The coming wave of Wi-fi enabled mobile media devices 09/16/06
Microsoft’s new Zune player is the big gorilla’s answer to the iPod. Its greatest point of difference is a simple, yet powerful addition. Wi-fi built in. This means you can now easily share music, videos and pictures with your friends while oout and about….and i’m assuming it will have an in built browser that lets you buy songs without the need for a PC. The file sharing nature of the device means that a layer of DRM will be present. Song recipients will get to keep the songs for up to three plays or three days, whichever comes first. A great additional feature would be to be given the option to purchase the song when it expires, in case you want to keep it permanently. After all, try before you buy is a tried and tested model and this is an easy way to do it. Microsoft do have the infrastructure in place, by way of the Zune Marketplace, a digital download site to complement the Zune launch.
Zune is due this christmans and boasts a 30-GB hard drive, enough for ~ 7,500 songs. The device, which can also store and display video and pictures, comes with a 3-inch liquid-crystal display screen. It will have an FM tuner and come in three different colors: black, white, and brown.
All things considered, it is no killer product. All Apple needs to do is introduce a file sharing medium of some sort to their players. Options include bluetooth, infrared and of course, wi-fi.
Ofcourse, there are also mobile phones that are now turning into mobile media devices. It is not hard to find phones that offer 4GB of memory these days and as soon as we see more wi-fi enabled handsets on the marketplace, then downloading content to mobile devices is going to change dramatically. Suddenly users won’t be restricted to MNO’s portals and content providers will not have to dish out a significant chunk of revenue share them either. You will be able to download music to a mobile phone just like you do to your PC today, for the same price. So, frankly, iPods, Zunes, IRivers are soon to be obsolete. We all carry a mobile phone (ok, everyone under 50) so why carry 2 devices, when you can just have one?
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3 Responses to this article
This is interesting stuff: Some points to note:
*mobile phone screens are getting bigger. It’s not just the high end models. It is not that hard to find a screen the size of an iPod video screen.
*Battery life is getting longer
*Devices are getting lighter
*A wi-fi enabled mobile phone will be very very cool. Let’s just hope the handset manufacturers and operators don’t install hardware / software to restrict useage. Granted this technology poses a threat to the operators, but it can also offer new revenue opportunities if the play their cards right. New partnerships and sales channels can be tapped into. The first operatos in each geographical region to make a move will certailnly benefit from increased market share.
*Locally, it is easy enough for Vodafone users to bring in wi-fi enabled phones from overseas, as it is a GSM network.
Telecom will have to take the initiative and make wifi enabled phones available. They seem to be pushing mobile music in a big way, and recently they also introduced a dual download service allowing you to download a song to both your phone and then later to your PC. Wi-fi will certainly simplify this process.
*Price points may have to be reviewed. Currently a song to you phone costs $3.50. A song to your PC costs under $2. If I had a wi-fi phone, why would I pay $3.50 when I can pay $2 for the same thing?
*Early adopters are already playing with wi-fi enabled devices. In two years time we will see a dramatically different landscape. The internet is a large body of knowledge and operators risk losing customers if they play hardball.
I just came across an article in ‘The Register’ that tells us a little bit about Apple’s first foray into mobile phone hardware. It seems they are planning a release of a new ipod nano style phone. Supposedly it will have “full itunes integration” whatever that means. If it comes with wi-fi built in, then I think Apple will have a ‘killer’ product. A phone that does it all. The key will be the user interface. It needs to be easy to use as a phone and also easy to use as a music player. If they price it right, then I’m gettin one!
Current covert intelligence has revealed that we can expect a three megapixel camera, 2.2in display and a song capacity well in excess of the disastoruous 100-song limit imposed in Motorola Rokr.
But what about regulation? Surely the mobile operators will lobby handset vendors to install software of some sort that will restrict what the wifi connection can be used for.
Nokia presents an interesting case. They have recently purchases Loudeye, a digital music aggregator for US60m or thereabouts. They are obviously interested in pushing mobile devices as viable mp3 players. Whether this means they will open the floodgates and allow wi-fi enabled devices to freely download music to phones, bypassing any mobile portals and thereby making things easier and cheaper for the consumer, or does it mean locking up wi-fil functionaity that is restricted in order to protect mobile operator data revenues and content sales?
It’s all about the numbers, and the politics of who’s shagging who the night before the exclusive deals are signed that counts.