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Hello and welcome to the February issue of the Mobile TV Forum newsletter!

February 2007

February was the month of the 3GSM World Congress, held in Barcelona. At 3GSM there were several interesting mobile TV announcements.

DVB-H live in Barcelona

At 3GSM, Abertis Telecom operated four DVB-H networks, one of them covering most of Barcelona. In addition to a rich channel offering, there were also some interactive services on air.

Catalonia's TV3 showcased a voting solution, where the user used simple menus on the DVB-H handset screen to cast their vote. The system then generated a text message that was sent to a premium SMS number. Simple as such function may be, integrating voting in an easy-to-use interface will increase the user's willingness to vote - and provide revenue for the channel and the operator.

Sofia Digital implemented a mobile broadcast teletext service. Sofia's tools allow the implementation of traditional text-based or better-looking graphical teletext interfaces.

DVB-H handset news

Several vendors announced new handsets for DVB-H:

Nokia announced its N77 multimedia computer for the mid-price range. Nokia N77 is a compact device with integrated antenna, 2,4 inch display and 2 megapixel camera. There is a dedicated "TV" button at the side of the device for turning the TV on and off easily. Nokia's high-end device, Nokia N92, will also continue in the company's product range.
LG's new DVB-H device is KU950. The device supports HSDPA. The twistable screen's size is 2,4 inch and there is a 1,3 megapixel camera.
Samsung showcased the first DVB-H model in the company's Ultra series, the SGH-F510. The device features HSDPA connectivity, 2,4 inch twistable display and 2 megapixel camera.
Sagem's new DVB-H device is called "myMobileTV". There is an integrated antenna, twistable display and a 2 megapixel camera in the device.

All the products mentioned here are expected to be commercially available this year. As always, the availability may and will differ from market to market.

Advertising on mobile TV

In mobile TV, marketers can address their audiences both with TV advertising shown during ad breaks and also with targeted mobile advertising. In mobile advertising it is essential to have the user’s permission for receiving marketing messages, and to create such marketing actions that contain a relevant message for each user.

At Barcelona's 3GSM, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) released study results, which show that 41% of US mobile subscribers would agree to watch advertisements in order to watch free video on mobile devices. "Furthermore, the consumers most predisposed to advertising are younger, big-spending mobile users", describes vice president Mark Donovan of M:Metrics, the research company that implemented the study.

The study also found that 60% of current or prospective mobile video watchers expressed willingness or ambivalence about sharing personal information to receive relevant offers.

However, users may find advertising breaks more disturbing with mobile TV devices than with the living room TV, as reported, for example, in bmcoforum's study on the Berlin mobile TV pilot.

According to the MMA study, while only one percent of mobile subscribers currently access TV or video services with their mobile phone, 23 percent of users express some possibility of viewing video or TV content on a mobile device within the coming few months.

We will come back to mobile TV business model issues and other interesting topics in coming newsletters. Stay tuned!

Timo Argillander

Editor

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About the Editor

Timo Argillander is the independent editor of the Mobile TV Forum newsletter. Timo is a consultant and journalist specializing in digital media content and technologies.

He contributes articles to various publications, covering developments in mobile TV, digital TV, and the Internet. He also acts as a strategic advisor to media and technology companies and governmental organizations.