According to these posts, I'm going to go against the flow and say that I DO want mobile TV on my mobile device.
I want access to the news and other basic programming when I'm on the go. Certainly, those who do want it would want choice (not just local channels, but extended channels like we have with cable or satellite), and on demand streaming would also be an eventual necessity, I believe, in a service like this for it to really catch on.
And although some of this is going to also necessitate VGA screen resolutions as standard for optimum viewing on small screens, screens ARE getting better and better in mobile devices.
DMB, DVB-H, etc. for instance is a different technology than what a lot of the cellular providers currently offer, and DMB and DVB-H don't operate over 3G networks or existing cellular networks - they have their separate networks (that's why devices need to be specially equipped to receive the broadcasts), so the concern of it clogging cellular networks isn't an issue.
I don't think mobile TV is a solution looking for a problem, I just think it's simply another form of entertainment for consumers. It's the way things are headed and people will end up with it eventually whether they want it or not, whether they think it's smart or not.
Cellular providers need to work on other services as well, and I believe these things will be solved in time, but I think it's important not to resist the change that DOES come (like mobile entertainment), even if it's not in the order we want it.
People often resist change, but once they finally embrace it, they don't know how they did without it.
And now in the States, where VOIP is really taking off, where people are indeed concerned about the cost of landlines more than ever, where traditional phone companies are scrambling to offer VOIP solutions for fear of becoming obsolete, and where Americans are scrapping their landlines altogether in favor of mobile lines only (of which I and my significant other are two), I think mobiles in the States are very quickly becoming increasingly significant for people everyday. So the gap between how Americans and Europeans are viewing mobiles is absolutely narrowing. We're beginning to see things the same way.
And in regard to mobile TV, forget the crap that Verizon and Sprint (and soon Cingular) are currently offering. DMB and DVB-H is where it'll be at, and this new technology will make mobile TV much better than the crud the networks offer now.
And Kunal, just so you know, texting is not more expensive in the States than cellular voice. You can get unlimited text messaging for $10/mo. on T-Mo, for instance. Right now, with T-Mo, I have 500 messages/mo. for $3, and unlimited Internet access (including email and everything else) for $20/mo.
“There's a certain feeling of wading through water with this phone, as every time we went exploring the menus, we were met with a delay long enough to make us doubt our keystrokes registered.”
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According to these posts, I'm going to go against the flow and say that I DO want mobile TV on my mobile device.
I want access to the news and other basic programming when I'm on the go. Certainly, those who do want it would want choice (not just local channels, but extended channels like we have with cable or satellite), and on demand streaming would also be an eventual necessity, I believe, in a service like this for it to really catch on.
And although some of this is going to also necessitate VGA screen resolutions as standard for optimum viewing on small screens, screens ARE getting better and better in mobile devices.
DMB, DVB-H, etc. for instance is a different technology than what a lot of the cellular providers currently offer, and DMB and DVB-H don't operate over 3G networks or existing cellular networks - they have their separate networks (that's why devices need to be specially equipped to receive the broadcasts), so the concern of it clogging cellular networks isn't an issue.
I don't think mobile TV is a solution looking for a problem, I just think it's simply another form of entertainment for consumers. It's the way things are headed and people will end up with it eventually whether they want it or not, whether they think it's smart or not.
Cellular providers need to work on other services as well, and I believe these things will be solved in time, but I think it's important not to resist the change that DOES come (like mobile entertainment), even if it's not in the order we want it.
People often resist change, but once they finally embrace it, they don't know how they did without it.
And now in the States, where VOIP is really taking off, where people are indeed concerned about the cost of landlines more than ever, where traditional phone companies are scrambling to offer VOIP solutions for fear of becoming obsolete, and where Americans are scrapping their landlines altogether in favor of mobile lines only (of which I and my significant other are two), I think mobiles in the States are very quickly becoming increasingly significant for people everyday. So the gap between how Americans and Europeans are viewing mobiles is absolutely narrowing. We're beginning to see things the same way.
And in regard to mobile TV, forget the crap that Verizon and Sprint (and soon Cingular) are currently offering. DMB and DVB-H is where it'll be at, and this new technology will make mobile TV much better than the crud the networks offer now.
And Kunal, just so you know, texting is not more expensive in the States than cellular voice. You can get unlimited text messaging for $10/mo. on T-Mo, for instance. Right now, with T-Mo, I have 500 messages/mo. for $3, and unlimited Internet access (including email and everything else) for $20/mo.