CTIA Wireless Internet Caucus Weblog

Camera phone video of camera phone video: CTIA discusses "cell phone smut" on ABC News Now

This evening I was watching the ABC News Now channel on my Sprint Samsung A920 cellular phone that I'm testing as part of a Sprint "Ambassador" program offering multimedia handsets to use for six months.

ABC News Now was broadcasting "On the Curve," a program that discusses, apparently, hot technology-oriented products and services.  Lo and behold, I was watching for a few minutes and on comes John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA.

Walls was being interviewed for a segment called "Cell Phone Smut" and he discussed the wireless content classification guidelines developed for U.S. cellular operators by the Wireless Internet Caucus' Mobile Content Action Team.

Camera phone video of camera phone video

Walls discussed the subject in broad, consumer terms, noting that the guidelines call for "restricted" and "generally accessible" content, depending on whether it's for adults or adults and minors.

He also noted the work is continuing and more refined criteria, based on different types of content, are being explored.  (Look for a story soon about the Mobile Content Action Team's content classification efforts in an upcoming issue of the WIC wireless data newsletter Untethered.)

As I was watching Walls being interviewed -- knowing that I'd write something for this weblog -- I decided to use two cellular phones to help document the interview.  I shot a brief video with a Nokia N70 two megapixel camera phone, that I'm testing as part of a Nokia "blogger relations program" -- of Walls' interview displayed on the A920.

(Using bloggers to help market wireless products is an interesting subject in its own right.)

The video

I'm definitely not holding up this video as a masterpiece.  It's pretty poor (see below) and indeed probably a lot worse than I could have done, had I wanted to risk moving around the N70. 

But it's like an elephant dancing:  You're so amazed the elephant is dancing that you're not complaining about the quality of the performance.

It's more than that, though.  Watching television on a cellular phone is useful (and fun) and the video capabilities of cellular phones can come in handy.

The true value

The point is not to judge camera phones by the quality of this video but to use your imagination to explore new uses for camera phones.  And, to be fair, (1) the quality of the TV broadcasts on the A920 is a lot better than what you're seeing and (2) the quality of N70 videos in general is very good.

And one last technical note:  I uploaded the N70 video file and also this weblog post using Sprint's Power Vision (1xEV-DO) network.  It wasn't as fast as my higher-speed Comcast connection but it certainly got the job done.

In Chevy Chase, Md. and Cape Cod (Massachusetts) I've been getting Power Vision download speeds of around 450K bps (plus or minus 25K bps) and upload speeds of about 125K bps (and that's fairly consistent).

I'm sure Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess 1xEV-DO network would have done yeoman service as well.

Huge potential

Bottom line:  3G networks are here, multimedia phones and content are here and the possibilities for value -- for consumers and businesses -- are enormous.

Will Microsoft announce moderately priced, portable, pen-based 3G "lifestyle" computer on March 2?

From Robert Scoble’s weblog I see Microsoft has established a new Web site, “Origami Project,” that is likely to present a new device on March 2 (see below).

An article in Network World points to an article in “Engadget” discussing Microsoft’s new “ultraportable lifestyle PC” that would be less than ten inches, pen-based, cost less than $500 — and use 3G technology.  One key parameter is the device would use a full version of Windows, not something like Windows CE.

The Origami Project site doesn’t really say anything but I guess we’ll know in a week whether Microsoft unveils a new wireless device…that would be manufactured by a third party.

New York Times examines cellular phone security and corporate solutions

The New York Times today reports on corporate security for cellular phones, discussing how more companies are purchasing phones for employees so the companies — not the employees — are able to dictate how the phone is used and incorporate security features.

“Pocket-size devices are misplaced all the time — travelers left 85,000 cellphones and 21,000 hand-held computers in Chicago taxis during a six-month period last year, according to a survey by Pointsec Mobile Technologies, a maker of security software,” the Times says.

John Pescatore, a security analyst at Gartner, says 2006 will be a turning point for mobile security, similar to how personal firewalls and antivirus software on computers became important as the result of highly publicized viruses, such as “I Love You” and “Melissa.”

Interestingly, Pescatore says the rise of Microsoft’s wireless operating system will result in a decline in the diversity of mobile software.  He says that just as programmers write viruses for Microsoft-based computers, so could they also begin writing viruses for wireless devices.

Miami insurance company’s solution

The article describes how Seitlin, a small insurance brokerage firm decided to purchase Treos for about 30 of its 250 employees.  Seitlin’s vice president of sales and technology, Ed Whipple, says the company could therefore dictate the type of data stored on the handsets and install security software.

The Times says, “If an employee reports that his cellphone is stolen, Mr. Whipple can send a text message to the device, which locks it and asks for a security code, using software called Butler.  If the security code is not entered immediately, the memory on the device is wiped clean.

“The catch is that the Treo must be turned on and transmitting over a wireless or cellular network for Butler to work.  For this reason, some companies set up their devices to store all data on a removable SD memory card, which scrambles the data and renders it useless if the card is removed.”

Theft versus malware

So far, the major security problem for portable and wireless devices is the potential for theft of confidential data, whether the device is lost or stolen — or sold on eBay by a naive user.  The threat from viruses and other “malware” on cellular phones hasn’t been a major problem, although there are a few programs floating around and security companies continue to offer anti-malware software for cellular.

That doesn’t mean the situation will remain static, as Gartner’s Pescatore suggests.

The CTIA’s Wireless Internet Caucus has examined the problem and pondered whether it would make sense to establish an Action Team that deals with wireless security.  Also, the CTIA has established an e-mail forum for discussing wireless security threats.  Check out the “Security” category in this weblog for more information.

Talking Street offers audio "tours" via cellular for tourists

Reuters (posted by CNET News) has an interesting article about how tourists may listen to audio tours on cellular phones and digital music players.

Obviously, many cellular phones can function as MP3 players, and the company Talking Street is promoting audio tours, spoken by celebrities, of tourist attractions (see below).

For example, TV and radio interviewer Larry King narrates a tour of Washington, D.C.’s famous sites along the Washington Mall.  Actress Sigourney Weaver narrates a tour of New York’s Lower East Side and World Trade Center site. 

These and other audio tours also include additional features such as interviews with experts in the area, dramatic readings, eyewitness accounts and original music.  The audio tour also includes a map of the tour area in .pdf or HTML (see below).

Mobile connection

The audio tours are accessed by dialing a phone number that’s local to the city where the tour is available, such as Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.  Each tour costs $5.95 (not including any airtime, etc.).  The tours take about 40 minutes or less of airtime.

Once you pay for the audio, it may be accessed any time over seven days.  You may listen to the entire tour once and listen a second time to up to ten stops in the tour.

I like this idea, although only a few tours are available now.  It’s a great spur-of-the-moment service when you’re visiting an area.  A big challenge, though, is marketing.  How does Talking Street get the word out to tourists? 

There are lots of ways to promote the service — brochures in hotel rooms, ads in tourist magazines, etc. — but it can be a major expense, obviously.

Talking Streets at Wireless 2005

Talking Street isn’t a “stranger” to the CTIA.  During Wireless 2005, Talking Street provided an audio tour of 13 rooms in the 7,000–square foot “CTIA Wireless Home” that was exhibited during the conference.

Will data broadcasting expand with MovieBeam's video on demand?

After testing broadcasting movies via PBS’ television datacasting network, The Walt Disney Company — in conjunction with Cisco, Intel and venture capitalists — is launching its MovieBeam video on demand service in 29 metropolitan markets in the United States, according to the press release.

The interesting question for the wireless industry is whether data broadcasting — one-way data transmission — will get a shot in the arm from MovieBeam.  For decades there have been a variety of data broadcasting businesses in the United States, ranging from paging to background music to file storage.  Virtually none of these ventures succeeded.

One of the few data broadcasting efforts that has been in business for years (15) is PBS National Datacast that uses the PBS television network to transmit data (see below).  National Datacast has had several clients, and the MovieBeam venture is a major win for them.

How it works

MovieBeam provides a Linksys (Cisco bought Linksys) box, receiving National Datacast’s broadcasts, that’s attached to a television set, an antenna for the receiver and a remote control (see below).  The box is preloaded with 100 movies and every week the list updates with up to ten new movies, including some in high definition.

The receiver includes a 200GB hard disk drive and a 200 MHz microprocessor.  It includes many audio and video inputs as well as an Ethernet jack and USB 2.0 port, “which will enable broadband connectivity later this year, giving MovieBeam the ability to add even more features and content to the service,” the release says.

In addition, Disney and Intel are working on developing a “USB peripheral that will, in the future, bring the MovieBeam service to other devices,” the release says.

What it costs

The Linksys receiver package costs $199.99, after an introductory $50 rebate, plus a $29.99 activation fee.  The newer movies cost $3.99 and the older ones cost $1.99.  An additional $1 charge is tacked on for high definition movies.

Subscribers are able to watch each movie for 24 hours for as many times as they want.  There is no annual subscription fee or contract.

MovieBeam will be available in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

Testing, testing

I tested MovieBeam for a few weeks for free at least two years ago in Chevy Chase, Md.  It wasn’t commercially available, but I had connections!

The service performed as advertised and worked well enough.  I assume there have been changes since then.

I’ve also written extensively about data broadcasting for more than 20 years and pondered in 2003 whether data broadcasting ventures, including Microsoft’s SPOT watch program, would help to reinvigorate the market. 

So, I’m pondering again whether one-way data transmission will be jump-started with MovieBeam.

Sufficient demand?

Will enough people be willing to pay an upfront cost of $230 (box + activation) and a lower per-movie fee (in some cases) for MovieBeam rather than going to their local video rental store, using Netflix, subscribing to cable company video on demand or recording with a Tivo?

Tres Izzard, the chief executive officer for MovieBeam, say his company needs 500,000 customers to break even, according to an article in The New York Times.

Josh Bernoff, a vice president at Forrester Research with the Devices, Media, & Marketing team, doesn’t think MovieBeam will succeed.  He writes, “Will this take off?  Nah.  We've learned over more than a decade of analyzing these types of devices that it's wicked hard to succeed with a new set-top box.

“MovieBeam won't get popular until it's a feature in other set-top boxes, like satellite boxes and DVRs.”

I guess we’ll know more about the demand for this data broadcasting service in six to 12 months.

Are cellular operators afraid of Voice over IP?

Mike Masnick at “Techdirt Wireless” is posting articles about the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona and discusses the threat to and opportunities for cellular operators that employ Voice over IP services in conjunction with, obviously, cellular.

Mike notes that although there is a lot of buzz about the introduction of handsets for cellular/VoIP there isn’t much information about whether cellular operators want to offer it.

“That's because, as has been pointed out repeatedly, doing so would eat away at their voice minutes.  So, remember that every time you hear some analyst firm talk about how big these converged offerings are going to be.

“That said, there will be some adoption going forward, as some mobile operators will take the plunge in attempts to differentiate their offerings.  How far they push things, though, will be an important indicator. 

"With all of that said, it's still amusing to see articles talking up just how big a ‘threat’ the internet is to mobile operators.

“When you read news articles talking about how something is a threat, smart executives start combing through that threat to figure out where the opportunity is — because any threat is usually a misunderstood opportunity to open up a bigger market by serving customers better. 

"The real question is whether any of the big incumbents will recognize that — or if they'll do their best to stomp out any upstarts who try to show them the way.”

T-Mobile and convergence?

Mike doesn’t mention any U.S. operators in his post.  But T-Mobile already is promoting convergence (of sorts) by selling combined pricing plans for cellular and its large WiFi network in the U.S. and abroad. 

“Engadget Mobile,” an offshoot of the immensely popular ”Engadget” weblog, has more information about the “open secret” of T-Mobile supposedly planning to test cellular/VoIP integration. 

The article notes, ”A phone like the [Samsung] T709 is already amply posed to take advantage of T-Mo's recently restructured all-in-one unlimited wireless data package that gets you WiFi on T-Mobile hotspots and EDGE data for $30 a month.

“Is T-Mobile actually going to break new ground in 2006 with seamless WiFi /cellular UMA handoffs?  No, we still can't say for sure, but signs continually seem to point to yes.”

Other cellular/VoIP efforts

The other U.S. cellular networks — Cingular/AT&T Wireless and Sprint/Nextel — also have WiFi networks (typically through agreements with other WiFi operators).  But the operators don’t emphasize WiFi the way T-Mobile does.

On the subject of handsets with VoIP….Nokia at 3GSM announced its quad-band GSM phone that integrates WiFi — Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) — that will be offered first by Orange.  The VoIP component is designed to work with in-house corporate networks, not with public hotspots.

Reuters also has published an article about the VoIP dilemma for cellular operators.

UMA for non-cellular companies

For an interesting view of the new Nokia 6131 UMA handset (see left), check out Carlo Longino’s post in “MobHappy.”  He says the 6131 provides opportunities for non-cellular companies, such as cable companies and landline firms, to enter the wireless business.

Carlo writes, “For someone like a cable operator, an MVNO using its own networks for UMA backhaul is a pretty compelling proposition.  A fixed operator can offer a similar network, and for a diversified telecoms company, like France Telecom — say with its Wanadoo ISP and Orange mobile network in the UK — it makes even more sense.”

Seagate debuts 12GB hard disk for cellular phones and other mobile devices

Seagate Technology has announced a 12GB one inch hard drive that includes an optional drop sensor, according to the company’s press release.  This ST1.3 Series drive is designed for cellular phones as well as other portable devices such as digital music and video players.

Discussing issues of hard drive reliability, Seagate says, “People often bring their mobile phones, PDAs and PMPs with them when walking, running or during other physical activities.  Seagate's ST1.3 Series differs from other hard drives because it is designed to compensate for the issues caused by such high-motion activities.

“The drive incorporates Seagate RunOn technology, which enables the drive to automatically keep the read heads on track while the device is in motion.”

Will people buy?

While it’s no secret that cellular phones offer a wealth of multimedia capabilities, one question is what medium (or media) will most subscribers use to store their music, photos, videos, etc.  Typically, internal memory is the most robust followed by memory cards and then hard disk drives.

The sweet spot for digital music players seems to be in the 1GB to 4GB range — certainly popularized by the Apple Computer Nano.  Most people (today, at least) don’t need more than than.

Even people who have 20GB – 60GB digital music players often fill up only a fraction of their storage space.

Personal speaking

I have the new 30GB video-enabled Apple iPod (I like it), a 30GB Creative player (not my favorite) and a few flash players.  I also have a 12–in-1 memory card reader for all the formats needed for storing data from my digital camera, laptop and multiple cellular phones that I test. (But it doesn’t include TransFlash, sigh.)

For me, a 12GB hard drive for a cellular phone is overkill.  Also, how much larger will the phone have to be to accommodate the drive?

But storage requirements are changing dramatically because of multimedia.  My new IBM/Lenovo X41 Tablet PC has a 60GB hard drive (largest available) and it’s too small!  I store recorded television programs and ripped DVDs (that I legally own) to watch on my Tablet PC when I’m traveling, and these multimedia files are taking up too much space.

Future considerations

For virtually everyone today, a high capacity hard disk drive on a cellular phone is overkill.  But what about the future?

If you’ve got a large-screen cellular phone and are storing full-length TV programs (just as you can on an iPod and portable video player) or even movies, would you need a large hard drive?  Or, would a memory card suffice?  Today you may purchase, for example, a 2GB mini-SD card for less than $150.

Sony Ericsson just announced the w950 Walkman phone with 4GB of flash memory.

There’s no doubt that the need for storage in cellular phones is increasing.  The question is what media will consumers and businesses prefer.

Strategy Analytics report says business wireless data use to generate $20 billion in 2006

Strategy Analytics’ “Mobile Business Application Outlook for 2006” predicts business use of wireless data will create a market worth more than $22 billion in 2006 in North America, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (see below), according to the research firm’s press release.

Strategy Analytics says, “While casual SMS use will continue to dominate users and revenues, email will govern enterprise-sanctioned adoption.  The race to supply email beyond the corner office will pit email specialists against industry heavyweights from both the IT and mobility worlds who threw their hats into the ring in 2005.

“Enterprise-grade mobile email users in these regions are expected to double in 2006.  Recurring end-user expenditures on mobilized e-business applications, including SFA and FFA, will grow nearly 16 percent in these regions to eclipse $2 billion.”

E-Mail’s importance

Cliff Raskind, the director of Strategy Analytics’ global wireless practice, says in the release, ‘Led by Nokia/Intellisync and Sybase/Extended Systems, consolidation among email providers has injected a degree of necessary IT clout and staying power to vendors beyond RIM and Microsoft.”

David Kerr, vice president for the firm’s global wireless practice, says the diversity of new converged wireless devices, such as the Treo 700w, BlackBerry 8700c and Motorola Q “promise to finally succeed in blending voice and data functionality in a reasonable form factor.  Challenges remain on the handset side in the area of ease of use, particularly in appealing to untapped user segments.

“There is no dominant UI metaphor in the converged device space at this time.  Will BlackBerry be able to extend its UI beyond corner office Connectivity Junkies or will Microsoft or Symbian succeed in optimizing the device experience for emerging segments of Connected Responders, Content Creators and PIM Freaks?”

Cascada Mobile promotes platform as "standard" for super-distribution

Cascada Mobile thinks it has the platform for super-distribution that will set the standard for this peer-to-peer (P2P)viral-type of marketing where users recommend content to other users who could then purchased it.  If you follow the activities of the CTIA Wireless Internet Caucus (WIC) and WIC publications you know what an interesting and topical issue this is.

The WIC’s Mobile Content Action Team has been discussing how to spark the implementation of super-distribution,  but it’s not an easy task, as I wrote in a WIC Weblog post as well as in an article for the WIC’s wireless data newsletter, Untethered.  For example, if one user recommends a game (or song track or video) to another user, will the recipient be able to play the recommended content on the handset?

What happens if the recipient’s handset is incompatible:  What message, if any, does the sender and recipient see if the handset can’t accommodate the content?  Another major problem is billing for content, especially if the sender recommends content that’s available from one cellular operator to the recipient who uses another cellular operator.

Cascada Mobile’s solution

Cascada Mobile has been working on the problem for at least a year, according to Tony Davis, the executive chairman of the company.  Davis also founded Tira Wireless, a mobile content platform company.  And, at the same time he’s chairman of Cascada he’s also the co-founder and managing partner of Brightspark Ventures, a venture capital firm.

If you listen to the Mobile Action Team conference calls (anyone interested is able to listen to the toll-free calls) you know how the participants view super-distribution as a challenge because of the numerous issues that need to be resolved.  That’s why Cascada was established, according to Davis, because he believed Cascada could develop such a platform.

Davis says he doesn’t think any other company offers such a complete system. 

Cascada has signed a major games developer, Konami, to incorporate its TAG platform to such games as Frogger.  Cingular Wireless was the first carrier to employ the system and T-Mobile also uses it, Davis says.  He says all the major cellular operators, including Sprint and Verizon Wireless, are interested.

SMS and WAP

When a cellular subscriber transmits a recommendation (see left) it’s sent via WAP push or SMS.  The software also is designed to go back to Cascada’s server to determine whether the recipient’s handset is compatible with the recommended content.  The recipient will receive a message if the handset isn’t compatible.

The software works over Java phones.  Verizon uses BREW and the carrier’s subscribers would be able to receive recommendations but not purchase them.

As for what carrier gets paid when a recipient purchases recommended content, the recipient’s carrier gets the fee.  So if a Cingular subscriber sends a mobile game recommendation to a T-Mobile subscriber, T-Mobile receives the fee for the game.

Cascada is focusing on games because the cellular operators see it as a major category for recommendations — that cuts across many agree groups — and it’s easier to implement than music downloads and ringtones and wallpapers.  Implementation in Europe might be somewhat more open than in the U.S., Davis notes.

True versus “higher level” P2P

Cascada’s TAG platform isn’t true P2P because it’s server is required between the user and the recipient, rather than direct handset-to-handset communications.  Davis calls TAG a “higher level P2P.”

Theoretically, true P2P is certainly possible between handsets but there’s the “political” (as in “business models”) situation of operators that want to be part of the value chain.

In addition, P2P could create legal difficulties.  More than a year ago I read about Nokia developing a wireless P2P system, as “InfoSync World” reported. 

The article noted, “The major challenge for the system now is not technological but legal, as the music and movie industries have been staunchly opposed to P2P applications on the Internet, and phone carriers generally prefer centralized services that they can control, and charge for, over allowing users to communicate with each other directly.”

U.S. versus Europe

In Europe, cellular subscribers often download content directly from content providers without going to a cellular operator’s portal, he says.  With direct content provider-to-user downloads, the cellular operator receives airtime revenues but not a cut of the cost of the content.

In the U.S. the operators want revenues from two streams — airtime and content fees.

Super-distribution also helps ameliorate the “customer ignorance” problem when many subscribers don’t know all the capabilities of their phones, such as downloading games, Davis says.  Super-distribution also helps make it easier for subscribers to download content, that’s not always easy to accomplish.

Gifting, loyalty programs

Two concepts with super-distribution are “gifting” and loyalty programs.  With the former, subscribers are able to pay for content they may transmit to friends or relatives.  Loyalty programs involve offering some type of bonus — discounts on content, free content, points to purchase accessories — to cellular users whose friends purchase content that’s recommended.

Davis says gifting is possible with TAG but it wasn’t as a high a priority as other features.  Loyalty programs are possible, he notes, but the cellular operators want to first determine how well the recommendation concept is working, what type of users are recommending content and what type of content is recommended.

Corporations with major brands, such as automobile and fast food companies, are interested in super-distribution as a way to distribute content they sponsor — either for free or at a discount — to cellular subscribers, Davis says.

Paying for airtime?

But what about complaints from customers who have to pay a per-message (or per-packet) fee for receiving a recommendation — even it’s from a friend?  Davis says the cost of messaging has decreased so much that subscribers aren’t likely to complain about the cost.

This assumes, he notes, that the recommended content is worth reviewing.

CIO magazine discusses managing wireless devices and laptops

CIO magazine has an interesting article about how corporations can manage wireless devices and laptops, including such problems as security, user ignorance, and the cost of the device versus the value versus the risk.

The article notes, “What CIOs need desperately is a strategy for managing mobile and wireless devices. 

“Elements of a good strategy include: First identifying if there's a business need for a device; segmenting your employees by job function; deciding on a list of devices that IT will (and will not) support; and last, devising a training plan for users and help desk staffers as well as enforcement mechanisms that will ensure device security.

“If you try to fly without such a plan, you're sure to end up sitting amidst the charred ruins of a security and privacy disaster.  Cautionary examples are multiplying daily.”

Four case histories

The detailed article includes examples of device management from four different organizations:  Intelsat, Kirkland & Ellis, Texas Instruments and UPS.

If you’re an I.T. manager or charged with keeping track of your company’s mobile devices, the article is worth reading.