GoMo Mobile Search News

tvCompass marries WAP and TV remote

Rating: tie the digital media knot?

I've heard the word convergence being used in the high tech industry on multiple occasions, but never before had I thought that a merger between a WAP browser and a TV remote control was feasible. But tvCompass is offering such a device in the shape of a Digital Media Remote (DMR).
What tvCompass realised is that when you put an LCD screen inside a Wi-Fi enabled TV controller, you have to find some means of enabling the user to view internet content. Rather than re-invent the wheel, the company decided to use an existing standard – WAP.
So it struck up a deal with Winwap Technologies to incorporate a WAP browser inside its DMR. So WAP isn't dead after all.

AT&T U-verse

Rating: TV on acid

AT&T’s U-verse is the next generation digital TV. It’s not something GoMo News traditionally focuses on. But there is one sentence in the press release that I found very interesting.

MEF Live Lunch with Alcatel-Lucent Andrew Brown

Rating: eye opener

By Bena Roberts

I am ashamed to say it that generally when I hear the term Alcatel-Lucent; the immediate perception of “boring” springs to mind. In my earlier days, I sat through many a network infrastructure meeting.

Now in my own business and new role, I felt that I could just avoid the company altogether. That is until Andrew Brown Alcatel-lucent’s mobile application guru sat down next to me for lunch in Hong Kong.

Mobile TV Mobintech – The future in mobile viewing

Rating: crazy man with glasses finds GoMo News in Hong Kong

By Bena Roberts

At first I thought I must just attract that type of bloke when when Soren Fogt Petersen from Mobintech came up to me wearing big fat visual specs with funny ear phone thingies hanging off the side and holding a fat meaty Nokia device for Mobile TV that looks like a brick (sorry I can’t think of the number but its N something or another).

Sling goes mobile in US with Nokia

Rating: TV seeks pants to get into By Tony Alton Sling Media is planning to illuminate the pants of millions of Americans and enrich their lives by bringing 24 hour streaming home TV to their mobile phones.  The service, which will launch on NSeries and Eseries Nokia devices in the near future, means every bus and cafe in America will soon be awash with the sound of Jerry Springer punchups and Jack Bauer exploding nuclear terrorist car crashes.

Femtocell is the new Klondike

Rating: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is

By Annie Turner

Interesting piece in BusinessWeek today. It reports T-Mobile USA’s claim that the main reason people swap mobile service supplier is to get better mobile coverage within their homes, where between 27% to 41% of all mobile minutes are accounted for.

The article also points out that the rush to perfect a commercial femto cell offering is underway. In February, Motorola bought start-up Netopia while on 20 July, Google was part of a group of investors that handed over USD 20m investment in British femto cell start-up Ubiquisys.

This was hard on the heel of French conglomerate Thomson, the world's largest maker of DSL modems, striking a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks to develop the technology. While on 2 July, Netgear, which makes Wi-Fi routers, co-founded the Femto Forum, promote femto cell standards and use. Other forum members include Airvana, ip.access, picoChip, RadioFrame Networks, Tatara Systems and Ubiquisys.

What’s generated all this frantic activity? Predictions such as that made by ABI Research that by 2012, there will be more than 150 million people using femto cell on 70 million access points worldwide. Plus of course the hardcore telco equipment makers are desperate to be central to the action (they’ve had some very tough years since 2001), while the likes of Google are eyeing a way of cutting the established telecoms providers out of the loop.

This blog is also a curious juxtaposition with the one below on the demise of BT Movio (the nascent mobile TV service) because if femto cells take off as quickly as predicted and are able to provide enough bandwidth, people will use their mobile phones for much, much more than making calls in the house. Already there are reports of people watching TV on the mobile phones as well as sort of watching the boring old big box in the corner at the same time.

On the other hand, I’ve been writing about telecoms almost since the Ark grounded and heard the hype around ISDN and Bluetooth, among, many, many other communications technologies that were going to change the world. Don’t hold your breath. If anything happens at all, it takes generally takes much longer than predicted by experts.

T-Mobile Germany 100 seconds of Mobile TV fun every day

Rating: 100 to 1

By Bena Roberts

T-Mobile has launched a new daily show called “daily show in 100 seconds” or Tagesschau in 100 Sekunden (auf Deutsch). (Yes! GoMo News is multi-lingual – what can we say!).

What is it?
It’s a daily news round-up with all the most important news and its updated every hour from 8am to 9pm. It works on 3G and EDGE devices. A few hours after the press release arrived in my in-box Vodafone Germany issued a similar statement and its also offering the same daily 100 second show from today.
T-Mobile is also offering a football promotion until October 15 2007 where cetain mobile games are free to play.

T-Mobile charges EUR 2 for 24 hours of TV or EUR 7.50 for one month.

Mobile TV ad metrics begin

Rating: tough job, but someone has to do it

By Annie Turner

Rentrak has entered into an agreement with Hiwire to conduct a joint measurement trial of mobile TV viewing by consumers in Las Vegas. Hiwire specialises in delivery of mobile TV entertainment and is a subsidiary of Aloha Partners, the largest owner of 700MHz spectrum in the US.

During the trial, Rentrak will anonymously monitor mobile TV viewing data from Hiwire to provide a web-based statistical reporting service. In effect, it will serve as Hiwire¹s primary data analytics and third-party verification provider, delivering audience viewing metrics, such as the total number of viewers, of video and video advertising watched on mobile phones. The joint trial will begin this summer.

Mobile TV is very new and there is a lot of contradictory information about viewing habits and preferences floating about in the market. The only way that mobile TV will become an ad-funded or supported channel is if reliable, accurate metrics are available. All parties need to remember that this is NOT bog standard TV on a smaller screen and therefore the metrics used for TV will only be applicable in part and that entirely new modes of behaviour are of most interest. In other words, in this emerging market, it's important to be measuring the right things.

For more information see http://www.rentrak.com/mc_press_release?file=052307

Things can only get better - the market potential of mobile TV

Rating: the only way is up?

by Annie Turner

The predicted uptake of mobile TV hasn’t happened. Instead complaints remain about picture quality and sound, screen size and battery life. The jury is still out on how operators will bill for mobile TV services and whether or not customers will be prepared to pay. Uncertainty surrounds what kind of content will work, regulators are already threatening to impose strictures on this embryonic industry and there are potentially four broadcast standards competing against 3G as the means of delivery.

Indeed even the name mobile TV is a misnomer because it suggests transplanting ordinary TV on to your mobile phone whereas, as Paul Goode, vice president, development, with m:metrics which monitors how people use their mobile phones in a number of key markets, explained, “There’s streaming versus broadcast versus broadcast over 3G networks versus downloads – and different operators are going for different models.”

John Orlando, vice president of marketing with NMS Communications, says, “3G networks are designed for peer-to-peer communications, not broadcast. The economics are very tough. Lots of operators are holding off from getting involved or running trials of DVB-H for multimode handsets. 3G and broadcast can complement each other, they don’t necessarily have to compete.”

Whatever technology route they are taking, operators are struggling to establish the business case for mobile TV. Patrick Parodi, chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) says, “ “Ring tones are 100 times smaller than an MP3 [file], but people pay four times more for them. It’s all tied to personalisation and communication; regulators and others who are looking at the industry haven’t caught that extra value that is generated by mobile.”

Player X extends its global reach

By Annie Turner

Rating: geekTV goes global

Player X has extended the reach of its mobile TV channel, geekTV, signing
deals with two more UK operators and territories as diverse as India,
Australasia and South America.

geekTV was launched in December 2006 on 3 UK and the O2 i-mode channel.
Earlier this month the company announced an exclusive deal with Aardman
Animations to distribute its premium mobile video content in North America.
Previously, Player X announced a deal with Universal Mobile Entertainment
for making mobile retrosodes of 1970's TV shows Knight Rider and Magnum,
P.I. The company claims this is the first time a Hollywood studio has
allowed its content to be used in such a way.

geekTV is a mixture of familiar entertainment brands ­ such as Miami Vice,
American Dad and Mr Bean's Holiday ­ and original IP and user-generated
content aimed at 16-to-30-year-olds. The channel comes on an hour-long,
streamed loop. It is updated weekly and subscribers can use the electronic
programme guide to start and pause wherever they choose.

"geekTV is the masthead of our mobile TV proposition and we will be
launching another channel later this summer," said Tony Pearce, Player X's
CEO.

A strong contender for this year's MEFFY's we predict, not least because of
Mr Pearce¹s articulate, no-nonsense approach and because he is thoughtful
and alert on the subject of how advertising fits into the whole model.
Subscribers to the Mobile Advertising and Marketing Analyst can see him in
action in the April edition's coverage of the debate organised by the Mobile
Entertainment Forum and the Institute of Practitioners of Advertising. I
moderated this lively event on behalf of BKI Media.

See www.iamgeek.tv for more information.

SFR has 140,000 mobile TV users, launches Canal Plus

Rating: and another one

By Annie Turner

These days you can't turn round without catching your shin on yet another
mobile TV offering. SFR says it has nearly 140,000 mobile TV users at the
end of March, up from 70,000 at the end of December. Now French mobile
operator SFR and pay TV group Canal Plus have launched Canal Plus Chaine
Mobile, a mobile phone TV channel that can be accessed any time via the
Vodafone live! portal.

It's not that I dispute any particular organisation's claims about the
number of viewers it has, it's just that the situation reminds me of the
situation with Christ's cross in the Middle Ages, that is, had one stuck all
the splinters together that were claimed to be from that original cross, you
could have built a galleon with them. If you add all the people together who
are supposedly hooked on mobile TV, you'd probably find it amounted to
multiples of the world's population.

Anyhow, the new Canal channel offers whole episodes of Canal Plus'
programmes, such as Les Guinols de l'info, le Grand Journal and Salut les
Terriens. Canal Plus Chaine Mobile also includes made-for-mobile
programming, including sports news, league tables and football goals.

Subscribers with a 3G/3G+ handset go online at Vodafone live! to subscribe.
The service costs EUR 5 per month, with the first month free. The service
also offers Canal Plus VOD, ringtones and pictures and the Canal Plus Le
Bouquet programme guide.

Mind the splinters.

Ericsson heralds personalised TV ads trial a triumph

Rating: I'm the best... no.. I'm the best, NO Me..

By Annie Turner

Ericsson and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) are claiming that the world's first personalised mobile TV advertising has proved a great success.

This is what they say:

The results of the three-month trial, which have been processed by M:Metrics, show that the average click-through rate reached 13%, and the average viewing time of each mobile TV user more than doubled – to seven minutes per session – when users interacted with customised ads.

The trial also showed this behavior was sustainable in terms of the click-through rate and session times because usage was consistent throughout the trial. Almost half of the users were 30 to 44 years old, followed by those 18 to 29 years old. Participants identified entertainment and music as their most common interests when starting in the trial.

Advertisements in the trial were interactive, customised to ensure their relevance to individual users, and tailored to the user's age, gender, location, and personal interests. Advertising content also spanned an array of formats, including videos, banners, ticker texts, and branded downloadable content.

Paul Goode, Vice President at M:Metrics, says: "Previous research from M:Metrics has shown that pricing is a major deterrent to the adoption of mobile TV, and that up to 41% of mobile TV consumers would accept advertising-subsidised services. The results of this trial confirm the willingness of viewers to embrace advertising. This is excellent news for the growth potential of mobile TV audiences."

What we think?

And so say all of us – but one of the main inhibitors to the take-up of mobile TV generally are the high and confusing data tariffs in Europe. However, we are shortly going to see the introduction of flat-rate tariffs, finally, here which should have a profound effect on take-up. As for ‘embracing ads’, it remains to be seen how accepting consumers will be in the longer term, as the novelty of mobile TV and other multimedia services wears off and they become and integral part of everyday life.

More news on this here.

BBC 3G Mobile TV with Orange, Vodafone and 3

Rating: Yippee! Life on Mars Wallpaper

The BBC is to trial TV on 3G phones via Orange, Vodafone and 3. The trial will last 12 months and will offer 3G viewers the option to watch BBC, BBC News 24 and BBC 3. Users can also listen to up to 8 radio stations from Radio1 to the Asian Network.

From the press release:
BBC over mobile figures:
Internet users accessing the BBC on their mobile phones and other high-tech gadgets racked up almost 90 million page views, according to the latest figures.

Total page views for the WAP and PDA versions of bbc.co.uk were in excess of 84 million in January 2007.

Mobile usage of the BBC's website has grown 100% year-on-year over the last three years and these figures show the trend continuing.

Ashley Highfield, Director of Future Media and Technology, said: "By making a range of television channels and radio networks available to 3G mobile phone subscribers, we hope to test not only the effectiveness of 3G as a means of distribution, but also how audiences respond to the BBC's linear services on their mobiles.

"The findings, combined with quantitative and qualitative consumer research, will inform the BBC's future mobile strategy."


What we think?
This is good news for mobile and for consumers as long as there are no extra licensee fees or surprise hikes due to the BBC offering mobile TV. As a fan of Life on Mars – GoMo News is biased and for the first time ever – the idea of seeing Life On Marks on mobile is actually quite appealing!

More at: www.bbc.co.uk/mobile on your device

Vodafone to launch new Mobile TV Football Flatrate in Germany

Rating: footie flatrates = OWN GOAL

Vodafone Germany will add to its Vodafone live! TV services with the FussballFlatrate (Football Flatrate) package for EUR 7,50 per month. With this consumers can play all of the 612 Vodafone Bundesliga (Premier league) games and read tips, facts or get tips on the game.

Vodafone Germany now boasts 31 football channels including Big Brother, Europsport, Cartoon Network, Musicbox and mylive! Video channel from Vodafone.

What we think
This sounds a bit expensive. EUR 7,50 is EUR 15 marks in the old currency that is what a monthly access charge for digital TV used to cost. A must only for total footie freaks in a 3G area.

ROK TV Rocks with 10,000 subscribers in four days

Rating: ROK TV killed the broadcast star

ROK TV deployed its services on AIS the Thai mobile operator on February 1, 2007. In four days it has counted 10,000 subscribers.

ROK TV is a high speed on demand multi-channel mobile service delivered over 2.5G/ GPRS.
AIS has a goal to recruit 1 million subscribers to ROK TV in the next twelve months – with this start it might be able to do it.

Perhaps this is also evidence that made for mobile TV beats broadcast TV services, hands down….

ROK Launches first Mobile TV service in Thailand

Rating: not just a three minute wonder

By Annie Turner

ROK Entertainment Group has launched a “mass-market 2.5G mobile TV service” in Thailand in conjunction with the country’s biggest mobile network operator, AIS.
The AIS ROK TV platform is delivered over GPRS and will be marketed by AIS to its 16 million strong customer base.
"This is a milestone deal in our deployment of high quality 2.5G mobile TV services worldwide," says Jonathan Kendrick, chairman and CEO of ROK.

The mobile TV subscription service which starts at 50 Baht (about USD 1.25 per month) offers up to 20 channels, of which three are free, to include Fox News streamed live, as well as music, sport and entertainment channels in English and Thai.
The operator aims to recruit 1 million subscribers in the first year.
It will probably succeed too. GPRS is relatively cheap and available everywhere in the country, and the service has the mighty marketing machine of AIS behind it.

Mobile TV Good news for blondes

Rating: great community highlights

By Annie the Blonde Turner

Cheeky-face Sibley (Sib to his mates) Law is delighted to announce that News for Blondes is getting a new website to celebrate its one hundredth episode, broadcast today. News for Blondes is relentlessly cheery and upbeat, not unlike Sib, in fact, who produces the programme.

"It's been a surprise to us that so many fans have found their way back to our web site," he says. "What's especially interesting is that they want a much more interactive experience with the show."
Danielle Hawthorne (no information on hair colour) is marketing director with Saxon Mills (which makes the programme) explains, "That's just what we plan to give our fans; a message board, a blog, and all the stuff people have come to expect." News for Blondes, version 2.0 is to launch early next week, complete with a way to sign up as a member and view the entire archive of News for Blondes episodes.

The show, hosted by blonde Bonnie Borst, from behind a pink news desk, began streaming and podcasting on September 4, 2006 and has released a new three-minute episode every Monday to Friday, since. She enthuses and little-girl gestures her way through every episode – think a thin Marilyn – hard, I know.

Blonde Reporter, Cami Shore, covers everything from hair tips to music reviews, while the Happy Weatherman, non-blonde Jeffrey Sherman, delivers the weather as metaphor for life.

The show is available on about 30 websites around the world, including its own (www.NewsforBlondes.com ) and a number of mobile portals. BKI Media met Sib at the Mobile Television and Advertising Summit in Paris.

After all that perkiness, even as a blonde, I’ve got take a break.

Finally, is this TV I see before me?

Rating: square eyes

By Annie Turner

Verizon Wireless made what it hopes is its killer app announcement even before the CES show kicked off in Las Vegas in the shape of V Cast Mobile TV – a multicast video service powered by Qualcomm's new MediaFlo network.

Like just about everything else announced so far, V Cast Mobile TV is set to launch sometime in the first quarter. Assuming the operator makes good on its promise, instead of a measly 15 frame-per-second video via the 3G EV-DO network, V Cast Mobile TV will run at around 30 frames per second, which is more comparable with broadcast TV. Also, the service pushes multiple channels simultaneously to MediaFlo-enabled phones, avoiding the 30 seconds or so previously needed for video buffering when changing channel.

The new service will debut with a handful of broadcast and cable TV networks, including CBS, Comedy Central, Fox, MTV, NBC and Nikelodeon. Users will be able to dial up shows on an electronic programming grid and search by keyword, and parental controls will also be available.

The initial V Cast Mobile TV phone line-up will include the Samsung SCH-U620 and the LG VX9400. Prices aren’t yet available.

Rotten picture quality, problems synching the moving image and sound, and frustration changing channels have all been contributors to the poor take up of mobile TV. The next hurdles are affordable handsets and services, with luck coming to a very small screen near you soon, at least in the some parts of the US.

ROK TV compatible with Symbian Devices such as Nokia N71, N73, N80 and N93

Rating: ROK and roll

ROK TV offers 21 TV channels in the UK, China and the US. The channels are available for GBP 0.99 per month or GBP 9.99 per month. But data charges are billed on top of this by the network operator.

Stop the press. We like the idea of ROK TV. But we do care about the consumer and statements saying that data charges are “extra” are unsatisfactory. Where is Ofcom? Where is control on data pricing and charges? Data downloads need to be capped by the operators to avoid disgruntled customers and runaway bills. But this needs regulation.

ROK – it’s a great idea but stronger warns about data billing and prices for the network operator side are required (by you) to offer your customers a better service.

More info: www.rok.tv

Fine Tech Could it be the new king on java-streaming for mobile TV?

Rating: ambitious

Fine Tech has lauched FinePlayer (FP) a Java based application for streaming live TV and video on to mobiles. The application is only 38kb to download and is compatible with all Java enabled devices – which according to Fine Tech equates to 90% of mobile devices.

The company ambitiously expects to be the new leader in mobile TV streaming boasting, easy and interoperability as its core value proposition. The FP solution will enable mobile TV distribution to all devices not only Symbian or 3GP devices.

Once downloaded the Fine Player is customizable and it all sounds impressive – but we haven’t tried it yet and GoMo news has heard evangelism before.

More information at: www.finetech.org

Ericsson and NRK launch customized mobile TV advertising

Rating: please prove this is personalised

Ericsson, The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and Proximity Oslo (part of Global BBDO network) have launched a trial of “personalised mobile TV advertising”. The trial is for two TV channels and 5 radio channels and there is a dedicated special made for mobile TV channel based around a TV show called On the Line.
It all sounds great. But the press release fails to mention how the service is personalized. Do the volunteers choose services or adverts to preview or are their statistics categorized by Proximity to target them with what “Proximity” believe to be ideal advertisements?
I will report back when I know more – but it sounds like the latter. If this is the case, 80% of adverts will probably irrelevant anyway.

Relevancy and personalisation are the buzz words at the moment - but already they are and can be over-used.

More information here:
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=191909

photo here: http://www.nrk.no/img/616735.jpg

Umbria finds less umbrage over mobile TV among bloggers

Rating: mass market miss
Louise Wells

Umbria has released what it describes as the first comprehensive look at mobile TV user demographics and habits, captured from online blogosphere conversations.

Umbria is offering its syndicated Mobile TV reports on a subscription basis, including quarterly updates, to help marketers and other interested parties track this market.

The report reckons that the summer of 2006 may turn out to be the genesis of mobile TV services. Online conversations about this emerging medium increased steadily in the blogosphere over the summer months and into the autumn, underlining a growing interest and aligning with adoption rates. Key findings from the Q3 2006 report include:

• Males posted two-thirds of the comments about mobile TV usage
• TV shows and movies are the most commonly cited mobile TV content viewed on handhelds
• Bloggers are more likely to download mobile TV content versus view it in real time
• Online conversations about mobile TV range fairly equally across all age groups, from Baby Boomers (aged 45 - 62) to Generation X (aged 30 - 45) to Generation Y (aged 15 - 30)
• Bloggers prefer dedicated media devices by a wide margin over using multi-purpose handhelds such as cell phones, PDAs and smart phones
• Cost is the most significant barrier to mobile TV adoption, according to bloggers

Clearly gomo is passionate about the role of blogging and we believe the blogosphere is populated by brainy types, obviously. It’s just we have reservations whether brainy types translates into a mass market – we suspect not any time soon.