There has been a lot of exciting announcements for mobile media this week surrounding the CTIA conference.
A very cool announcement that took place about a month ago, has finally come to fruition. The popular slingplayer media streamer has landed in the mobile phone market, and promises to provide a very interesting case study into how consumers react to the ability to stream conent from their home tv, to their phone.
In a nutshell, the SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS will allow users with a palm enabled phone to stream live television from their home tv, to their mobile phone. While this system only works on palm phones, the results from this beta could reveal some interesting information about how people consume media on the run.
Now this service sounds great on paper, but I am skeptical of many things surrounding this kind of technology. Streaming technology is far from being perfected, and I still have trouble and problems while streaming content from a high speed internet access point on my home computer. So to think that this service being utilized on a mobile phone network kind of worries me. I can just imagine the crappy picture quality and constantly interrupted feeds, which would probably provide for a very negative viewing experience.'
However, setting aside bandwidth inefficiencies for the moment, I think this is the future of mobile media. I believe, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, that streaming content from home sources to mobile devices, removes some of the storage limitations that mobile products have to deal with, and also makes people's content available anywhere on any device.
Ultimately, I believe this is what people crave. Constant access on any device to all of their owned media content. Now, this is very idealistic, considering DRM's role in all of this mobile media mess, but if either more interoperability is created between DRM or if it is completely abolished, mobile media markets could flourish and become truly valued sources of entertainment.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
What's the next big feature for cell phones?
This is certainly a subject up for debate. First phone's were outfitted with cameras. Next, phone's could play MP3's with built in players. Recently, in the United States, video on cell phones has become the next big picture. So what is next?
Well at the CTIA Wireless 2007 show, Texas Instruments seems to have taken the media platform for the cell phone one step further. It seems has though the creative minds at TI have figured out a way to put a working DLP projector into the compact configuration of a cell phone.
At the CTIA Wireless show this year, TI provided a "public demonstration of its digital light processing (DLP) 'pico' projector, a tiny movie projector that can fit inside a cell phone."
While the progression might seem obvious to some, I find this to be a monumental achievement, which will most definitely have huge implications on the mobile media marketplace.
The projector "contains three lasers, a DLP chip and a power supply and measures about 1.5 inches in length. With the projector, the cellphone can beam DVD-quality video onto a screen or a wall, thereby allowing to serve as a video player or television." This impact that this sort of technology will have on the mobile media market could be monumental.
The biggest hindrance with media on mobile devices today is that they don't provide an appropriate theater in which to view or listen to content. With a projector capable of displaying DVD-quality video on a screen or a wall, that resides in a mobile phone or Portable media player casing, could be the answer, and the boost the mobile media market needs to make it truly a valued source of entertainment.
This kind of technology could also integrate larger forms of media into the mobile media market, instead of just snack sized morsels of entertainment.
This will truly make media on-demand, meaning someone can watch any form of media anywhere there is an appropriate surface to project on. The convenience of the size and quality this product will offer, should really have an impact on the way we consume media in the mobile world.
TI did not give any time lines as to when the projectors will be available in phones, but the working prototype gives an indication that this technology is not to far off.
Well at the CTIA Wireless 2007 show, Texas Instruments seems to have taken the media platform for the cell phone one step further. It seems has though the creative minds at TI have figured out a way to put a working DLP projector into the compact configuration of a cell phone.
At the CTIA Wireless show this year, TI provided a "public demonstration of its digital light processing (DLP) 'pico' projector, a tiny movie projector that can fit inside a cell phone."
While the progression might seem obvious to some, I find this to be a monumental achievement, which will most definitely have huge implications on the mobile media marketplace.
The projector "contains three lasers, a DLP chip and a power supply and measures about 1.5 inches in length. With the projector, the cellphone can beam DVD-quality video onto a screen or a wall, thereby allowing to serve as a video player or television." This impact that this sort of technology will have on the mobile media market could be monumental.
The biggest hindrance with media on mobile devices today is that they don't provide an appropriate theater in which to view or listen to content. With a projector capable of displaying DVD-quality video on a screen or a wall, that resides in a mobile phone or Portable media player casing, could be the answer, and the boost the mobile media market needs to make it truly a valued source of entertainment.
This kind of technology could also integrate larger forms of media into the mobile media market, instead of just snack sized morsels of entertainment.
This will truly make media on-demand, meaning someone can watch any form of media anywhere there is an appropriate surface to project on. The convenience of the size and quality this product will offer, should really have an impact on the way we consume media in the mobile world.
TI did not give any time lines as to when the projectors will be available in phones, but the working prototype gives an indication that this technology is not to far off.
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Thursday, March 22, 2007
What time is Media Time?
As the mobile media market matures and entrenches itself into our daily lives as the internet as done over the past 15 years, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that as person I am only inclined to take advantage of what the internet has to offer media wise at certain points in my day.
I have mentioned in past blogs that for mobile media to really take off and become a useful and valuable part of our day to day lives, that content providers really need to pay attention to the consumers wants and needs. I mentioned that snack sized media is seemingly what people want out of their mobile devices due to either their lack of an attention span, or the fact that that kind of sized media fits into where they use their mobile devices most. But another factor they need to pay attention to is when and where do people access their mobile content.
Mark Cuban has already done the leg work on this blog, revealing from his sources at Comscore.com, that about 50% of online video viewing during the weekdays, takes place between 7am and 5pm. During work!
This might come as a suprising statistic to employers but, I think these statistics have some validity to it. I remember my first experience in a corporate office was last spring and I was shocked by the amount of time people spent listening to online radio stations or watching short clips of online videos. Its something people do during, inbetween, and during breaks from their work during the day. And why not, these people are almost always captive in front of their computers at work, and its completely unrealistic to expect people to constantly work from 7am-5pm only on work related activities when they have access to a high speed network and the endless media delights of the internet.
So why aren't more companies marketing their content and programs towards the everyday worker. I would suggest online radio broadcasters to really consider focusing all of their efforts on making stations that users would enjoy at work or something that would cater to the working lifestyle. People don't necessarily have access to their music library at work, so thats why services like pandora or lastfm are so popular in the work place.
I think content providers like webcasters and even broadcast networks could pay more attention to this market. Its very similar to the reason why people listen to radio in the car. The captive audience at work could reap some serious benefits for media providers.
I have mentioned in past blogs that for mobile media to really take off and become a useful and valuable part of our day to day lives, that content providers really need to pay attention to the consumers wants and needs. I mentioned that snack sized media is seemingly what people want out of their mobile devices due to either their lack of an attention span, or the fact that that kind of sized media fits into where they use their mobile devices most. But another factor they need to pay attention to is when and where do people access their mobile content.
Mark Cuban has already done the leg work on this blog, revealing from his sources at Comscore.com, that about 50% of online video viewing during the weekdays, takes place between 7am and 5pm. During work!
This might come as a suprising statistic to employers but, I think these statistics have some validity to it. I remember my first experience in a corporate office was last spring and I was shocked by the amount of time people spent listening to online radio stations or watching short clips of online videos. Its something people do during, inbetween, and during breaks from their work during the day. And why not, these people are almost always captive in front of their computers at work, and its completely unrealistic to expect people to constantly work from 7am-5pm only on work related activities when they have access to a high speed network and the endless media delights of the internet.
So why aren't more companies marketing their content and programs towards the everyday worker. I would suggest online radio broadcasters to really consider focusing all of their efforts on making stations that users would enjoy at work or something that would cater to the working lifestyle. People don't necessarily have access to their music library at work, so thats why services like pandora or lastfm are so popular in the work place.
I think content providers like webcasters and even broadcast networks could pay more attention to this market. Its very similar to the reason why people listen to radio in the car. The captive audience at work could reap some serious benefits for media providers.
Royalty Rates killing Internet Radio
The CRB has given the internet radio community some bad news recently. The new royalty rates that the CRB plans to implement are significantly higher than those previously instated. The details of the CRB's announcement can be seen here. I will just go over the big changes. The CRB suggests that Retroactive fees of $.0008 per performance be paid for 2006, and $.0011 per performance in 2007, $.0014 in 2008, $.0018 in 2009, and all the way up to $.0019 in 2010.
Additionally to these per performance fees, the CRB has also stated that a $500 per channel per year fee be implemented. Although this is loosely defined, as to what makes up a channel.
These rates were decided upon by the recommendation of SoundExchange, which is a digital music fee collection body created by of course, the one, the only, RIAA.
These rates effectively destroy small and medium sized webcasters, and greatly injure the largest webcasters. For example, for a medium sized webcaster like radio paridise, the royalties would be in the range of "150-200% of total revenues". This is obviously a damaging blow to the small and medium webcasting industry, but at these rates it might not even be profitable or worthwhile for the biggest webcasters to continue to broadcast.
These royalty rates have huge consequences for the mobile media market. This is the area everyone was banking on radio making its glorious return to a respected form of media. When high-speed wireless networks become ubiquitous in this country, internet radio had great potential to be a respected source of entertainment, because it was not effected by the limitations and narrow minded tendencies of terrestrial radio.
Yet it appears the RIAA's SoundExchange wants to eliminate any possibility of a strong return of radio by pummeling internet radio with debilitating rates. These rates surpass those of terrestrial radio and satellites radio, causing a huge disconnect and seemingly unfair royalty structure for the internet radio industry.
However there is some good news. As of Tuesday, the CRB has granted the motion for appeals regarding these rates, and will reconsider their decision. Judging by the amount of outrage that has surrounded this announcement, I imagine that some changes will come to fruition. We will just have to wait and see.
Additionally to these per performance fees, the CRB has also stated that a $500 per channel per year fee be implemented. Although this is loosely defined, as to what makes up a channel.
These rates were decided upon by the recommendation of SoundExchange, which is a digital music fee collection body created by of course, the one, the only, RIAA.
These rates effectively destroy small and medium sized webcasters, and greatly injure the largest webcasters. For example, for a medium sized webcaster like radio paridise, the royalties would be in the range of "150-200% of total revenues". This is obviously a damaging blow to the small and medium webcasting industry, but at these rates it might not even be profitable or worthwhile for the biggest webcasters to continue to broadcast.
These royalty rates have huge consequences for the mobile media market. This is the area everyone was banking on radio making its glorious return to a respected form of media. When high-speed wireless networks become ubiquitous in this country, internet radio had great potential to be a respected source of entertainment, because it was not effected by the limitations and narrow minded tendencies of terrestrial radio.
Yet it appears the RIAA's SoundExchange wants to eliminate any possibility of a strong return of radio by pummeling internet radio with debilitating rates. These rates surpass those of terrestrial radio and satellites radio, causing a huge disconnect and seemingly unfair royalty structure for the internet radio industry.
However there is some good news. As of Tuesday, the CRB has granted the motion for appeals regarding these rates, and will reconsider their decision. Judging by the amount of outrage that has surrounded this announcement, I imagine that some changes will come to fruition. We will just have to wait and see.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Ad's infiltrating a new game
It might be hard to swallow, but its hard to imagine a media in the future that will lack the presence of advertising. This trend can be seen in the infiltration and proliferation of ads in the mobile phone industry becoming a reality. But Google has entered another market. It's no secret that video games has been a burgeoning industry in the past decade, and its seeing some of its most impressive growth recently. So its only a matter of time until in game advertising becomes a norm in the industry an d infiltrates our day to day gaming.
In the past couple days, the speculation about Google purchasing Adscape have become a reality. The specific details of the acquisition have not been revealed but some "estimate it at 23 million." Adscape specializes in in-game advertising and is driven by the mantra, that in-game advertising aids in making games that were otherwise not possible to make. The extra ad revenue that game developers receive from the advertising enables them to make better games apparently.
In-game advertising has been around for a bit. I know in sports games and even in RPG games, i have seen ads before and it hasn't really bothered me. Sadly it brings a sense of realism to the game, giving a more real world feel. I mean if the goal is for games to be as realistic as possible, when was the last time you were driving in car and didn't see a bunch of ads on the side of the road.
To a certain extent, I think in-game advertising is a great thing, as long as its not intrusive to the gaming experience, and does not become the focal point at any time. The advertising has to be ancillary to the gaming experience.
The next generation consoles have created this virtual marketplaces to accompany the gamer's experience, which provides a whole new world for advertisers to make their presence known. Playstation 3 has their recently announced Playstation Home. Its like second life specifically talilored to PS3 users. Gamer's create their own avatars and homes, and interact with other gamers, giving them the opportunity to purchase content, or just find a friend to play a game with. I think this is where advertisers will see the most effective arena for the advertising.
the marriage between gaming systems, the internet, and dynamic advertising creates new possibilities for advertisers to more effectively deliver relevant advertising to a ever expanding universe of gamers. As long as these advertisements remain secondary to the gaming experience and are done in good taste, I can see this as a great new market for advertisers to enter.
In the past couple days, the speculation about Google purchasing Adscape have become a reality. The specific details of the acquisition have not been revealed but some "estimate it at 23 million." Adscape specializes in in-game advertising and is driven by the mantra, that in-game advertising aids in making games that were otherwise not possible to make. The extra ad revenue that game developers receive from the advertising enables them to make better games apparently.
In-game advertising has been around for a bit. I know in sports games and even in RPG games, i have seen ads before and it hasn't really bothered me. Sadly it brings a sense of realism to the game, giving a more real world feel. I mean if the goal is for games to be as realistic as possible, when was the last time you were driving in car and didn't see a bunch of ads on the side of the road.
To a certain extent, I think in-game advertising is a great thing, as long as its not intrusive to the gaming experience, and does not become the focal point at any time. The advertising has to be ancillary to the gaming experience.
The next generation consoles have created this virtual marketplaces to accompany the gamer's experience, which provides a whole new world for advertisers to make their presence known. Playstation 3 has their recently announced Playstation Home. Its like second life specifically talilored to PS3 users. Gamer's create their own avatars and homes, and interact with other gamers, giving them the opportunity to purchase content, or just find a friend to play a game with. I think this is where advertisers will see the most effective arena for the advertising.
the marriage between gaming systems, the internet, and dynamic advertising creates new possibilities for advertisers to more effectively deliver relevant advertising to a ever expanding universe of gamers. As long as these advertisements remain secondary to the gaming experience and are done in good taste, I can see this as a great new market for advertisers to enter.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Mobile Ads...Good or Bad?
Recently I have been reading about mobile network operators tinkering with the possibility for advertising on the mobile device. This would be a very area for mobile network providers to enter because of people's general discontent with advertising and its seemingly inescapable grasp it holds on all forms of media.
An article on CNET News.com reveals that Nokia is planning on rolling out a mobile advertising service that they have developed that will give providers the power to offer personalized and targeted ads at mobile device users.
Now before we all get to bent out of shape about this, lets try to find some good in all of this evil corporate hullabaloo.
Wireless carriers are enduring "heavy losses" in their voice business. The network operators could potentially gain 50% of this ad revenue, which is supposedly going to be an estimated "11 billion dollars" by 2011. That is some serious cash that these networks obviously can't ignore.
The positives this might bring to the consumer is enriched data applications and more mobile media content. This could help fund the emergence of a truly media rich environment on the mobile device. Finally, network operators might put the resources they gain from this ad service to making the mobile media experience more seamless, enjoyable, and rich.
However, this might be too big of a price to pay. I can easily foresee this kind of advertising annoying users as a mobile phone is one of the only sacred places left that we don't necessarily have to endure abrasive, intrusive, and irritating advertisements that we encounter in any of our other media activities.
The only way this could work is if it was discrete, tasteful, and direct user benefits and improvements to mobile media capabilities were a direct effect of this sort of advertising becoming a reality.
An article on CNET News.com reveals that Nokia is planning on rolling out a mobile advertising service that they have developed that will give providers the power to offer personalized and targeted ads at mobile device users.
Now before we all get to bent out of shape about this, lets try to find some good in all of this evil corporate hullabaloo.
Wireless carriers are enduring "heavy losses" in their voice business. The network operators could potentially gain 50% of this ad revenue, which is supposedly going to be an estimated "11 billion dollars" by 2011. That is some serious cash that these networks obviously can't ignore.
The positives this might bring to the consumer is enriched data applications and more mobile media content. This could help fund the emergence of a truly media rich environment on the mobile device. Finally, network operators might put the resources they gain from this ad service to making the mobile media experience more seamless, enjoyable, and rich.
However, this might be too big of a price to pay. I can easily foresee this kind of advertising annoying users as a mobile phone is one of the only sacred places left that we don't necessarily have to endure abrasive, intrusive, and irritating advertisements that we encounter in any of our other media activities.
The only way this could work is if it was discrete, tasteful, and direct user benefits and improvements to mobile media capabilities were a direct effect of this sort of advertising becoming a reality.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Mobile Devices Used for Complimentary Purposes
The role of the mobile device in the future will evolve into something that acts as a gateway for people to experience media in a personalized fashion. These future devices will act as an enabler for a person to gain interactivity from any sort of media that is encountered.
This is where the importance of interoperability between systems comes into place, because no matter how all in one the devices we use in the future become, we will still be using our mobile devices as supplementary machines, mostly because of their limitations in size and input capabilities. For example, I cannot foresee when my mobile device will become the #1 place I like to watch video compared to a big screen TV. In the near future, I believe that the mobile devices will serve as complementary accessories to the larger media items like the TV.
To best illustrate my point I will use broadcast TV as an example for ways mobile devices could enrich our experiences. What if broadcast companies and Cell phone companies developed a way for the cell phones and and broadcast content to connect and provide a more enriching experience along with the program . Users could be suggested information that is related to what they are watching. It could create a level of interactivity into the broadcast format that might bring back some of the younger generation.
This goes beyond just having your laptop or internet enabled phone with you while you watch TV. It would kind of be like a side channel of content and information that would be delivered to a mobile device.
With the diverse amount of media experiences available to consumers today, traditional media portals can reclaim some of their former audiences with an enhancement in interactivity to their experience. I think if content providers and mobile device companies can realize that their respective devices can complement each other rather than just compete with each other, it can create an opportunity for an enriched and more enjoyable media experience.
This is where the importance of interoperability between systems comes into place, because no matter how all in one the devices we use in the future become, we will still be using our mobile devices as supplementary machines, mostly because of their limitations in size and input capabilities. For example, I cannot foresee when my mobile device will become the #1 place I like to watch video compared to a big screen TV. In the near future, I believe that the mobile devices will serve as complementary accessories to the larger media items like the TV.
To best illustrate my point I will use broadcast TV as an example for ways mobile devices could enrich our experiences. What if broadcast companies and Cell phone companies developed a way for the cell phones and and broadcast content to connect and provide a more enriching experience along with the program . Users could be suggested information that is related to what they are watching. It could create a level of interactivity into the broadcast format that might bring back some of the younger generation.
This goes beyond just having your laptop or internet enabled phone with you while you watch TV. It would kind of be like a side channel of content and information that would be delivered to a mobile device.
With the diverse amount of media experiences available to consumers today, traditional media portals can reclaim some of their former audiences with an enhancement in interactivity to their experience. I think if content providers and mobile device companies can realize that their respective devices can complement each other rather than just compete with each other, it can create an opportunity for an enriched and more enjoyable media experience.
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