| Followers | 100 |
| Posts | 8831 |
| Boards Moderated | 0 |
| Alias Born | 04/17/2005 |
Monday, February 27, 2006 5:47:56 PM
OT: Drmyke3
Here's one last note on the topic...a great summary below (and another angle of view/way to look at it) of what I was trying to communicate earlier...Specifically that many content providers and carriers (sp's) etc are rapidly moving into this nascent "Mobile Content Delivery Distribution" type model and arena with a "sense of urgency" of late, as a result of convergence and the carriers' (SP's) roll-out of newer technologies and next-generation networks that allow faster downloads over the mobile phone etc, blah blah blah)...only as usual I was pressed for time, on a "shoe-string" budget and didn't have a Dow Jones Editorial Staff to help craft my thoughts together with me and give final editorial approval to my work prior to posting, lol:
"...For the content providers, having their shows on the cellphone means maintaining a steadier presence in their viewers' lives, even if they're on the move. For the wireless carrier, the content is designed to keep consumers using their phone when they aren't talking to friends and family, allowing them to augment their declining voice revenue.
The merging of content and wireless technology has accelerated over the past months as carriers have rolled out next-generation networks that allow for faster downloads over the mobile phone. The carriers have already started to offer movie clips and television shows designed specifically for the cellphone, and content providers such as Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and its sports arm, ESPN, are in the middle of launching their own wireless service..."
DD: CBS, Viacom, Fox Reach Out For Cell-Phone Users
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Media companies CBS, Viacom and News Corp. made a series of moves into the wireless arena as they battle for the eyes and ears of cell-phone users with their own TV shows, films and music.
CBS Corp. said Monday it plans to offer a new wireless initiative next week that will enable customers to obtain breaking news and entertainment alerts that include video and pictures.
The media and entertainment company, which split from Viacom at the start of the year, said the service will include content from CBS News and "Entertainment Tonight" for monthly fees of 99 cents and $3.99, respectively.
CBS noted the alerts will be available for all mobile phones and wireless carriers next week.
CBS President and Chief Executive Les Moonves said the deal "underscores our strategy of offering the best-in-class content on as many platforms as possible while seeking out new revenue streams."
Moonves stressed during an earnings conference call last week CBS would be selling its content to hand-held devices, as well as making more content available online, to bring in revenue. CBS's assets include the CBS broadcast network and television station group, CBS radio group and outdoor advertising.
Several other mobile ventures have been developed by CBS, the New York Times said Monday, including a soap opera in three- to five-minute episodes for mobile phones, as well as subscriptions offering ring tones, sound effects and games.
Separately, Viacom said Monday that it would make such programs as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "Laguna Beach" available on demand on Sprint Nextel's TV wireless network.
In addition to video programming from the CMT, MTV, VHI and Comedy Central networks, the CMT, MTV and VH1 radio station content will also be streamed for use on Sprint mobile phones.
The programming will be available for $5.95 a month for each channel.
Also, News Corp.'s Fox Mobile Entertainment unit launched the Mobizzo online store Monday. It offers ringers, screensavers, games and wallpapers, using content from shows like "Family Guy" and movies such as "Napoleon Dynamite" for downloads to cell phones. Some offerings will run from $1.99 to $2.49 with monthly subscription plans averaging $5.99 a month, the company said.
The merging of content and wireless technology has accelerated over the past months as carriers have rolled out next-generation networks that allow for faster downloads over the mobile phone. The carriers have already started to offer movie clips and television shows designed specifically for the cellphone, and content providers such as Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and its sports arm, ESPN, are in the middle of launching their own wireless service.
Verizon Wireless, through its VCast services, and Sprint Nextel, through its Power Vision offering, offer direct music downloads and news clips. Cingular Wireless, meanwhile, has partnered up with providers such as Time Warner's HBO cable network to offer exclusive clips.
For the content providers, having their shows on the cellphone means maintaining a steadier presence in their viewers' lives, even if they're on the move. For the wireless carrier, the content is designed to keep consumers using their phone when they aren't talking to friends and family, allowing them to augment their declining voice revenue.
-By Dwight Oestricher, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5266; dwight.oestricher@dowjones.com
(Roger Cheng and Geoffrey Rogow contributed to this story.)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
**********************************************************************************************************************************
Bonus Supplemental DD: Mobile downloads pick up speed
By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4746996.stm
Mobiles are evolving into much more than phones
If you have ever downloaded a ringtone or game to your mobile phone, you know that it can be a slow and frustrating experience.
Similarly the glacial pace of browsing the web on a current generation handset stands in stark contrast to the ever faster speeds most enjoy in the home and office.
Every mobile operator acknowledges that upping the speed of mobile data is hugely important and several technologies are coming that could mean the end of those frustrations.
What mobile operators are aiming for is to get response times from the network below 100 milliseconds. This is the point at which humans stop noticing a delay.
Achieving such response times is tricky on the second generation (2G) networks most people use today.
This is true even when the data handling abilities of these networks are improved using technologies such as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (Edge) technology.
GPRS has been in use on many mobile networks for years but Edge as a technology is only seriously starting to be introduced now, in both networks and handsets.
The next generation
Despite the improvements to the second generation networks, all operators agree that newer third-generation (3G) networks will do a far better job of shuffling data around and hitting the critical response times.
It is widely accepted, though, that the basic 3G technology itself will need a boost if it is to match the expected data demands of future customers.
This is partly because the basic data rate available with 3G technology, 384 kilobits per second (Kbps), is not that much higher than can be achieved with Edge technology, which maxes out at just under 300kbps.
Upgrades to mobile phone technology could take some time
Mark Smith, a spokesman for the GSM Association, said operators were happy about upgrading and recognised the need even though many had spent billions buying licences and building their 3G networks.
The technology likely to provide the bandwidth upgrade goes by the catchy name of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access.
"The HSDPA upgrade is not a switch out of old technology," said Mr Smith. "It's just an upgrade that allows much greater bandwidth."
"It's really no different to how they rolled out GPRS," he said.
Once in place, HSDPA networks offer speeds up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) while on the move and future versions much more than that.
Mr Smith said the first HSDPA networks are starting to appear and the first complete HSDPA network was likely to be in the US.
Handsets that can take advantage of HSDPA speeds are also now making an appearance.
Wireless methods
The data handling abilities of 3G phone networks do not stop improving with HSDPA, however.
On the horizon is a technology called 3G-LTE (Long Term Evolution) which could give bandwidths of up to 100Mbps.
Mark Heath, research director at Sound Partners, and author of a report into 3G futures, said such a technology might be needed if mobile TV took off and operators had to ship shows to lots of people at the same time.
Operators are more likely to plump for network hardware upgrades because they can exert control over them, rather than go wholeheartedly for rival technologies such as wi-fi or Wimax.
Angelo Lamme, spokesman for hardware firm Symbol, said that wi-fi was complementary to mobile networks as it was a hotspot technology and was not going to be a serious rival for such systems.
While Wimax could be more of a threat because it offers high bandwidth over large areas, he said a lot of work had yet to be done on roaming standards between Wimax zones or from mobile networks to Wimax zones and back again.
"Wimax has been seriously overhyped," said Mr Lamme.
The future then does seem to lie with the mobile technologies but users face frustration as the upgrades, like those games and ringtones, take time to arrive.
Story from BBC NEWS
Here's one last note on the topic...a great summary below (and another angle of view/way to look at it) of what I was trying to communicate earlier...Specifically that many content providers and carriers (sp's) etc are rapidly moving into this nascent "Mobile Content Delivery Distribution" type model and arena with a "sense of urgency" of late, as a result of convergence and the carriers' (SP's) roll-out of newer technologies and next-generation networks that allow faster downloads over the mobile phone etc, blah blah blah)...only as usual I was pressed for time, on a "shoe-string" budget and didn't have a Dow Jones Editorial Staff to help craft my thoughts together with me and give final editorial approval to my work prior to posting, lol:
"...For the content providers, having their shows on the cellphone means maintaining a steadier presence in their viewers' lives, even if they're on the move. For the wireless carrier, the content is designed to keep consumers using their phone when they aren't talking to friends and family, allowing them to augment their declining voice revenue.
The merging of content and wireless technology has accelerated over the past months as carriers have rolled out next-generation networks that allow for faster downloads over the mobile phone. The carriers have already started to offer movie clips and television shows designed specifically for the cellphone, and content providers such as Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and its sports arm, ESPN, are in the middle of launching their own wireless service..."
DD: CBS, Viacom, Fox Reach Out For Cell-Phone Users
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Media companies CBS, Viacom and News Corp. made a series of moves into the wireless arena as they battle for the eyes and ears of cell-phone users with their own TV shows, films and music.
CBS Corp. said Monday it plans to offer a new wireless initiative next week that will enable customers to obtain breaking news and entertainment alerts that include video and pictures.
The media and entertainment company, which split from Viacom at the start of the year, said the service will include content from CBS News and "Entertainment Tonight" for monthly fees of 99 cents and $3.99, respectively.
CBS noted the alerts will be available for all mobile phones and wireless carriers next week.
CBS President and Chief Executive Les Moonves said the deal "underscores our strategy of offering the best-in-class content on as many platforms as possible while seeking out new revenue streams."
Moonves stressed during an earnings conference call last week CBS would be selling its content to hand-held devices, as well as making more content available online, to bring in revenue. CBS's assets include the CBS broadcast network and television station group, CBS radio group and outdoor advertising.
Several other mobile ventures have been developed by CBS, the New York Times said Monday, including a soap opera in three- to five-minute episodes for mobile phones, as well as subscriptions offering ring tones, sound effects and games.
Separately, Viacom said Monday that it would make such programs as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "Laguna Beach" available on demand on Sprint Nextel's TV wireless network.
In addition to video programming from the CMT, MTV, VHI and Comedy Central networks, the CMT, MTV and VH1 radio station content will also be streamed for use on Sprint mobile phones.
The programming will be available for $5.95 a month for each channel.
Also, News Corp.'s Fox Mobile Entertainment unit launched the Mobizzo online store Monday. It offers ringers, screensavers, games and wallpapers, using content from shows like "Family Guy" and movies such as "Napoleon Dynamite" for downloads to cell phones. Some offerings will run from $1.99 to $2.49 with monthly subscription plans averaging $5.99 a month, the company said.
The merging of content and wireless technology has accelerated over the past months as carriers have rolled out next-generation networks that allow for faster downloads over the mobile phone. The carriers have already started to offer movie clips and television shows designed specifically for the cellphone, and content providers such as Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and its sports arm, ESPN, are in the middle of launching their own wireless service.
Verizon Wireless, through its VCast services, and Sprint Nextel, through its Power Vision offering, offer direct music downloads and news clips. Cingular Wireless, meanwhile, has partnered up with providers such as Time Warner's HBO cable network to offer exclusive clips.
For the content providers, having their shows on the cellphone means maintaining a steadier presence in their viewers' lives, even if they're on the move. For the wireless carrier, the content is designed to keep consumers using their phone when they aren't talking to friends and family, allowing them to augment their declining voice revenue.
-By Dwight Oestricher, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5266; dwight.oestricher@dowjones.com
(Roger Cheng and Geoffrey Rogow contributed to this story.)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
**********************************************************************************************************************************
Bonus Supplemental DD: Mobile downloads pick up speed
By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4746996.stm
Mobiles are evolving into much more than phones
If you have ever downloaded a ringtone or game to your mobile phone, you know that it can be a slow and frustrating experience.
Similarly the glacial pace of browsing the web on a current generation handset stands in stark contrast to the ever faster speeds most enjoy in the home and office.
Every mobile operator acknowledges that upping the speed of mobile data is hugely important and several technologies are coming that could mean the end of those frustrations.
What mobile operators are aiming for is to get response times from the network below 100 milliseconds. This is the point at which humans stop noticing a delay.
Achieving such response times is tricky on the second generation (2G) networks most people use today.
This is true even when the data handling abilities of these networks are improved using technologies such as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (Edge) technology.
GPRS has been in use on many mobile networks for years but Edge as a technology is only seriously starting to be introduced now, in both networks and handsets.
The next generation
Despite the improvements to the second generation networks, all operators agree that newer third-generation (3G) networks will do a far better job of shuffling data around and hitting the critical response times.
It is widely accepted, though, that the basic 3G technology itself will need a boost if it is to match the expected data demands of future customers.
This is partly because the basic data rate available with 3G technology, 384 kilobits per second (Kbps), is not that much higher than can be achieved with Edge technology, which maxes out at just under 300kbps.
Upgrades to mobile phone technology could take some time
Mark Smith, a spokesman for the GSM Association, said operators were happy about upgrading and recognised the need even though many had spent billions buying licences and building their 3G networks.
The technology likely to provide the bandwidth upgrade goes by the catchy name of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access.
"The HSDPA upgrade is not a switch out of old technology," said Mr Smith. "It's just an upgrade that allows much greater bandwidth."
"It's really no different to how they rolled out GPRS," he said.
Once in place, HSDPA networks offer speeds up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) while on the move and future versions much more than that.
Mr Smith said the first HSDPA networks are starting to appear and the first complete HSDPA network was likely to be in the US.
Handsets that can take advantage of HSDPA speeds are also now making an appearance.
Wireless methods
The data handling abilities of 3G phone networks do not stop improving with HSDPA, however.
On the horizon is a technology called 3G-LTE (Long Term Evolution) which could give bandwidths of up to 100Mbps.
Mark Heath, research director at Sound Partners, and author of a report into 3G futures, said such a technology might be needed if mobile TV took off and operators had to ship shows to lots of people at the same time.
Operators are more likely to plump for network hardware upgrades because they can exert control over them, rather than go wholeheartedly for rival technologies such as wi-fi or Wimax.
Angelo Lamme, spokesman for hardware firm Symbol, said that wi-fi was complementary to mobile networks as it was a hotspot technology and was not going to be a serious rival for such systems.
While Wimax could be more of a threat because it offers high bandwidth over large areas, he said a lot of work had yet to be done on roaming standards between Wimax zones or from mobile networks to Wimax zones and back again.
"Wimax has been seriously overhyped," said Mr Lamme.
The future then does seem to lie with the mobile technologies but users face frustration as the upgrades, like those games and ringtones, take time to arrive.
Story from BBC NEWS
