3 Launch mobile TV service
3 UK has launched a new mobile TV section of its portal called 3 on Demand.
The content, which is managed by On Demand Group company Mobix Interactive, includes a variety of full episode streaming mobile TV ranging from scripted reality series The Hills, South Park, and celebrity news source E! 3 On Demand adds to the the operator's on-portal live TV streaming and off portal video content, which includes Sky Sports 1, 2, and 3.
Costing between £1.29 and £1.99 for a week's access to an episode the content will be delivered by Mobix's Adrenalin platform, users will be able to pause and resume without the need for a new client application.
3 UK product manager Alex Woodhams said: "3 on Demand can deliver a wide range of high quality full length TV shows in a flexible manner that allows users to pause and later resume shows where they left off.
"Amalgamating all of our mobile TV seamlessly ties in with our broader objective of using the speed of the 3 network to give people access to a wider choice of on-portal content and mobile internet services in a simple yet effective manner."
Mobix Interactive CEO Damian Mulcock said: "We are excited by the arrival of full form programming to the mobile environment, as well as Adrenalin's capability to deliver this new experience, as it is indicative of the momentum in the convergence strategies of our customers and the growing demand for multi-access by consumers."
Labels: 3-Mobile, quick-news
3G/4G convergence a reality in the US
In the 'States, Franklin Wireless and Beceem Communications have partnered to revolutionize the mobile broadband user experience with the introduction of the world's first dual-mode 3G CDMA/4G WiMAX USB Modem, the Franklin U300.
The U300 was commercially released by Sprint on December 17th 2008 and is the first USB modem that can be used on Sprint's existing 3G CDMA network and on Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network. The U300 incorporates Beceem's high-performance Mobile WiMAX chipset alongside an EVDO-Rev A chip.
Labels: industry insight, LTE, mobile broadband, quick-news
Mobile broadband popularity surges in Europe
According to a recent study from IDC, mobile broadband has grown rapidly in popularity among European consumers during the past 18 months. This rapid consumer uptake has been catalyzed by four main factors:
- The upgrading of 3G networks with HSPA
- The availability of small USB connection devices
- A fall in the price of subscriptions
- A rise in consumer penetration of portable PCs
"Mobile broadband presents a big land-grab opportunity, both now and for several years to come," said John Delaney, IDC's European director of consumer mobile research. "But although the service is simple in concept, its role in the consumer services market is complex. Mobility is only one among a variety of reasons why consumers like mobile broadband. Success in the market will depend critically on a clear understanding of how mobile broadband should be positioned in the spectrum of mobile and Internet services."
Mobile broadband is a new source of revenue for mobile operators and improves the use of 3G networks; unlike other new mobile services such as TV and gaming, it relates directly to a telcos' core business. "However, it also substitutes for fixed-line broadband in some circumstances, cannibalizing existing revenues," said Delaney. "As such, it is important for operators with both fixed and mobile networks to understand what factors are driving demand for mobile broadband, what is likely to happen to those factors over the next few years, and what strategies they should adopt to take maximum advantage of the opportunity."
Further Findings:
- European operators sorely need new service revenues, and mobile broadband promises to satisfy that need by generating revenue that is new and entirely incremental to existing revenue streams
- The combination of a strongly growing addressable market with prices at fixed-broadband levels, and in increasingly flexible packages, will ensure that consumer demand for mobile broadband remains strong for some time to come
- The global recession, however, could slow down the penetration of portable PCs and therefore the addressable market for mobile broadband. It may also make consumers more reluctant to commit to a new service contract
Labels: industry insight, mobile broadband
Netbooks - Notebooks, Netbooks - Notebooks, Netbooks - Notebooks
Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) chief executive predicts that Netbooks will eventually disappear.
"The distinction between what is a Netbook and what is a notebook is going to go away," AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said on Thursday in the company's earnings conference call.
"Given the way Netbooks are configured today, consumers who want a notebook at those kind of (low) price points have to compromise and as a result don't enjoy a full PC experience, particularly around the graphics and media capability of the machine," Meyer said. "And likewise people who wanted a thin and light machine had to pay a lot of money, typically well over a thousand dollars."
Upcoming inexpensive ultra-thin notebooks will meet the need for a small, thin, lightweight laptop that is more powerful than a Netbook, Meyer said.
See the full range of netbook and notebook deals currently available with mobile brodband.
Labels: laptop, mobile broadband, netbook, quick-news
