Mobile Internet TV Demonstrated At 3GSM World Congress

Tag: Internet TV Watch

Mobile TV is already popular in Asia and surrounding markets, but due to the lack of infrastructure and device limitations, it has not yet been widely possible in North America. At the 3GSM World Congress, Action Engine demonstrated their own live streaming television solution, jointly developed by SmartVideo Technologies; the service is essentially Internet TV that streams video via a Windows Media Server to a Windows Mobile handset.

This technology is very different from what most would expect 'Mobile TV' to be, unlike the Toshiba V401T that actually receives TV channels via a built-in analog TV tuner and is not restricted to mobile Internet content providers.

The problem goes back to the software; it seems when Windows Media or any type of MS software is used, the end-user is subject to restrictions and limitations of content that are only provided by the assigned content providers, in this case Amazon.com, eBay, FOX Sports, and the Microsoft MapPoint Team. SmartVideo is working on deals--with national programmers like MSNBC and CNBC, ABC News and ABC News Now, The Weather Channel, and DIC Entertainment--which will open up the spectrum of available viewing, but still won't offer as great a selection as, say, a mobile handset with the SH-Mobile3A Application Processor capable of receiving digital broadcasts would. The Action Engine system is not entirely TV-based. It will also offer subscribers the option to shop on Amazon.com; bid on eBay items; read news stories; check weather, stocks, and sports scores' get driving directions' and find restaurants and movie times 20x faster.