At some point in the future, the PMP has to merge with an important element of the Ultra Mobile PC, namely, the browser. TV/IP services are becoming too important to ignore and anyone who focuses their product at over-the-air broadcasts is going to miss out on ‘world wide TVnet.’ and the advantages is brings to the consumer and the supply chain. The browser will become a critical part of TV just as it is a critical part of the UMPC.
The size and technology of PocketPC, ultra mobile PC and PMP devices are overlapping now (Nokia N800
Digital Cube I-Station S43
Raon Digital Vega
Uren V1
Sharp EM One
) and the wireless technology is here. All that is needed is a few compelling services to choose from and a reasonable data plan similar to Three’s X-Series in the UK (which sadly, doesn’t allow tethering.)
How about Joost? We’ve seen the technology running on UMPCs and just a few days ago, the Joost organisation announced that they had struck a deal with Viacomm. (MTV, Paramount Pictures.) Catchplay is another one to take note of although it hasn’t actually launched yet. This one is interesting becuase VIA and HTC are behind it.
Next week in London, the IPTV World Forum takes place and there’s a huge number of carriers and providers listed in the speakers list. Not many end device manufacturers though and no sessions on ultra mobile devices which is a real shame. Put a set top box in someone’s hand and you can give them ads or sell them content more of the time. Are they all expecting the mobile services to only work on a mobile phone? Its possible but I think people are going to be captivated when they see these services running at on a 5″ screen. Its going to carry a huge amount of Wow and when combined with the sale of data services, maps and bundled with a high-end browser and media player you’ve got a very impressive platform.
Interesting exhibitors from the exhibitor list:
- Tatung. (Remember the Tatung ‘UMPC’.)
- Divx. (Their Stage6 Divx content site works really nicely with the LX800-based UMPCs. Here’s a demo I made using the Pepper Pad.)
The Joost team do not appear to be taking part in the forum or expo. You can bet they’ll be there though.
Here’s a nice question: Would you hand over your browsing history and GPS co-ordinates in exchange for free ad-supported mobile TV?
