Wireless World: 'The Thumbdance Channel'

February 10, 2006

You've heard of the "Sundance Channel," the independent movie network on cable TV founded by Robert Redford. Someday you may be hearing more about the "Thumbdance Channel" and other mobile-phone nets, from FreemantleMedia, and other producers of alternative, wireless content, experts tell United Press International's Wireless World.

To reference another Redford project, once this trend takes off in the coming years, we may never remember the way we were.

A new study released by Siemens, the Germany-based, multinational technology developer, indicates that mobile-phone customers around the world are very interested in watching TV on their phones, making mobile video calls and having the ability to access and edit e-mails while on the go.

Siemens surveyed more than 5,300 mobile communication subscribers in eight countries about cutting-edge wireless applications, as well as consumer expectations as to the content and functionality of these applications.

The study on these "innovative wireless services" was conducted in Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Korea, Russia and the United States. Consumers in all of these countries -- and on four continents -- are very interested in new mobile technologies.

Seventy four percent of surveyed wireless users want to be able to send, receive and edit e-mails on their wireless devices.

Users in North America and Europe have exceptionally high expectations regarding e-mail access. Although the focus is on using this technology in connection with their work, many wireless subscribers would also consider personal usage. That's not surprising -- given the growth of services like BlackBerry in recent years here.

But what was stunning to the surveyors was that in many countries, mobile-phone TV is seen as one of the most appealing apps -- with an average of 59 percent of all respondents expressing interest in it.

Mobile TV enables consumers to watch live television programs, as well as programming that has been specially readied for mobile devices. In Korea, a cutting-edge, technology-savvy country in which mobile TV is already being offered, more than 90 percent of all respondents voiced their interest in mobile television, and many are already willingly paying for the service.

The study, moreover, demonstrated that the ability to download music tracks to mobile handsets offers high potential -- with 62 percent of all respondents indicating they would like to download music files to their wireless devices.

The survey showed that there is also a "wish list" of coming applications among consumers, including group communication, enriched voice calling and file sharing for mobile phones.

Other experts said innovative mobile-phone apps are stirring exciting anthropological changes. "Consumers view their wireless phones as extensions of themselves," said Alan Ferber, vice president and marketing and sales operations at U.S. Cellular.

The mobile movement is also merging with other cultural trends. A company called Mobile Lingo, LLC is launching its first product, The StreetTV, a streaming video channel for young adults featuring original, made-for-mobile clips geared toward street sports, lifestyle and culture. Being marketed through Sprint, the new service has gained traction among youth market subscribers who pay a monthly fee of $4.99 to watch, a spokesperson told Wireless World.

Mobile Lingo will soon be gearing up marketing for HipHoptionary -- a guide to three decades of hip-hop lingo for mobile-phone screens. The product is currently live on Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, MetroPCS, Cricket and MidWest and is coming to other carriers next month. Based on the award-winning dictionary of hip-hop terminology by Alonzo Westbrook, HipHoptionary makes the language of hip-hop easily accessible to fans wherever they "roll," the spokesperson said.

"Mobile phones are no longer just about conducting conversations, they are now emerging as a center of people's lives for every day transactions," said Sri Kannankote, Motorola's corporate vice president, network services and applications management.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International