There was a long silence. Blackberry was not supposed to be a threat to the connecting people engineers until Barack Obama made it clear that he was using one. Big blow.
There was dead silence for several years when Apple introduced the iPhone. That wasn’t supposed to be more than a one per cent nuisance. Temporarily the estimate of Steven Jobs as a mister no-body in the mobile phones sphere was very correct. But there was no iPhone killer the first, not the second and third year.
Now, most of the consumers understand that the Symbian operating system might be the big problem. For the remaining part of this blog posting I try to figure out what Nokia has to do.
To make a long story short, they really have to listen to their users and accept that Apple and Google have some things in their touchable phones that Connecting People can’t produce or even understand. And Blackberry is also a very profitable cell phone supplier.
Visual Radio information is intended to enhance traditional FM radio, by adding interactive content over the mobile phone network. Data can include images and text - supplying listeners with Visual Radio handsets with extra data including news, music, travel, sport and extras. We may expect the following:
Information on the song and artist currently playing on air
View images relating to presenters or news stories
See a weather map during the weather broadcast
Access news, weather and traffic alerts while songs are playing
Listen in to a talk show and see what has been discussed so far
Join in audience votes, Big Brother style
Participate in on-air competitions
Helge 2008: What has happened in three years time? Radio in a mobile phone isn't a big deal anymore. Sending images and video is yesterdays news. However, widespread use of the mobile phone as a working tool has escaped me. I'm still a laptop and computer man. I need an ergonomic keyboard and a large screen. The Steven Jobs proclaimed post-PC era hasn't become reality for me. The PC is my workhorse. The phone is still a phone only for me. But mobile broadband might end up being a very good way of adding more mobility to my working style.
Mobile TV has particular appeal to many industry players because it holds out the promise of taking the western hemisphere back towards competition on function and service rather than on price. Many companies are becoming tired of fighting for market share in a market where the margins have become water thin.
Helge: What is the outlook for mobile tv 2.3.2008? This project sounded very futuristic 2005 but I don't think about it with the same passion today. We need bigger screens. The mobile devices have to become bigger. I'd like to see pocket book size screens on mobile devices. It's important for me personally while I need a portable device with an ergonomic keyboard.
Stockholm, Sweden — In a country where cell phone market penetration exceeds 110 percent and 3G networks already cover 98 percent of the geography, you'd think delivery of TV to consumer handsets would be a pushover.
Helge: We started this week to use a megabyte 3G network for mobile Internet connection.
However, such an assumption fails to take into account both the logistics and the politics of mobile TV in Sweden, where broadcasters are pitted against mobile operators, the technology landscape is a battle of the titans (Ericsson vs. Nokia) and regulators face huge pressure to revise — or not to revise — their plans for the digital TV spectrum. In short, it's a mess.
Helge: The evolution of visual radio is still in the middle of a fog. The technical problems are probably partly solved. The big work is to negotiate copyright issues. This is true in Finland and Sweden.
Sweden thus far has made no regulatory decisions on spectrum allocations for mobile-TV broadcast. There is no consensus on standards, and no viable business models have been worked out.
Helge: Business models? Pay per view? Subscription?
Sweden's dilemma stands in sharp contrast to several countries where leading network operators — or the government — have already settled on their technology choices for mobile-TV broadcast, with some service providers taking active roles in the testing of both technology and business models.
Helge: Ok.
South Korea, for example, last week launched the world's first commercial mobile-TV, -radio and -multimedia services based on the Digital Multimedia Broadcasting standard, which is part of the Digital Audio Broadcast platform.
Helge: Japan, Korea, Asia are taking a lead...
Finland, whose government has settled on Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) for mobile-TV broadcasting on its UHF spectrum, last week closed the initial deadline for applicants offering mobile-TV service. Four candidates have emerged.
Helge: Nokia's strong presence is evident. But the market is small.
Helge: The story goes that it's easy to get started with Web 2.0. But how many people are working hard and long hours in the digital salt mines. Co-creation and User Generated Content is a kind of modern age slavery. Bloggers, twitters and social media freaks work 7/24/365 for free and enjoy it. Everybody don't get a pay-check for their writings. I will take a look at Geek Entertainment TV.
Geek Entertainment TV: "Geek Entertainment TV is an emerging global media empire, reporting from deep inside the bubble as it re-inflates. GETV covers buzzword compliant topics such as web 2.0, tagging, AJAX, social software and the bubble juice known as VCs. We like robots, so you'll hear about that too."
This is a long post. I've been digging into modern mobile phone applications and new trends. The street smart smart phones will soon be showing multiple mobile TV channels. We're going to receive more entertainment than we ever can consume.
Podcasters and mobile video casters will soon start to produce and distribute content while on the move. Celebrities and politicians will be the targets of massive armies of citizen journalists. Mobile applications will be moving fast into new smarter application areas while the lifespan of mobile gadgets is soon down to 6-12-24 months, compared to 3-4 years for a portable computer.
iTunes is offering movies on a 640 x 480 display. DVD 720 x 640? Have to check it. Did I get the numbers right. My experience is based on what I've seen. The Mobile device for watching movies is quite interesting. The user interface works with a touchscreen pen.
The presentation wasn't not the ideal way to show a video on iTune, but I was able to grasp the idea. Current UMPCs run around 900 MHz to 1GHz processors and have integrated graphics with shared video memory.
iTunes and UMPC Kevin C Tofel:
40 Gb to download movies, music, podcasts
iTunesUMBC story
Some interesting eye candy was deliverd
The presentation did show how to go to search the movies from an Internet site
Various movie posters were shown in a 3D gallery on the Internet page
Scrolling the movies highlighted the one you wanted to select for downloading
I did see how the movie was downloaded and how much time was used
2 h 11 minutes of movie took over 1 h of 20 minutes to download over ADSL. Maybe the server was quite busy. With a faster connection the download to the UMPC would be faster
You could select chapters, read them just like dvd-chapters
Watching in actual size, turn the volume down, playback is very good UMBC has been made to provide portability, it's not a high-definition tv like 800 x 680 (or is it 480) have to check this out
iTunes I can re-size it, Dolby surround size, a quite good sound without headphones
"I wish you would have shown us the full screen of the video, but still, it's good." Was a comment to the presentation.
Mobile marketing. Mobile youth on marketing interview in UK. "They text you all the time," a teenager told. A nice video is appreciated. New phones makes mms possible. The mobile youth opinion on marketing analyzed how text messages and pictures were sent to teenage target groups. They get sms and mmsdelivered to their phones. "The ads load all the time. Night clubs. Stuff of bills. Where to go. All kinds of invitations." One of the youths told.
Are the advertisers really harming people with the mobile phones? The ads just keep popping up. Mobile storytelling is becoming a new thing in evolution. What does it mean for you? me? us? consumers? What can mobile digital storytelling be used for? What kind of business models can we figure out around digital storytelling?
There is a continuous search for new high-profile applications that will appeal to various target groups and especially to the younger generation.
Ads should / could be classified
Tele-medicine reports delivered over your mobile phone
The mobility as a life saver in case of an accident promises new possibilities
"I'm ok," information to folks at home in case of accident
Teenagers watch: Where are you now? Is everything OK?
I try to put many pieces together. Radio online. Podcasting. Mobile TV. Gaming. Multimedia. They do already have mobile TV and entertainment online in UK. Imagine what the life was without the present mobile phone. Bluetooth will add something? The phone can be connected more easily to devices. Visual Radio is a project initiated by a Nokia ecosystem and I guess after some digital rights discussions about compensations to artists this service will be implemented. The mobile TV is just around the corner.
I rush into a new situation. This is a journey into digital lifestyle. I don't know what they are doing. The youngsters walk around in a mall and make a low-quality mobile movie and plan to publish it on YouTube. The calendar is set. Their timing is excellent. They talk to strangers. It won't be a box-office hit, but it's an example of cool things today's teenagers can do with their mobile phones while on the move. It's probably okay for a small target group. Shaky picture. There's isn't an attempt to make an intelligent statement. It's enough that it's cool to make and fun to watch. The viewers will be family and friends. Or maybe the whole world. Sharing is an important aspect. Did someone say party? Alright. Young people coming together, having fun, recording, laughing, joking, telling stories. That's it. It's a toy. But it can be used for business and other more serious applications as well. Documenting accidents.
I also dig into a talk about Telecom TV. "It's a pleasure to chat with you." Says the moderator and the story begins: "The big new thing is mobile content." I learn about Executive reports. Very small phones. The carriers are offering new pricing models.
Continuation of mass-market growth in India, China and Southeast Asia
Developed markets are getting much more segmented services
The rise of the youth market has great potentials
New models are available to appeal to
gaming
video
audio
music
social networking
picture messaging
entertainment on the move
choosoo??
digital database
China and India are growing markets. The rise of the new economies means that a lot of mobile phones will be sold to China, India, Southeast Asian countries in the coming years. A rising tide of micro entrepreneurs is adding to the need for smart mobile phones in those areas too. The ability to run their business on the move is very important. The mobile phone can be used as a download tool in Internet Cafés.
Intelligent segmentation has also brought new phone users. There are mobile Symbian phones destined for the sporty persons. Another interesting segment is the phones for elderly where the camera can be used to magnify a part of the menu in a restaurant. Elderly people get devices that can make their every day life easier. A lot of innovations have been made over Symbian platforms, but they haven't been advertised much. They would earn to be more talked about.
The service providers are catching up
More and more discussions going on
Now there are early users / adopters
3D doctor application that measures blood pressure
The phone then takes the information to a online doctor
The aspiration for seamless connection. Mobile devices can be used everywhere:
Mobile TV
What is happening in the east? Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hongkong, China?
There are 2 million digital TV watchers in Japan (DoCoMo)
NTT Docomo is launching three new Symbian handsets
What kind of content do we see in the future on mobile devices?
Broadcast TV, also reporting TV programs
Flickr, Photostream, podcasting
The wild west of the web is not yet on the mobile devices
How to introduce multimedia environment is an evolutionary process
Third party applications will spread the mobile application range
There are still vast underexploited areas to be covered
Laptop doesn't have a location
You can report with your mobile while wandering down the road
Mobiles will be exploited in a very different way
What are the issues not yet taken in consideration
Flash and mobile space
Flash
Same kind of transition
Flash is a great technology also for mobile phones
The user experience has to be made affective and interesting
The user experience has a great role in mobile space
It's a growth area
Browser plug-ins
S-60 browser, Flash-light will be available
Lacks some of the functionalities that Flash has
Lack for support of the video
Emerge into the same devices
Use the graphical strenghts of Flash
Gizmodo. Samsung Q1. TV. Antenna. Full screen, change the screen resolution. CF-card, USB, power, the ccapabilities of that. It's going to be a mass market. Where can I find interesting websites? Do you want to share?
Opera is the browser that will be used
The device has positional values. We need to
Simplicity to identify
Personal configuration.
Websites can / should / would be marked as mobile friendly:
Technical solutions still needed
What's the best way to do it?
Opera will be used as browser in mobile devices
Automatically formatted for mobile viewing
How to make mobile even more successful
Can we get a microphone for better audiorecording(podcasting)
Lauri Tirkkonen at Nokia explains
Why mobile users don't use data services?
2 % at present
They have to promote these mobile places. Mobile friendly sites are available but we still don't know where they are. There is much more publicity needed.
ICANN the master of Internet
We have a special permission...
Provide a great user experience
Highlight games: it's one of the ways contents is used
Games communities
Chats with mobile phones
The kids at schools are the trend setters
That ought to be a success
Push a rich gaming platform
It's happening already
User generated is very important!
Focused devices to various user groups
I'm not too educated about it yet
Communities and games will be very important
Stand-alone games
Social mobile services already exists
Legal music downloads
We are going to see a change
Content devices
4,5 h video play downs are needed not 30 minutes
New generation of devices are able to do that already
It's already been used
Videocapture
Social mobile games
The X-box communities
The mobile is super nice. I like to have some fun with my mobile. Watching entertainment while on the move. Teenagers tell again that there is too much advertising on Internet"I like the iPod ones. Where they show the chocolate ads...Animation of photos, I can't remember. The orange is very good. Loads of music with the ads would be appreciated. Such things attracts you to the phones. I don't know about the techie things. I got them on my MP3 player. Like to watch or listen while on bus or on train."
When would you watch mobile TV? "If I'm out and missing a TV program." It would be great to get the show on my mobile.
40-50 services
convergences are happening
networks, IPTV, 3G and other networks
How can we be deliver more
DVB-H
Multichannel TV
Cellular capability
Internet
Oxford Trial 16 channels of television
Users expanding their mobile usage to more than 3 hours a week
The surprise: most are doing it at home, the project didn't expect that
The home is a much stronger viewing place than expected
There is a mobile TV trial operating in Spain
The Olympics in China will bring mobile TV
The rights of content, choices of content have to be broad
The individual on the move wants to watch, view and communicate
150 companies offering content
Italy, Spain, Germany
The content community is very keen
We need to address that market that clearly exists today
Talking with telecoms
The information comes from Barcelona
Cherry source
There is a proven demand and we need to be delivering to that demand
The content producers are bring that opportunity
Do you have to deal through operators?
There are direct to consumers portals
The industry has developed a lot during the past two years
Access control and age verification. We need to limit access to certain content
Content brings a revenue model to screen viewing
What they search for has to be provided
Operators own the consumers
Where do you source the content?
Aggregating from ad production companies
Slow to download content doesn't work so well
Now producers are shooting specifically for mobiles
Filming is taking in consideration the limitations of the screen
2 minutes clips, these are the restricting elements
Poor end-user experience
Do they resent you?
Are you down there?
Mobile entertainment
They want a third partner aggregating on their behalf
We need to have a clear business focus. The operator industry is coming together with the content providers and suppliers
Providing a pipeline
Act in a very controlled way
There is a proven demand
Build their own systems
How many messages
333 messages a day is most
600 messages inthe month as an average for some mobile sms addicted
Young woman says: "I love the mobile phone"
Another says that "Maybe my mobile phone is number one and mother comes next."
People are addicted to that
Sign up here. Go mobile. Mobile phones are everywhere
Bring us all together, communities are evolving, they are not same as on Internet
Are the devices driving usfurther apart from each other? Or where are they taking us?
More ad more ways to interact with each other with mobile and online tools
Browse the Internet
Wireless communication with Bluetooth
160 mobile messages in a month to a third person
Young people are constantly messaging
Couldn't live without it. It's my life live
UK 60 mio mobile users
TV on the move is the next big step
I love my child first and the mobile phone next
Live Television
Rather than speak we use a different language sms and mms
Predicted text helps to send sms
Children in school: short form has a bad impact on grammar
30 40 messages per day
Some use hundreds of pounds per month for sms and mms
Watching media will increase the bill
It can be seen on every public place, the addiction is evident
Speaking about seeing our partners
More dependent of mobile phones
As a society: It's gone a little too far
Shouldn't talk on the buses says older lady
Youngsters and teenagers: I can't imagine life without mobile
A big part of my life: Dependency is evident
Always hooked on to a mobile device
You don't leave home without mobile phone
Inseparable used in moderation, sometimes excessively
A weekend without a mobile phone?
I like to try. Maybe I couldn't survive without it
YouTube, the popular online video sharing site, said it hopes to launch a service for wireless devices within a year. Chad Hurley, YouTube chief executive and co-founder, told an advertising conference that offering video services on mobile phones was a key opportunity for the company.
Wireless
Devices
"Within the next year we hope to have something on a mobile device, it's going to be a huge market, especially for the video mind-set we're dealing with, it's a natural transition," said Hurley.
Here it is. I guess the transition of Web 2.o applications into mobile devices is about to start. This should be considered as a great possibility fro Finnish / Europan companies. We've to get into the virtual realties that have been emerging in US. Soon television will be able to reach people who didn't have the chance to watch TV while on bus, on the move, walking in the street or in various stages of short transitions.
There will be whole cities where we can be online all the time. We're probably going to get flexible screens. That will give us the opportunity to watch TV or multimedia in places we didn't consider possible before.
There was a long silence. Blackberry was not supposed to be a threat to the connecting people engineers until Barack Obama made it clear that he was using one. Big blow. 
