Broadcast International’s CodecSys video compression technology can reduce bandwidth needs for video from 300 to as low as 60 Kbps over the current wireless infrastructure in the U.S. “That will go a long way toward alleviating the near-term bandwidth crisis in the wireless video market. It will also make the pricing models work much better for consumers and providers,” said Tiede.

Solving the long-term bandwidth crisis

According to Tiede, the bandwidth crunch in the wireless infrastructure is just another example of a looming bandwidth crisis in other markets such as cable, IPTV and even Internet video, brought about by the explosive user demand for high-quality video. The bandwidth crisis is particularly troublesome in the U.S., which has dropped from fourth to 15th place on the broadband ranking kept by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In an Oct. 1st editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle titled “Our Fraying Internet Infrastructure,” Michael Kleeman, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center for Communication at USC, cited video compression as a technology critical to the resolution of the bandwidth crisis.

But Tiede cautions providers against choosing expedient solutions that won’t adapt to change. “Infrastructure providers need to make sure that they are choosing the right strategy for the long haul, not just one that meets short-term demand. Long-term, they need an open, scalable solution that is easily upgradeable as standards change, and one that is capable of handling rapid increases in volume.”

BI’s patented video compression software, CodecSys, reduces bandwidth needs by more than 80% for HD-quality video over satellite, cable, IP and wireless networks. CodecSys achieves its breakthrough performance through an open, patented architecture that uses artificial intelligence to analyze a video stream and select the codec best suited to a particular video frame or sequence from an entire library of codecs. By selecting the best codec for the job, CodecSys is able to offer performance several times higher than competitive products, which rely on a single codec for every type of video stream. Its open software architecture enables new codecs or video compression standards to be easily accommodated when they emerge, virtually “future-proofing” the technology.

At IBC in Amsterdam last month, Broadcast International and IBM debuted the first public demonstration of a jointly developed video compression solution. The demo featured BI’s patented CodecSys video compression software running on IBM’s BladeCenter QS20 “Cell Blade” multi-core processor. The new video compression solution is highly scalable, allowing customers to easily add additional processing power by simply adding extra processors or “blades.”

MobiTV, Inc., the leading provider and platform for content delivery over mobile and broadband networks, today announced it will offer attendees of the WiMAX World conference, demonstrations of TV and video services over mobile, PC and set-top-box devices via a WiMAX network. The real-time demonstration will showcase the MobiTV service running over all three screens, with state-of-the-art features and functionality including pause and resume, remote scheduling and control, transfer and send media between devices in your home and much more.”What we’re showing the WiMAX World attendees is just another proof-point that the Mobile WiMAX standard is very well-suited to support the long-term evolution of wireless networks in the face of rapidly growing demand for television, video and music services,” said Kay Johansson, chief technology officer for MobiTV. “As we integrate the media experience across all three screens, it becomes more and more clear that WiMAX is extremely well suited for carrying services like this.”

WiMAX is the latest extension to MobiTV’s portfolio of supported network technologies, with features designed to embrace all of the key components that make mobile television viable to consumers and carriers alike. Those key features and benefits will include:

– Smooth integration with, and natural extension to existing service infrastructure

– Efficient full-duplex bi-directional delivery with full transactional capabilities

– Superior data delivery performance for full-motion video (advanced IP based architecture)

– Support for a combination of Unicast/Multicast delivery models for optimal network utilization

– Interactivity; commerce, voting, and other capabilities consumers, carriers and advertisers want

– Targeted national, regional, and local advertising

– Breadth of channels; no channel limitations with Unicast over WiMAX

– Increased channel change speed

– Broad client device support including; mobile phones, UMPCs, PDAs, laptops, set top boxes and more

– Broad industry support and open-standards based

– Support for the rapid deployment of new applications and services (extensions to the MobiTV service) at a low incremental cost

In the past, MobiTV was the first to demonstrate the integration of critical security and content protection layers, which enables Mobile WiMAX operators to offer premium mobile television over a two-way IEEE 802.16e network, protect content rights and service revenues, all while providing a true broadcast experience with high-quality, blended multicast and unicast streaming at 30 frames per second.