CES 2010: Mobile Wrap-Up
One billion people will own a smartphone by 2013. That statistic was bandied about in the days before CES and the best description of the ecosystem that will make mobile content, entertainment, commerce and marketing/advertising an immense force in the media landscape.
The energy behind Mobile DTV is impressive. The Open Mobile Video Coalition has been busy making alliances and convincing manufacturers to build devices that are compatible with the ATSC signal. Having watched the painfully slow creep towards High Definition for nearly two decades, the speed with which Mobile DTV has been standardized and productized is breath-taking.
But, then again, it is a matter of survival. U.S. broadcasters understand that some of the potential visions of a future media landscape would diminish or perhaps eliminate their industry. So mobile it is.
In addition to the numerous Mobile DTV products on the floor (which MobilizedTV will cover in depth in the near future), the Entertainment Technology Center held a panel on “Trends in Mobile Entertainment,” moderated by Steve West, senior director of emerging technology & media at Alcatel Lucent, and featuring panelists Glenn Lurie, president of emerging devices & resale, AT&T; Dan Dodge, CEO, QNX Software Systems; Ken Plotkin, CEO, Hauppauge Digital; Roger Sanford, vp, media services, Mediatile; Anne Schelle, executive director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition; and Mitch Singer, Sony Pictures Entertainment and DECE (Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem).
Mediatile is a digital signage company; QNX builds the software platforms that enable mobile devices, particularly those in automobiles, to work; Hauppauge Digital sells digital TV receivers for mobile applications, particularly in Europe; DECE is an industry-wide consortium looking for a way to create an “ecosystem” for new digital media.
“The evolution of our thought process has paralleled the millenials in their growth,” said DECE’s Singer. “If you look to 2014, when more mobility
Spring Samsung Moment
wireless will roll out, millenials will number 86 million, representing 64 percent of the 18 to 24 demographic. They can’t live without a laptop, mobile, smartphone…all three of those products are portable, flexible, wireless. If we don’t find a way to get content onto those devices whenever they want it, then we’ll miss a great opportunity.”
“We see the phone as a way to receive content,” continued Singer. “With the work we’re doing in DECE, the authentication service will know what device I have and what content I have and it’ll let me choose which format/device to buy it for. Built on an open architecture with interoperability, you can buy it for one device and watch it on others.”
Dodge noted that, as a nation, “we spent 500 million hours a week in our car.” “The car is the ultimate captive environment,” he said. “Historically you bring content into a car with sticks such as iPods. That’s a short-term solution. You don’t want to have to drag your devices back and forth. Your media in a car has to live on the cloud; it’s a big rolling mobile device. Location means everything for a car, so bringing LBS (location-based services) into the car is also important. We’re just scratching the surface of what’s available there.”
Lurie noted that “it’s about all the screens… A screen in your home, e-Book, computer, in the car.” “How do you get the content you want to those screens?” he asked. “Whether you download it over WiFi and bring it into your car, or you utilize our 3G network or 4G network to come. Everyone wants it, so it’ll drive evolution of the network.”
Schelle spoke about the future of broadcast for mobile entertainment. “You have to look at the broadcast network as a one-to-many video model with live content,” she said. “I don’t think you’ll want to deliver the Super Bowl to every user over a 4G network. What network can do that? The broadcast network. We see it as complementary to what carriers are doing. The idea that consumers only time-shift isn’t correct. We asked if they could get free over the air content on mobile, would they want it, and 90 percent said yes. With the millenials, that indexed the highest: over 75 percent. They valued VOD and live equally. We see what we’re doing as complemetnmary with what’s happening on the cellular networks. Consumers want the full experience.”
Plotkin noted that “the key thing is to preserve the bandwidth.” “If you’re consuming it with streaming 10 million copies of the Super Bowl, you’re killing the network,” he said. “If you keep broadcast TV as the broadcast and keep the network for VOD, you’ll have enough bandwidth for everyone. If you start to consume the bandwidth we have today with broadcast TV, people will complain the data rates aren’t enough. People want more and more video. If it’s broadcast video, it ought to be broadcast. If it’s YouTube videos or PPV, they should be a single stream from the aggregator to the viewer.”
Lurie agreed with Singer’s comment about pressure on the bandwidth. “There isn’t a technology on the planet today that can handle the growth we’re seeing,” he said. “We spent $17.5 billion on our network this year, and $18 billion this next year. But no matter what you do, we’ll run out of bandwidth. It’s less to do with open and more to do with what consumers want. It’s hard to believe 2.5 years ago the iPhone launched. Before that, the coolest phone was the RazR and all it did was make phone calls. Data became relevant 2.5 years ago, and we have 6,000 percent growth. This is a worldwide issue. Now we need help from the government and technology partners.”
Digital signage plays into this, said Sanford. “It’s really all about is the psychology of the end user,” he said. “There will never be enough bandwidth: we’ll always want more. We have cellular digital signage so people can experience something one place, upload it and experience it another way. Where the future really lies is what’s relevant to each individual. There is a really broad interest level now and nobody has the answer. This is a big learning curve for us.”
Sanford also noted that Mediatile has worked with a few Silicon Valley companies with regard to commerce transactions. “With digital signs, we’re talking about the ability to do the transactions on the spot,” he said. “You can do it now even if you don’t have the connectivity of the iPhone. When you put it on a digital sign, in stead of passive, we’re active, we’re touching.”
Singer noted the importance of standards. “When DVDs rolled out, they would play on DVD players from any store or manufacturer,” he said. “The idea is to have an authentication service that knows who I am. If ten retailers are delivering digital content and they all had to buy the encoding equipment, store the mezzanine file, and so on, the minute they standardize that content, we’ve just cut out 10 times the cost of the back-end infrastructure. That doesn’t happen unless you standardize things. It’s difficult to get over the hurdle that you’ll give up some control over your customer. Then there wont’ be a huge barrier to entry.”
West asked the panelists to mention any other “breakthrough” devices besides the iPhone. “Are there any other devices or device paradigms we should be thinking about that will change the game?” he asked.
Lurie noted that the iPhone opened CE manufacturers eyes to what was possible. “The beauty of the iPhone was the innovation that created, generating all the iPhone killers,” he said. “The next big thing is that I think laptops are going away. Two years from now, we’ll be talking about slates and tablets and how they interact with your smartphone. I think we’re going that way and faster because of the flexibility that brings you.”
“From our perspective, adding the ATSC Mobile DTV chip adds entertainment to everything,” said Schelle, pointing out the Dell notebook, Sprint/Samsung Moment phone and the Valups Corp. Tivit, all devices embedded with the Mobile DTV chip for live broadcast TV.
Dodge noted that we’ll start to see speech as an input method. “Smartphones are great but they’re turning into computers,” he said. “The visual screen is limiting where they can go. The tablet is a natural extension for these devices. Will it be voice? It’s public, loud input method. It’s essential in the car.”
“Change is inevitable,” agreed Singer. “I agree with 90 percent of what everyone said. But Idon’t know where we’ll be in six months. In 12 months we’ll look back and see what happened.”
More information from the floor, included the announcement from Sprint and Samsung Telecommunications America of the Samsung, Moment, a Mobile DTV-equipped phone. I saw the Samsung Moment as it received live TV programming from localVegas broadcast stations and the signal looked pretty impressive.
I want to get my hands on a Samsung Moment to test it out for MobilizedTV readers, but won’t get the chance until after the Q1 2010 “showcase” trials thath will take place in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets. The fact that the Moment is an Android phone also means that users can download more than 20,000 applications, widgets and games available from the Android market.
If you were thinking of buying a Chevrolet Volt, that automotive manufacturer and OnStar showed a smartphone application that will allow Chevrolet Volt owners 24/7 connection and control of vehicle functions and OnStar features remotely. OnStar’s Mobile Application allows drivers to
OnStar Mobile app
communicate with their Volt from Droid by Motorola, Apple iPhone and Blackberry Storm smartphones. It uses a real-time data connection to perform tasks from setting the charge time to unlocking the doors. The app allows owner to manually set grid-friendly charge mode for off-peak times when electricity rates are lowest; sends text or email notifications for charge reminders, interruptions and full charge; displays miles per gallon, electric only miles, and odometer readings; shows miles per gallon, EV miles and miles driven for last trip and lifetime; and can remotely start the vehicle to pre-condition the interior temperature The demonstration application for the Apple iPhone hit the iTunes store on January 6.
Metatron Inc. announced that Apple has approved its proprietary, patent-pending mobile content delivery system (MCDS) developed by i-Mobilize, a subsidiary of Metatron Inc. The MCDS is the platform for a suite of iPhone applications which can be purchased through Apple’s iTunes service. It allows i-Mobilize to package content such as videos, movies, TV shows, or eBooks up to 1000 times faster than previously available methods. The MCDS makes content downloadable anywhere the AT&T 3G or Edge Cellular Networks are available and eliminates the need for computer downloads. The MCDS will initially be listed on iTunes in the form of “Channels.” The first to be approved is the Sci-Fi Channel which holds 10 classic movies. Management expects to list Western, Comedy, Drama, Classic TV shows, Extreme Sports and Travel Channels in the coming weeks, and will soon own channels in every popular entertainment, self help and business category on iTunes. Initially, each channel will be available on an introductory basis for $0.99. Subsequent versions of the MCDS will allow access to up to 1,000 titles each and will have various payment options including advertising, subscription and pay per use.
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Tags: 4G network, Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, ATSC-MH, Chevrolet Volt, DECE, Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, digital signage, Entertainment Technology Center, Hauppauge Digital, i-Mobilize, iPhone, iPhone killers, LBS, location-based services, Mediatile, Metatron, Mobile DTV, mobile entertainment, mobile TV, MobilizedTV, OnStar Mobile Application, Open Mobile Video Coalition, QNX Software Systems, Samsung Moment, smartphone, Sprint
This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under Content, Devices, Events, Home Feature, Monetizing Mobile.
