MVIS Blog News Scan

Few Care About Mobile Video, Survey Finds

Only one in eight respondents said they have any interest, and most phone handsets can't receive it either.

Few mobile subscribers have any interest in receiving video on their phones, according to a survey released Monday by market research firm In-Stat.

Only one in eight respondents said they were interested in paying for mobile video, according to the survey. In addition, the handsets of two-thirds of the respondents aren't even capable of receiving mobile video, the survey found.

In addition, the customers that cellular operators covet the most -- satisfied customers that are least likely to switch carriers -- are least interested in mobile video, the survey found. However, the research firm found a silver lining for the mobile operators.

"Though mobile video does not yet appear to have widespread appeal, In-Stat believes that there is enough interest for it to generate some significant revenue for carriers in the near term," David Chamberlain, In-Stat senior analyst, said in a statement.

Overall, mobile video subscribers, which will reach slightly more than one million by the end of 2005, will increase to 30 million by 2010, the study predicted.

Mobile operators have touted mobile video as the wave of the future, introducing 3G-based services such as Verizon Wireless' V CAST.

Timescope

Visitors to the ART+COM roof terrace can enjoy a fascinating insight into Berlin's past. This is made possible by a digitally augmented telescope titled the "timescope". Visitors can view the development of Tauentzienstraße from 1904 to the present day.

The basic idea of the "timescope" is a virtual journey in time via telescope. The device contains additional controls that enable viewers to view a place in the past or future time through its eyepiece.

The "timescope" can be used for a wide range of purposes: it can be set up for use with tourist sites such as the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate or the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church for example, giving visitors the chance to get a closer view of how these locations looked in the past. The "timescope" can also be used for large-scale building projects. In such cases it can be used not only to show how a building project has progressed, but also to show how a building will look in the future. Additionally, it can be used at geological interesting sites, enabling viewers to perceive natural history visually.

Apple in talks to introduce videos to iTunes

Apple Computer recently held discussions with major recording companies, seeking to license music videos to sell through the company’s iTunes Music Store, according to a report in Monday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

The talks are a possible prelude to a version of Apple’s hit iPod music player that plays video — a version of the gadget that the Journal says the Cupertino, Calif., computer and electronics company has told some entertainment-industry executives could be unveiled by September.

If Apple’s gamble on video content proves to be successful, it could create a significant new source of income for media companies that are rushing to distribute video content on the Internet to offset the growing number of pirated movies, television shows and other programming now distributed online according to the Journal report.

The Journal notes that so far, commercial movie download services have not met with much success, nor have devices already on the market allowing users to transfer video files from their PCs. But analysts see the iTunes video development as likely because of Apple’s strength in video software, including the Quicktime movie format and video-editing software, such as Final Cut Pro and iMovie.

Video iPods? Dumb Idea

In January last year, David Pogue and John Markoff had a chat with Steve Jobs, said Relevant History. And it apparently went like this:

"Jobs outlined three reasons he doubted video players would ever approach the success of audio players - not even counting their high price ($700 and up) and the time-consuming difficulty of loading huge video files onto them. It was clear from his answers that Mr. Jobs has done quite a bit of thinking about the topic.

"First, he said, on a video player, 'there's just no equivalent of headphones.'; That is, when you put on headphones and press Play on a music player, the results are spectacular - you get a very close equivalent to the concert-hall experience.

"But watching video on a tiny three-inch handheld screen is almost nothing like the experience of watching a movie in a theater or even on TV. It can't approach the same realism or emotional impact."

However, Steve has apparently changed his mind and, "Negotiations are an indication that Apple is moving to release a device that plays video files, possibly by September, The Journal said," according to AP, which also says analysts think it's likely, “because of Apple's strength in video software. The Journal notes that so far, commercial movie download services have not met with much success."