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MECCA: Movie Cell Phones? Don't Believe the Hype

Authored by Jay Baage on September 11, 2006 - 4:39pm.
One of the more interesting sessions in the afternoon had four experts presenting their visions for the future of mobile entertainment. There was no consensus as to the most urgent question of which method of paying for mobile content that will prevail. However, the panelists were in total agreement that video is the next killer application for mobile and that it will not just be short clips that will sell, but movies and longer forms of programming as well.

The panel consisted of Adam Sexton, VP of Marketing & Product Management, Grove Mobile, Brian McGarvey, VP & GM, Americas, Vivendi Mobile Games, Dr. Philip Alvelda, CEO MobiTV and Greg Clayman, VP of Wireless Operations & Strategy, MTV Networks.

An interesting discussion that we have just seen the start of is whether we should see digital content (music, text and video) as a product that you buy or as a service to which you subscribe. Unfortunately, the panel could not enlighten the audience much as to in which direction we are heading right now. My take on this is that the consumer will dictate what he or she wants, which ultimately will involve a choice of many different models. As when you buy a car, you can choose between paying upfront, financeing or leasing. For some people it makes sense to buy, while for others it makes sense to lease.

The panel was much clearer on one thing – mobile video is not confined to short clips. Contrary to popular opinion, the panelists were in total agreement that even longer feature films will be watched on cell phones and PDAs in the near future. The reason is that the technology now exists for people to watch a little bit at a time, stop, and then resume watching it whenever convenient. Much like the way that one reads a book. The panelists also pointed to the fact that legal licencing issues are being resolved and pointed to developments in Korea, Japan and much of Europe.

My take on this is that changing consumer behavior takes time and people are not used to watching, say, a movie, in parts on a tiny screen. Will video become a killer application for cell phones? I say hold your horses. I am seeing the same kind of enthusiasm about this that I saw in Europe a couple of years ago when companies were outbidding each other for 3G licenses, not worth nearly as much as everyone thought at the time. Back then it was video telephony that everyone said was the next killer application. I think that video will be just one of the features that people use their cell phones for in the future, but to most people it will not be the most important one.

Related Links:
http://www.billboardevents.com/billboardevents/mecca/index.jsp
tags: Mobile | Video | Mobile TV | Movies | Mobile Video | MECCA |



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