Mobile media is at a crossroads. At present, mobile has not penetrated the video market in any significant way, and the competition in the digital audio market is hotting up as iPod and the internet based audio services expand.
There are 3 major issues for Mobile Multimedia that we see emerging today:
Mobile vs Internet Business Models
The Mobile model for content is essentially a closed garden, pay as you go model. The internet has evolved from this to an open system, with a far more flexible economic model. Recent develoments in technology that allow IP broadband to move over wireless will cause these models to come into direct conflict. Key areas impacted will be:
- Cost of data wholesale (current prices are uneconomics vs internet or even physical distribution)
- Off- Portal (open garden) access vs conflicting with prevalent walled garden business models
Fixed-Mobile Integration
Increasingly the mobile device will be seen as just a part of the customer's access to a multimedia environment. Interacting within a converged media world requires totally different business models.
Mobile Media - A New Format?
What is the role of an interactive, clip based format on a small screen? Mobile providers have set a lot of store on Mobile TV (mTV) as a potential "killer app". However, the jury is still out.
