Newsletters

Hello and welcome to the inaugural Nokia Mobile TV Forum newsletter!

 

December 2005

Over the coming months, the Nokia Mobile TV Forum and Newsletter will keep you up to date on how this market develops: from the technology infrastructure to the marketing of mobile TV services and the relevant business models. We will publish the results of mobile TV trials, regional updates from around the world and information about industry events and exhibitions where Mobile TV features.

I have been writing about the mobile content industry since 1999 and when Nokia invited me to become editor of their Mobile TV Forum newsletter and website I felt it would be an opportunity to be at the leading edge of an exciting and dynamic convergence of two of the most popular consumer electronic devices of all time - television and the mobile phone.

As TV and the mobile phone come together in one device, technologists and mobile industry commentators predict that we will see a wealth of new opportunities for the key players in the mobile value chain and the TV business.

Just last week, Nokia hosted its NMC show in Barcelona where the theme was TV Goes Mobile and Avenues to Revenues. See below for some of the highlights from the conference.

In particular, I would like to draw your attention to some of the features and services on the Mobile TV Forum website which will be a tremendous benefit to you in plotting your place in the Mobile TV value chain.

  • Pilots section where members can access information about mobile TV trials around the world
  • The discussion board where members can sound out ideas with their peers and share and exchange information
  • A useful RSS feed to alert you whenever the Mobile TV Forum site is updated with news or press releases

I hope you enjoy this first newsletter and will become a contributing member of the Forum as we go forward into new territories.

Mobile TV trials and predictions

Trial results and market research studies indicate that a significant percentage of consumers are interested in purchasing a Mobile TV service for between $10 and $20 a month. A recent study by IPDC Forum/HPI Research, DigiTAG found that 60 percent of consumers were interested in Mobile TV. Another DigiTAG study estimated that the US market place for Mobile TV services would eventually grow to some $60 billion annually.

At the Mobile Entertainment Summit held in San Francisco last month, US analysts stepped up to announce predictions that the Mobile TV market in that country alone was worth $16 million in 2004 and would rise to $750 million by 2008 (Yankee Group). Others put the figures even higher: $28 million in 2004, rising to $1.02 billion in 2008 (Frost & Sullivan).

In fact, results from a DVB-H trial in Helsinki, Finland that were released in August show great promise for mobile TV services. In the UK, mobile operator O2, Nokia and several broadcasters have teamed up to for the country's first trial of multi-channel mobile TV.

Mobile TV Forum has recently launched a Pilots section, with profiles of ongoing and completed DVB-H trials from around the world. Go there now »

Nokia announces first DVB-H device, the Nokia N92, and new broadcast solutions at NMC

Nokia took the wraps off its first phone with an integrated digital TV decoder last month at its annual Mobility Conference in Barcelona. Set to launch in Q2 2006, the Nokia N92, which runs using Nokia's Series 60 interface, features a DVB-H TV tuner that in the future will be able to receive as many as 50 TV channels. It is set to launch in Italy in time for the 2006 World Cup with other European countries following later in the year. There's no official UK launch for the service, but it could theoretically arrive as early as 2007. Nokia, along with O2 and NTL, recently conducted a DVB-H trial in the Oxford area.

Similar to other Nokia Nseries phones, the Nokia N92 runs using Nokia's Series 60 interface and features a suite of high-end facilities. The device includes integrated Wi-Fi, web browsing and music playback. Its 2.8-inch 16 million-colour screen can be flipped round so that it looks like a tiny DVD player making it ideal for TV viewing on the go. The handset can also record TV programmes on to an SD card and deliver an on-screen electronic programme guide. Some innovative interactive facilities are also in the pipelines, allowing you to cast votes on live TV shows, for example.

"The Nokia N92 is the first in a range of products bringing together the rich experience of conventional broadcast TV with the connected experience of mobility to create a new category - mobile TV," said Richard Sharp, Vice President of Rich Media at Nokia. Read more »

Also unveiled in Barcelona was Nokia's announcement for the world's first commercial service management solution for DVB-H services, the Nokia Mobile Broadcast Solution Release 3.0.

The Solution Release 3.0 supports the broadcasting of a whole range of types of digital content such as live TV, radio and video clips over DVB-H networks to mobile devices. Key features include the Electronic Service Guide (ESG), a consumer interface in the mobile device for searching available services and programme alerts. In addition, the Solution Release 3.0 offers service protection, flexible content pricing schemes and provides consumers with an easy way to purchase viewing rights. Read more »

RSS News Feeds and press releases

Mobile TV Forum also offers a useful RSS feed to alert you whenever the Mobile TV Forum site is updated with news or press releases. Subscribe now »


 
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