a turning point for mobile TV?
The Obama inaugural is poised to be probably the most viewed television event on mobile but it’s also going to be an acid test for MobiTV’s ability to handle network overload.
NYT reports that with even the presidential debates drawing more than double the average daily viewership, challenges abound for MobiTV which broadcasts live television across 20 mobile networks.
Live breaking news and sporting events are some of the company’s most popular broadcasts, but also “have the greatest load on the network in terms of number of concurrent users,” said Ray DeRenzo, the director of programming and marketing at MobiTV, which began offering wireless video in 2003.
The biggest challenge when handling popular live events is network overload, an obstacle Mr. DeRenzo says the company tackles by lowering video and audio quality; its video frame rate drops from 20 frames per second to as low as 15. MobiTV’s service can also delivers video over Wi-Fi if a subscriber’s phone is set up for it.
Add comment January 12, 2009
friends (no, keys) don’t let friends talk while driving
The drive against using mobile phones while driving gains a bit of momentum – Live Science reports that a pair of researchers in the US have developed a computerized key which prevents mobile phones from being used during driving.
It seems to be primarily targeted at teens with parental supervision though it’s probably the adults who could do with a couple of lessons in safe driving – nevertheless it’s a positive move.
While in driving mode, teen drivers cannot use their cell phones to talk or send text messages, except for calling 911 or other numbers pre-approved by the parents – most likely the parents’ own cell numbers.
Incoming calls and texts are automatically answered with a message saying, “I am driving now. I will call you later when I arrive at the destination safely.”
Add comment December 17, 2008
Heavenly intervention in the form of a mobile phone
R.J. Richard was mowing his lawn, when he felt something slam into his chest – well, that something turned to be a .45 caliber bullet. MSNBC reports that Richard’s Motorola mobile phone was covering his heart and absorbed the impact, saving his life.
Reports of pocket Bibles saving their owners’ lives pop up every so often. Richard says he’s sure that God told him to put the phone in his overalls chest pocket rather than a pants pocket as usual. He said that Saturday’s incident increased his faith.
Add comment November 23, 2008
check in with your mobile
Flash your phone – after Continental and Delta, American Airlines is the latest airline joining the fray to issue mobile boarding passes. However, a range of conditions apply – only available on domestic flights with no change in planes, applies to only passengers traveling alone etc.
Initially, the facility will be limited to passengers traveling from Los Angeles International and John Wayne Orange County airports. If the trials conducted with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are successful, it will be extended to other U.S. airports.
Looks like it’s going to be quite a wait before mobile ticketing goes mainstream.
When customers check in for their flight using American’s Web site, AA.com – either the desktop or mobile versions – they have the option to receive their boarding passes on their cell phones or PDAs. If this option is selected, they will get an e-mail with an Internet link to their boarding pass. The mobile boarding pass contains a 2-D barcode that can be scanned at TSA security checkpoints and at American Airlines gates. At the airport, customers simply scan their cell phone or PDA screen when going through Security (proper identification must be presented) and when boarding, just as they would a traditional paper boarding pass.
Add comment November 15, 2008
is your mobile in hot water
Or for that matter cold water – the WSJ reports on the trend of mobile phones getting damaged by accidental exposure to water, and some interesting remedial courses of action taken by users.
So what’s in the reckoning, 30m water resistant phones – certainly, hope floats.
When Debora Munczek’s BlackBerry slipped off her folded newspaper and into the toilet one morning, she suspected it wasn’t the first time in history that a cellphone got drenched. So she searched “cellphones and water” on the Internet and followed the advice that popped up: Remove the battery, wrap the device in a dry washcloth and aluminum foil, and bake it in the oven for several hours at a low setting.
The phone worked pretty well after that — until Ms. Munczek, a sleep-deprived clinical psychologist in New York City, dropped it twice more into the toilet. It then began dialing random phonebook entries, including the local police precinct. That was when she decided to call it quits and get a new phone.
1 comment October 26, 2008
the Storm has arrived
Touch, then gently push – that’s the statement RIM is making with the BlackBerry Storm, its first ever touch screen smartphone.
So how does it feel – unlike conventional smartphones, the Storm has an innovative haptic display that subtly responds like a physical keyboard – by letting the user push the screen down slightly till a “click” is heard.
Looking to appeal beyond its core business user base, it comes with integrated GPS, includes a host of multimedia capabilities, and comes pre-loaded with instant messaging clients (AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo Messenger, GTalk & ICQ) as well as popular social networking services (My Space, Facebook & Flickr).
Pretty and powerful, it’s a refreshing change and could help recast the BlackBerry.
Add comment October 8, 2008
the revival of Iridium
An idea that peaked (or rather hyped) too early, Iridium burnt through $5 billion in the late 90s before finally declaring bankruptcy. Forbes reports on how Iridium has come a long way since those harrowing times – today, grounded in reality, and by repositioning themselves as a communications service provider to businesses with workers in remote regions, it has become the world’s fastest growing mobile satellite services provider. A late resurgence seems to be in the offing, and more importantly a sensible one.
The new Iridium essentially reversed its thinking. “Rather than worry, ‘How can we give every executive a phone?’ they said, ‘We can communicate between any two points on the globe. Who needs this? Who will pay for it?’ “says Engel. “It’s a much more intelligent question.”
Add comment October 1, 2008
using sign language on mobile
A research group at the University of Washington has demonstrated a software that enables the hearing impaired to effectively communicate via sign language over mobile phones. Science Daily reports that the Mobile ASL project aims to develop a real time video compression scheme keeping in view existing mobile network bandwidth constraints. By facilitating the display of a person’s face and hands in high resolution, and the background in low resolution, it optimizes data transmission.
For mobile communication, deaf people now communicate by cell phone using text messages. “But the point is you want to be able to communicate in your native language,” Riskin said. “For deaf people that’s Sign Language.”
Video is much better than text-messaging because it’s faster and it’s better at conveying emotion, said Jessica DeWitt, a UW undergraduate in psychology who is deaf and is a collaborator on the MobileASL project. She says a large part of her communication is with facial expressions, which are transmitted over the video phones.
Add comment September 5, 2008
Olympics draw mobile Web newbies
The Olympics seem to be striking a deep chord with first-time mobile Web users. The Star Tribune reports that according to NBC, almost half the people accessing information on the Olympics via their mobile phones are new to the mobile Web – though the absolute number of users ranging around half a million is relatively small, compared to the average primetime viewership of over 30 million. A small yet significant trend that portends the mass adoption of the mobile Web.
The number of people requesting Olympic content over their phones is still relatively small — but NBC executives say they’re stunned at how many of those never used the phones for this purpose before.
NBC Universal has been using the Olympics as something of a research lab to track the adoption of new media technology.
“To some extent, the Olympics are beginning to influence how people use new technology,” said Alan Wurtzel, research president for NBC Universal.
1 comment August 14, 2008
honey, I shrunk the kids’ mobile bills
Give your teenager a mobile phone and don’t worry about losing your peace of mind or breaking the bank. Limit or rather control seems to be the operative word– the NYT reports that be it the number of calls, the numbers that can be dialed, the times during which calls can be made, the type of content that can be downloaded or the mobile websites that can be surfed – literally almost every key mobile activity can be restricted if one goes by the new plans being launched by major carriers. Maybe they should expand these plans to include corporate firms as well.
T-Mobile said it would announce a new service that will give parents a way to control almost every aspect of their children’s cellphone use, except what they say or write in a text message.
Verizon said it would soon offer similar services. AT&T Wireless was the first of the four major networks to introduce parental controls when it introduced the “Smart Limits” service last September. For $5 a month, parents can go online to set allowances for text messages, peak calling minutes and money spent on downloadable content.
Add comment August 6, 2008
