3.7 Telemóveis

Telemóveis (e convergência) vencem iPods

«Well, the war is finally over: and the mobile phone has emerged as the winner on two key fronts. For most buyers it will be the device of choice for playing music and taking photographs. I have been trying out some of the latest mobile phones and there has been a big increase in the quality and quantity of the tracks they play, while mobile phone cameras - especially with the release of 3- and 5-megapixel models, such as the Nokia N80 and the LG KG920 - are now as good as the standard digital cameras of a couple of years ago.

There will always be lots of people wanting dedicated cameras or iPods, but the majority of people in future will opt to have all these functions on one device rather than two or three. They already are. It is no coincidence that in the first quarter, when Apple suffered a sharp drop in iPod sales (blaming it, implausibly, on seasonal factors), the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said that half of all digital music sold in 2005 went directly to mobile phones (including ringtones).

The decline of iPod sales continued in the second quarter, while sales of music-enabled mobile phones soared. Nokia alone, a late entrant to music, plans to ship 80m music phones this year (almost double last year's iPod sales). Sony Ericsson is enjoying success with its popular Walkman phone, as is Motorola with its Razr, while LG's Chocolate was Carphone Warehouse's biggest ever seller.

fonte: Guardian, Dump your iPod, the mobile's taking over, Victor Keegan, August 24, 2006

(EUA) Canais de música nos telemóveis

«Alltel Wireless announced Thursday that it had inked a deal with XM Satellite Radio to make some of the radio company's music channels available to its customers. Using software developed by mobile media content provider MobiTV, Alltel subscribers will be able to listen to streaming content from 20 of XM's more popular channels--among them are '80s music, indie rock, country and Latin pop.

The service will cost Alltel subscribers $7.99 per month; a subscription to XM's regular satellite radio service is not required. This is not Alltel's first move toward making its service more media-rich. Recently, the wireless provider entered an agreement with podcasting site Melodeo to make podcasts searchable and streamable via Alltel's Axcess media platform.»

fonte: C.Net.news.com, «Alltel launches satellite radio service with XM», By Caroline McCarthy
Staff writer, CNET News.com, Published: August 10, 2006, 7:48 AM PDT

mais sobre os telemóveis e os canais de rádio:

«Today, we can get our Radio via satellite, the Internet, through cable, even in our PDAs and cell phones. Oh yeah and even through those old "AM/FM Radio things".So, where is all this going? My gut tells me your cell phone is vehicle of natural portability - and the heir to the transistor radio which revolutionized Radio’s portability in the 1960’s. The convergence of wireless technology, content and size make the cell phone the perfect host for taking your favorite sounds to the beach, a doctor’s waiting room or the park near your home. Many higher-end cell phones have already incorporated the ability to receive FM signals. This ability will only continue to increase as new generations of lower-end phones become even less expensive to manufacture and providers strive to offer more options to new users.» (Corey Deitz)

Oferecer a rádio de satélite nos telemóveis

«XM Canada will offer subscribers its service over cell phones. The satcaster has an agreement with telecom company Telus to offer subscribers satellite radio content over cell phones.

XM Canada President/COO Stephen Tapp said it's the first offer of streaming real-time satellite radio programming to Canadians.

Twenty XM Canada channels will be offered over some Telus cell phones for $15 per month. Initially, the service will be available on the LG 8100 and Samsung A950 phones.

The deal is similar to one signed last year between Sirius and Sprint. »

fonte: «XM Canada Branches Out to Cell Phones», RWOline, 7/7/06

 

Música portátil vai ultrapassar a música on line

«Wireless over-the-air (OTA) music services offer mobile phone users a convenient way to buy music and provide the music industry with an exciting new distribution channel. While adoption remains low today, IDC forecasts that U.S. wireless music services will have over 50 million users and generate more than a billion dollars in revenue in 2010, just 5 years after appearing in late 2005.

"Wireless OTA music services offer music fans a convenient source of music and bring the music industry new opportunities to reach consumers and drive revenue. Wireless music services are still in their infancy in the U.S., but are expected to quickly gain traction during the forecast period. By the end of this year, the number of U.S. OTA customers will be approximately half that of online music service users, but may surpass them by the end of the forecast period," says Susan Kevorkian, program manager, Consumer Markets: Audio.

According to an IDC survey, a total of 22% of respondents indicated that they would buy at least one track from their service provider within the first three months of availability, assuming they had an appropriate handset. Eight percent of respondents age 25-44 indicated they would buy four or more tracks. It’s this 25-44 age group that IDC analysts believe could be the core base of wireless over-the-air service users, in particular those who may be new to digital music services. (...)»

fonte: «IDC Says Wireless Mobile Music Users Could Surpass Online Music Service Users by 2010», IDC, 15 Jun 2006

Confirma-se: a música em mobilidade deixou de ser um exclusivo da rádio

(só com um modelo)

«Nokia has recently crossed sales of one million units of its 3250, a music-focused mobile. The RAZR-like sales curve is impressive, and reaffirms analyst projections of strong music-focused mobile sales. The device first hit markets in March, sporting 1 gigabyte of total storage, a 2 megapixel digital camera, and little extras like an airplane listening mode. The phone comes pre-packaged with the S60 3rd Edition software and Symbian OS, and support for a variety of codecs, including MP3, WMA, M4A, AAC and eAAC+. "S60 3rd Edition introduces a new level of flexibility and security, enabling easy creation of devices and applications targeted to mass markets," commented Heikki Norta, a senior vice president at Nokia.»

fonte: «Nokia Crosses One Million Units on 3250 Music Phone», Digital Music News, 12/7/06

Quem tem este modelo vai ouvir música na rádio? a resposta parece-me óbvia...

As potencialidades da rádio através do telemóvel

«Judging from the amount of press radio trades give the topic of listening to radio on cell phones, the radio industry seems to ignore the potential of how popular this could become. Yet, if industry titans misjudge the oncoming train called cell phone radio, like they did that of satellite radio, they may find themselves being hit upside the head with another blunt reality: It's not a question of "if" listening to radio on a cell phone will become common, only "when."

RRadio Network's continuing survey of online radio listeners is showing what could be another thorn in the radio industry's side; the concept of paying to listen to radio on a cell phone is gaining ground. When this hits mainstream status, there's a very good chance that the stations offered (on cell phones) will originate more from online than terrestrial.

In March 2005, Audio Graphics released data from 2038 listeners answering the question "If Internet radio were available on your cellular telephone, for a reasonable fee, would you pay to listen?" At the time only 27.9% answered "yes."

Our current survey, although only partially completed, is indicating that the public is far more receptive to the concept of paying to listen to radio on a cell phone. Of those answering the same question this time around, 35.4% say "yes," they would pay to listen to radio on their cell phone if it were offered for a reasonable fee.

(...) Youth and cell phones are inseparable. Is there anyone in the radio industry that doesn't see where this is a problem? (...)»

fonte: «Radio Industry Quandary: Cell Phone Radio», Audiographics, 5/7/06

Radio Disney nos telemoveis

«In a move that will extend the reach of its broadcast programming, Radio Disney announced a partnership with mSpot on Tuesday. An aggregator of mobile music and video, mSpot will incorporate Disney Radio within its 100 channel lineup, and subsequently stream the programming to wireless users. Radio Disney president and general manager Jean-Paul Colaco touted the initiative as "another step" in his company’s strategy to keep "connected with kids and families, whenever and wherever they are." The mSpot lineup of music, sports and movie content is currently available to Sprint subscribers»

fonte: «Radio Disney Pushes Mobile-Based Distribution, Taps mSpot» Digital Music News

As notícias (e o resto) no telemóvel

«Next time you miss the morning news, download it to your iPod and watch on the subway ride to work.

That's a likely possibility given one of the latest trends among local television news stations: distributing their programs via mobile devices and the Web as they try to hold onto fickle audiences. Local stations are following the example of broadcast and cable networks, which are rushing to make hits like ``The Sopranos" and ``Lost" available to viewers unwilling to be tethered to a schedule or their TV sets. Locally though, it's the news instead of mob dramas that is migrating to new devices.

Boston TV executives say their multimedia strategies are a response to viewers who are increasingly shifting their viewing to the Web and portable devices. Doing so, they say, is a relatively cheap way to expand the reach of their programming because it usually doesn't involve investing in new equipment or in many cases even the time it takes to produce new video.(...)

``Do I expect to make a ton of extra advertising money the day we launch it? No. But I do expect that this is absolutely going to be a vital part of any station's future," said Steve Safran, director of digital media at New England Cable News.(...)

CBS4 Mobile , a subscription service designed to give Sprint and Verizon Wireless customers access to news, traffic, and weather videos from the station and blogs written by some of its reporters, is days away from launch, said vice president and station manager Angie Kucharski. The service will cost about $3 per month and will be billed directly to subscribers by their cellphone companies.(...)»

fonte: «Local TV news when you want it», Boston.com, Keith Reed, Globe Staff  |  May 31, 2006

A emissão satélite no telemóvel

«ZING also announced it is working with SIRIUS Satellite Radio (...) to stream live digital SIRIUS programming over mobile devices.

Bob Law, Senior Vice President and General Manager Consumer Electronic Division for SIRIUS commented: “The market for digital audio on-the-go is exploding. We are working with ZING to expand the availability of SIRIUS content on new platforms and bring the best in satellite radio programming to an increasingly mobile audience.” 

fonte: http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/more-on-zing-sirius-partnership.html

 

Canais de rádio num telemóvel («streaming»)

Alguns assinantes da Sprint (EUA) podem receber, desde o início do ano, três canais de rádio (de desporto) via «streaming»:

«“WFAN, WSCR and WIP are among CBS Radio’s most listened to stations in the country and we recognize that in today’s fast paced world, our listeners need immediate access and alternate ways to hear live broadcasts and news about their favorite sports teams,” commented Joel Hollander, chairman and CEO, CBS Radio. “CBS Radio seeks to partner with companies that will enhance the listener experience and we’re thrilled our stations will be offered through mSpot Sports service.”» (http://www.radioink.com/headlineentry.asp?hid=133387&pt=inkheadlines).

«“It’s basically what you have in your car radio, with a 30-second delay,” said Daren Tsui, MSpot CEO» (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001807316)

 

3 mil músicas num telemóvel!

É o Nokia N91 e já está à venda. Para quem tiver quase 700 euros...

Com os seus 4 GB, pode, diz a própria marca, levar «até 3.000 das suas músicas favoritas».

Como comentava comigo o Edgard, «iPod Nano vira coisa de criança». Por falar em iPod Nano: se a versão maior tem 4GB e suporta até mil músicas, como é que o N91 pode ter até 3 mil e a mesma capacidade? É um problema do formato de compressão do iPod (o AAC)?

O telemóvel vai ultrapassar o computador como acesso à net

«the personal computer remains the dominant platform to access the Internet globally. However, Internet access via the mobile phone actually outpaces wireless access from a notebook PC in many of areas of the world – a statistic driven largely by the massive install base of mobile phones throughout the world as well as more developed wireless networks, according to The Face of the Web, the annual study of Internet trends by global market research firm Ipsos Insight. »

fonte: «Mobile Phones Could Soon Rival the PC As World’s Dominant Internet Platform», Ipsos News Center, 18/4/06

O negócio da música nos telemóveis - sem publicidade e independente

Via Corey Deitz: «Interested in receiving music on your cell phone? I recently received this email from Rusty Hodge, the General Manager of SomaFM.com in San Francisco. SomaFM is listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio broadcasting from San Francisco. Rusty wrote: I read your article about Mspot Puts 8 Channels of Commercial-Free Music on Sprint PCS Vision Phones and wanted to let you know that there are other sources for commercial free music on phones. SomaFM has been supporting Sprint's "3GPP" multimedia phones (Sanyo MM-7400, MM-5600 and Samsung MMA700 phones) since May, 2005. We offer 3 of our commercial free radio channels on our 3GPP service for no additional charge if you already have a Sprint internet access plan. We also offer radio stream formats that are compatible with newer smart phones that include the Windows Media Player, and the Treo phones with Pocket Player. (...) You'll be surprised at how good radio over your 3GPP phone can sound - even better than satellite radio!»

Telemóveis vão matar LAD

A previsão é de um responsável da Nokia: tal como aconteceu com as máquinas fotográficas analógicas, e vai acontecer com as digitais, os telemóveis vão matar os leitores de audio digital (ou será que, como se fala com o iPod, este também será um telemóvel?):

«O sucesso dos telemóveis, enquanto dispositivos multimédia, vai provocar o desaparecimento de muitos fabricantes de leitores de áudio e câmaras digitais. Quem o afirma é um responsável da Nokia, em declarações ao Financial Times.
Anssi Vanjoki, director da divisão multimédia do maior fabricante mundial de telemóveis, recordou antigas previsões da Nokia, em 2000, relativamente à "morte" da indústria de fotografia.
Para o responsável, as empresas que se dedicam apenas ao fabrico deste tipo de equipamentos têm o futuro em cheque, na medida em que os telemóveis, se convertem, cada vez mais, em opções de compra.
Mais avançados e versáteis, os terminais actuais cruzam aparelhos de telecomunicações com leitores de áudio e câmaras digitais. É este "tudo em um" que poderá condicionar a opção dos consumidores. Os musicphones , por exemplo, poderão vingar no mercado, em detrimento dos leitores específicos.
A Nokia produziu, em 2005, 100 milhões de telemóveis com câmara, tornando-se assim a maior fabricante deste tipo de componentes no mundo. Em Janeiro, a Konica Minolta anunciou o abandono do mercado da fotografia (ver link). A Agfa-Gevaert, por sua vez, vendeu en 2004 a sua famosa divisão fotográfica.
«Nos próximos 6 a 12 meses, virão a público mais anúncios destes. Os próximos a desaparecer serão os fabricantes de aparelhos de música», disse Vanjoki, citado pela Reuters.
No ano passado, a Nokia produziu 40 milhões de telemóveis com capacidade para reproduzir música e pretende duplicar as vendas em 2006. Funcionalidades como a gravação de vídeo, outrora disponível apenas nos terminais mais caros, são hoje comuns. A tendência é para que a qualidade melhore e a tecnologia se torne mais acessível». (fonte: «Nokia prevê desaparecimento dos leitores de MP3 e câmaras», JC, 2006/03/25, Ciberia)

Bill Gates disse o mesmo há um ano!

Telemóveis inimigos...

«Apple is planning to remove the limit on the Motorola phone which can play songs from iTunes — a cap which restricts current users to store no more than 100 songs on the device.
     At least that’s what the blogs are all abuzz with this morning after a few discovered a graphic in yesterday’s update to iTunes that presumably will rollout later which encourages users of the ROKR phone to download an update to get more music on their phones.
     We already know that people — young people especially — are turning off their radios in increasing numbers and listening to their own playlists on iPods and other devices. That’s part of what is behind the expanded playlist format like JACK-FM — a late-to-the-party attempt at getting those listeners back.
     So now, think about it.
     If you could get a phone with 30 GB of storage (enough for your whole music collection) which would pause if your phone rang so you could take the call (hell, you already have the earpiece and mic plugged in) why would you need a radio (or iPod for that matter).
     Radio’s future is in embracing alternate platforms. This is only one of them. There will be more.

UPDATE: Turns out the 100-song cap is staying in place. The upgrade graphics will be released to non-American customers whose phones were limited to as low as 25 songs. This will at least get their phones to the 100-song limit. But, as Engadget says: “Of course, the very existence of the upgrade system raises tantalizing possibilities for the rest of us, but for now, that’s all that’s being raised.”»

fonte: «“iPod Phone” becomes more of a radio threat», I Love Radio.org, Thursday, February 16th, 2006 at 8:41 am

Um telemóvel com 8 Gb - falta o quê?

« the world's first 8GB Hard Disk embedded smartphone (...) The i310 works as a perfect platform for users by combining a phone, a digital camera, and a MP3 player with its immense storage capacity. It enables users to carry around 2,000 songs (4MB/song) wherever they go»

 

Os telefones não são para música ou televisão?

É o que diz este estudo: 

«Most Americans don't want to rock with their phones or squint at the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives" on a tiny screen, a new survey said Thursday. The poll tosses a wrench into cell phone providers' efforts to make broadband applications like music and video downloads attractive to consumers. The survey, conducted on behalf of Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Capital Markets research group, interviewed 1,001 Americans and found that three-fourths said they weren't interested in watching TV programs or movies on their handheld. Nearly as many -- 69 percent -- said they didn't care to listen to music using their cell phone. The reason, said RBC, was that people are spooked by the quick changes in mobile technology.

"Consumers are generally deterred when it comes to adopting the latest integrated mobile devices due to concerns of obsolescence," said Mark Sue, an RBC Capital Markets analyst, in a statement. "As integrated mobile devices become more complex, a significant time lag can persist before the trajectory of growth accelerates."

(...) RBC's survey mirrors prognostications late last year from Forrester Research that while cell phone companies were bullish on new services such as music downloads, users were bearish.»

(fonte: Techweb, Cell Phone Users Tune Out Music And Video: Survey Says, By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb News, 2/3/06

Uso do telemóvel no carro prejudica a rádio!

(eis um daqueles estudos cujos resultados são óbvios, mas que são necessários para legitimar o empirismo...)

O uso do telemóvel no carro prejudica a audição da rádio, diz um estudo da Bridge & Ratings: 

«Cell phone pervasiveness is a significant contributor to threat to traditional media by cell phone use in vehicles. Topline findings of our national study conducted between July 2005 and January 2006 projects that in the United States, 66% of the population owns a cell phone: U.S. population stands at 297 million, with 197 million cell phone users. In fact, today cell phone technology is the only audio technology that could approach traditional radio’s market penetration (currently at 93% or 276 million Americans who listen to terrestrial radio at least once a week).

From our analysis, it was clear that in vehicles in which the radio was being listened to, when cell phones were in use, radio behavior was affected:

	Radio Volume Unchanged	Radio Volume Turned Down	Radio Turned Off
	2%	79%	19%

(fonte: «Bridge Ratings Industry Study : In-Car Cell Phone Use; In-Car Cell Phone Use Impacting Radio Listening!, February 20, 2006)

Sprint [operador telemóvel EUA] vendeu um milhão de musicas

"Sprint has now crossed its one millionth over-the-air (OTA), full-track download, dampening some skepticism among analysts and executives. The mobile music store, which only recently received heavy advertising support, sells tracks for $2.50 each. Those charges are on top of a monthly Power Vision multimedia service charge of $15-$25 a month, and a compatible device purchase is also required. Regardless, consumers appear to be biting, at least in the early stages. "This is the first of many milestones, and we have seen this response across a number of global deployments," commented Adam Sexton of Groove Mobile, which is powering the OTA delivery backend for Sprint.

Sprint launched its OTA service in October, 2005 (...) Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is Verizon Wireless, which unveiled its own OTA music download service in January."

"Sprint Crosses One Million Over-the-Air Downloads"

Rádio e telemóveis

«(...) the wireless phone could become the music industry’s biggest and most profitable distribution channel.” (...)

"Never underestimate the American people’s love of convenience, which is trend number three... Since we are on the fast track toward becoming a ’one person one cell phone’nation, this convenient little gadget is the next big gateway into our commercial lives.

"Sprint Nextel is now in the radio business, working with Sirius. Cingular is in. Virgin is in..., Motorola has iRadio with 435 channels from Clear Channel; Nokia is getting in, CBS Radio is working with Hewlett-Packard  on a "visual radio” concept... This should keep everybody busy for a while... »

("Mobile Phones Threat to FM underscores Tch Dominance», via NetFM; John Silliman Dodge’s article can be found in the paper copy of last month’s FMQB).