Hulu’s mobile dance
Posted: 02/03/10 by Mobile Future Team
So you missed last night’s episode of “Lost”? No problem. Pretty soon, you’ll just stream it through your mobile phone. Read more here.
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Blog | News & Information on Wireless Services & Telecommunications
Live-tweeting PFF Spectrum Panel now
Posted: 12/01/09 by Mobile Future Team
The Mobile Future Coalition is live-tweeting the Progress & Freedom Foundation's panel, "Let's Make a Deal: Broadcasters, Mobile Broadband, and a Market in Spectrum."
Follow along on @mobilefuture - and if you haven't already follow our twitter feed to stay up to date on the latest news in wireless innovation.
I Want My Mobile TV
Posted: 10/21/09 by Allison Remsen
Remember Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD? How about Beta vs. VHS?
For anyone who gets frustrated when industries can't agree on consumer product standards, this is good news: Mobile users who want to stream TV won't have to deal with annoying format disputes.
"Manufacturers and broadcasters had already been moving forward with the preliminary technical standard for Mobile Digital Television, but now the standard has been finalized by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC).
"Friday's formal announcement of the standard adoption by ATSC means that everyone can move forward knowing that the technical specs are set in stone."
Look at how fast this is progressing. In January, not a single local TV station beamed mobile phone-ready video. By mid-summer, mobile users in Raleigh, NC and Washington, DC became the first to enjoy mobile TV and by year's end, consumers in nearly 30 of the nation's top markets will have this option.
Link: http://www.mobilefuture.org/cms/www.rbr.com/tv-cable/17829.html
Mobile video for your morning commute
Posted: 02/08/09 by Molly Kocour
With your mobile phone, you can take care of banking, pay for parking, board a plane and stream old Saved by the Bell episodes. (OK, three out of four ain't bad.)Until recently at least, conventional wisdom held that short and light content would be most popular on the mobile screen. But consumer tastes have a way of confounding conventional wisdom, at least according to an interesting article in MediaWatch.
According to Nielsen figures, longer drama programs are turning out to be the most popular mobile videos. That includes CSI, Heroes, and Lipstick Jungle. In a nod to the mobile lifestyle, CBS is also making viewing easier by dividing shows into shorter streams - a typical CSI episode has six or seven individual streams that allow viewers to pick up exactly where they left off earlier in the day.
Nielsen estimates that only about five percent of mobile users access video. But when you look at how quickly other apps like banking are taking off, it won't be long before CSI overtakes crosswords as the most popular pastime during the morning commute.
Wireless Woodstock comes to Washington
Posted: 01/23/09 by Jonathan Spalter
It's a new day and things will never again be the same.
No, I'm not talking about the new Administration since others at HuffPo have already captured that moment's magic. Instead I'm talking about the inauguration itself. Matt Richtel at The New York Times had it right - it was "a wireless Woodstock."
When it came to coverage, the three traditional news sources - the TV nets, radio, the wires - had company: the mobile phone user.
Never in U.S. history has a single event been so well documented from so many different angles as this inauguration. More important, never before have ordinary onlookers been so integral to the coverage.
For mobile users and app writers alike, this was the equivalent of opening night on Broadway. Take a look:
- A company called PointAbout created a special GPS-related app for the inauguration that guided users to the Mall via Metro or street directions. It also offered to find free hotspots, inaugural balls and the nearest Starbucks.
- CNN, The New York Times and other MSM actively solicited emails of real-time photos and commentary. Leading up to the inaugural, their homepages encouraged mobile users to send clips, vids and comments. Throughout the day, they displayed the images.
- Qik streamed camera-phone videos from visitors.
- The image-sharing site Photobucket put its Inauguration Day photos on a separate, dedicated server. No word on how many photos have been uploaded but the company usually handles 7-10 million uploads a day.
- The social media website FriendFeed rolled out a 300 percent increase in server capacity to handle inaugural and post-inaugural traffic.
None of this happened by accident. CNN reported that mobile carriers increased capacity by as much as 70 percent and it seems to have paid off.
So in addition to the inauguration staff, there's one more group that deserves to take a bow: tens of thousands of mobile users who gave the nation a unique view of a great event.
Originally posted on Huffington Post, January 22, 2009
The small screen gets bigger
Posted: 11/26/08 by Allison Remsen
To paraphrase a famous movie line, "Video's still big. It's the screen that got small."
An interesting report on the continued growth of mobile video came from Nielsen this week. As of third quarter 2008, people who used a mobile phone spent three hours per month on average watching mobile video. (By comparison, the average viewer spent 142 hours watching TV.)
But look at the trend: From Q2 to Q3, average mobile video usage increased from 195 to 217 minutes - an 11 percent increase and a pretty good quarterly growth rate!
The age breakdown isn't surprising, as younger viewers are the dominant video consumers, although the 18-24 figure seems oddly low:
| Age | Average monthly usage |
| 13-17 | 260 minutes |
| 18-24 | 195 minutes |
| 25-34 | 260 minutes |
| 35-44 | 227 minutes |
| 45-54 | 130 minutes |
| 55-64 | 173 minutes |
| 65+ | Negligible |
The real issue is how this surging growth will impact the wireless network. Video is data-intensive and according to PBS tech guru Robert Cringley, three Sling streams are enough to crash a typical EVDO cell. Also there’s the cost: It's a lot more expensive to deliver data wirelessly than on a fiber optic line.
We'll address these issues in upcoming blogs but for the moment, we’ll let this report speak for itself.
Happy Thanksgiving and we're off to catch Amtrak!
On the Radar - “3G Mobile Media in Motion”
Posted: 07/22/08 by Chris Parandian
As always, we like to keep you informed about upcoming events in the district of communications.
Accordingly, the folks at Media Future Now will host a panel discussion on Tuesday, July 22 titled: "3G: Mobile Media in Motion." This discussion looks to cover a wide spectrum of issues in social media, mobile broadcasting and mobile marketing. I have the pleasure of sitting down with Michael Collins (Kinetic Mobile) and Peter Corbett (iStrategylabs), both successful entrepreneurs who have done some great things in wireless, advertising and social media.
With that in mind, my remarks will be focused on mobile broadcasting and how wireless can augment citizen journalism (expanding on my remarks at the Free Press Conference last month).
Visit the Media Future Now site for more information and to RSVP...
Hope to see U there!
----------------
Here is the 411:
When: Tuesday, July 22, 12:15-1:45 p.m.
Where: The offices of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, 1133 Connecticut Ave., NW
Maggie Fox (CEO) Social Media Group on Mobile Opportunity…
Posted: 06/16/08 by Chris Parandian
On Friday, I attended Blog Potomacover at the State Theater in Falls Church. Blog Potomac is a gatheringof local bloggers and social media experts discussing the latest trendsand best practices.
With that in mind, I had the opportunity to do a brief mobile broadcast with Maggie Fox (CEO, Social Media Group). Maggie is a social media guru and has developed some high-profile marketing campaigns for Ford and other companies.
Inthe following interview, I asked Maggie about the mobile opportunityand whether companies were utilizing this channel. She gives her takeand videoblogger extraodinaire Jonny Goldstein decided to capture the action via Utterz (a member of Mobile Future).
Citizen Journalist…
Posted: 06/02/08 by Chris Parandian
We’ve talked a great dealabout utilizing social technologies on your wireless device here atMobile Future. In fact, it is really hard to keep up with all theapplications that can be used today and the ones being developed fortomorrow.
As many of you know, I recently returned from the National Conference for Media Reform. The conference had around 3000 people in Minneapolis over the weekend and lots of panels (on a wide array of topics).
Withregard to media reform, I do not follow the policy discussionsregarding this issue. However, it was interesting to hear some of theattendees talk about it over the weekend. Aside from the specifics andthe debate about it, wireless provides a way for folks to make mobilemedia. One can now conduct an “on the scene” interview or record anevent in realtime and truly be a “roving reporter.” For instance, Ihave used Utterz (one of our members) to do interviews and “mini-mobile podcasts” to enhance my media.
Citizenjournalism is important and your wireless device allows you tosuper-size your usual blog entries. In some instances, it may allow youto “scoop” traditional media too – especially at the local level. Anexample would be documenting an accident before all the traditionalmedia outlets can cover it.
The tools to make your own media are in ur hands. Start participating!
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Related Citizen Journalist note –
An article in TechCrunch last week revealed that Qik will be supporting Windows Mobile devices.
Qikis an application that allows you to live mobile broadcast and providesa place to archive those mobile videos. I use it to do my mobilebroadcasting… More info on the Qik/Windows Mobile news at TechCrunch.
Social-Mobile Convergence
Posted: 05/16/08 by Chris Parandian
In a few weeks, I will be making a trip to Minneapolis to speak at the Free Press Annual Conference.I’ve been asked to speak about how I utilize wireless to enhance myefforts as a citizen journalist. This is a topic that is very importantto me and I’m grateful to have the opportunity.
With that inmind, I thought I would give futurists a little preview of my commentsfor the conference. The theme is Social-Mobile Convergence, a topicthat we have addressed on a few previous posts.
Onthat note, Social-Mobile convergence can be defined by the continuedinnovation and adoption of social technologies combined with theevolution of next generation wireless networks. These forces aregrowing and are peaking at the right time. More unique applicationscome to life everyday and carriers are working hard to upgrade theirnetworks so that these apps can thrive. Not to mention a generation(millennial) that outnumbers the boomers who are mobile centric andvery social. They are leading this revolution and all citizenjournalists stand to reap the benefits.
As a citizenjournalist, your wireless device can augment your storytelling likenever before. The iPhone, Blackberry Curve, Nokia N95 (Ihave two out of the three) and many other 3G devices are great tools toutilize. If you are still in analog, your basic phone can even providethe functionality for mobile blogging.
One tool that Ifrequently use to enhance my reporting is mobile video. Personal mobilebroadcasting from my wireless device has enabled me to bring readersinto a story and have them share the moment with me. For instance, onmy recent trip to New Orleans, words alone wouldn’t have delivered theemotion (I was feeling) of the Katrina devastation or the joy of beingable to give back to the communityat St. Bernard’s. In each of those instances, I wanted you to be therewith me. I wanted you to see what I was seeing. Mobile video can makethis happen.
This mobile revolution on the horizon is excitingand I look forward to learning a few things from you. Please feel freeto contact me by email – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) – if I can ever be of assistance.
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Tags: Broadband, Mobile TV, Mobile Video, Mobile Broadband Growth