subject: The Mobile Video Revolution [print this page] Who would have guessed just 5 years ago that mobile video would become one of the most popular services offered by wireless providers and device manufacturers? The spark that lit the fire under the mobile video phenomenon was the Apple iPhone. The phone came with an application for YouTube and the rest is history. But if that was the beginning and the end of mobile video then it wouldn't amount to much. There are many other things you can do on your mobile device other then watching movies or clips. Video games are a hot mobile video topic and it is growing by leaps and bounds.
There is no lack of content for your mobile device. All of the handset makers have switched their marketing message to emphasize types of applications available rather then hardware specifications. The hardware has become a commodity that people don't find all that exciting. What people want to know is how well the device handles an internet connection so that they can stream games, music, and video content. And they want to be able to do this on a network that doesn't charge them any extra to accomplish the streaming. These requirements have pushed 2 platforms to the forefront, they are Apples' iPhone and Google's Android.
Just about everybody knows about YouTube which is a good thing, because YouTube has become one of Google's signature destinations on the web. It is the site where most people will be watching videos on their mobile phones. With tens of millions of people logging into YouTube everyday it is no wonder that the companies that manufacture mobile phones and advertisers took notice of the traffic. Once word got out that you could watch high definition content on your mobile phone everyone wanted in on the action. Apple and Google are going after each other trying to gain market share like rabid dogs trying to gain the upper hand on a old bone. Once advertising is placed on the free content that is streaming over the small screen there will be billions and billions of dollars up for grabs.
It always comes down to money and advertising is where the money is going to come from. The networks that will be delivering online mobile video needed technology such as Wi-Fi and HSDPA connections. These might seem like basic technology solutions today, but they took a lot of research, development, and patents to get them off the ground. And that is why you will end up paying for all of this in the end. It is advertising on the mobile video platforms that will cover the costs. Today our children think that YouTube has been around forever. They are used to seeing an advertisement at the beginning of a video clip. They don't mind paying for mobile video by watching ads every time they open up a clip.
When Apple came out with the iPhone they set a standard for pricing that everybody who came after has followed. Originally mobile video carriers would have liked to set additional fees for the videos. But it was Apple that insisted that any carrier that was allowed to sell their devices sell a "package" that was reasonably priced and would allow the user to use all of the functions of the iPhone. Today the sales of "packages" has become the industry norm. Apple started the trend and now Google's Android handsets come with these package subscriptions as well.
Mobile phones are no longer looked upon as new technology. As a matter of fact they are kind of old news in the high tech world. But that doesn't mean that you won't be seeing new things in the future. The snowballing of the mobile content market will pick up steam and continue in a big way. With this increase in demand for mobile video will be an increase in demand for new, better, and more innovative media players. With the advent of LCD screens in cars that hooked directly to the internet the revolution is already under way. While prices are still high they are falling fast. The mobile video technology of tomorrow has arrived today.
