KeynoteConnection - September 2006

 
Mobile Television and Streaming Video  

When we look back to the 1960s incarnation of the Dick Tracy comic strip, we find one gadget that defined the technology of the future: the video communicator. While Tracy had sported the iconic two-way wrist radio since the 1940s, he and his police force were upgraded to video in 1964, and now reality has finally caught up. We now have very small portable devices that let us watch streaming video, video clips, or even each other as we converse. Two applications demonstrate how far we've come.
MobiTV delivers mobile television and digital radio service directly to your mobile phone. It works much like a cable company or satellite content provider with a wide selection of channels, but is available by subscription through your mobile carrier.  
MobiTV  

MobiTV: Operates like a cable or satellite programming provider, and is available through your wireless carrier.

  
A twist on that is Sling Media's Slingplayer Mobile, which uses a device in your home – the Slingbox – to send your home cable, satellite, DVR or DVD programming to your Windows mobile device via the Internet. You can view your programming on the road wherever you can access your carrier's high speed network. While there's no additional subscription cost for content, you need a reasonably fast Internet connection at home.
SlingPlayer Mobile
SlingPlayer Mobile: Sends your subscription and personal programming to your phone via the Internet.

Streaming video exemplifies how a traditional application such as broadcast television is being extended and mobilized. While the screen is small and the video quality can't compete with a home theater, mobile television and streaming video untethers consumers eager to keep up with the news and their favorite entertainment and sports programming. Long-distance public transit commuters will love it.

  
Mobile Voting: Opinions on the Go
Disney Mobile: Targeted Mobility
Related Links
MobiTV
MobiTV
Sling Media
SlingPlayer Mobile
About Dick Tracy (Wikipedia)
 
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