Video streaming gets ready to deliver: streaming multimedia to the wireless device is more promising than it may appear
Author: America's Network

Now that more wireless networks can support higher-speed data connectivity, operators have begun to dabble with streaming multimedia to the wireless phone. To some, these initial offerings may be disappointing. With maximum speeds of just a few frames per second, video offerings are jerky. Rather than attempting to simulate motion, some content providers have instead opted to deliver the equivalent of a narrated slide show.

But apparently, a nation of couch potatoes is so eager to get its fix that it will put up with the challenges involved in getting it while on the run. Talk to anyone involved in providing these services and you'll encounter an enthusiasm reminiscent of the earliest days of the Internet.

"The product is wildly successful. People love it, and we get really positive feedback on it," says Paul Scanlan, vice president of marketing and sales for Idetic, the developer of MobiTV, which converts content from MSNBC, ABC, Fox, the Discovery Channel, and other sources for delivery to users of Sprint's PCS Vision service. "It's really easy to use," says Scanlan. "It's like a TV, and everyone can use a TV. There's no training involved. It literally is like using a remote control to a TV. The phone is almost like a remote control. We call it the 75-year-old killer app."

Other multimedia boosters sound a bit like media visionary Marshall McLuhan in their pronouncements. "We think of it as the third screen," says Jeff Hallock, vice president of consumer marketing for Sprint PCS, the wireless operator that has been most aggressive in delivering streaming multimedia offerings. "Television is the first screen, and the personal computer is the second. We've got the opportunity to deliver an experience where users can watch things happen on the third screen that combine a lot of the functionality of the first two--and it's the only one that's with you at all times."