Mobile TV: a new future trend

Mobile TV is good news for those who want flexibility of time and place in watching television

Television is undoubtedly a basic need for some people. People can spend hours sitting and staring in front of the television, watching their favourite television programmes: news, football matches, soap operas, you name it. Loyal television audience, the euphemism of television junkies, may well spend more than 8 hours a day watching television. They will raise their eyebrows if you tell them that you do not watch television or do not own one.

For better or worse, there is good news for them: Mobile TV.

Mobile television or Mobile TV is a new way of watching television. You can watch broadcast programmes for information, entertainment and education on your mobile phones by simply subscribing to TV channel packages with your mobile phones.

Responding to the promising market of Mobile TV, several mobile device manufacturers have started to introduce their Mobile TV devices.

Nokia introduced N92 in November 2005 as the first integrated Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld (DVB-H) mobile device in the Nokia Nseries. Using the mobile device, you can set reminders for your favourite TV programmes and create personal TV channel lists. In addition, the cellular connectivity can also enable you to interact with added-value services, such as voting, blogging, interactive feedback and web services.

Following N92, Nokia later launched N93 as the ultimate mobile device for spontaneous video recording. This device is designed to work with WLAN, 3G (WCDMA 2100 Mhz), EDGE and GSM (900/1800/1900 Mhz) networks to provide broadband Internet access for browsing, uploading content, sending and receiving emails in addition to the Mobile TV over 3G networks.

LG Electronics, one of the early leading global players in Mobile TV from South Korea, which previously worked with Digital Media Broadcasting (DMB) format for the Korean markets, has expanded their market by supporting the DVB-H format as well, through LG-V900 and LG-U900 since early 2006. LG-U900 has a long-life battery that enables people to watch television for more than three hours. In addition, the device also enables high-speed data transmission, various channel services, a high-resolution image and strong mobile broadcasting.

Another important global player from South Korea, Samsung, has shown its authority in Mobile TV by providing diverse handsets that can support any formats, such as Terrestrial DMB (T-DMB) and Satellite DMB (S-DMB) (Asia-Pacific), DVB-H (Europe), and MediaFLO (United States). P900 and P910, which particularly aims to target European market, have successfully been tested during the FIFA World Cup 2006. Only recently, Samsung launches SGH-P930 for the Italian market following the success of the SGH-P920 launch last May. The SGH-P930 combines not only the latest Mobile TV technology, but also HSDPA technology, which enables high-speed data transmission.

RFID-enabled shopping and traveling in Japan

The ubiquitous emerging application of mobile Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology aims to enhance convenience, effective and efficient life in busy Japanese environment

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is an emerging technology that has started to change the life of the Japanese information society, particularly through mobile payment.

Through the use of Suica, ICOCA and FeliCa, people are now able to pay easier than using cash.

Suica is the abbreviation for Super Urban Intelligent Card. Informally, it is also known as “Suisui ikeru IC card”, which means “IC card that lets you move swiftly”. First issued in November 2001, the cards are currently used in Tokyo and Sendai areas.

While, ICOCA, the IC Operating CArds, is another traveling card issued by West Japan Railway Company. It has been in use since November 2003 in the Kinki Region. In the Kansai dialect, “ikoka” means “Shall we go?”.

Similar to Helsinki Travel Card, Suica and ICOCA can be found about the size of a credit card. Inside the card, a thin integrated circuit that has capabilities to store different kinds of information is embedded. The cards can be used either as a solely prepaid fare card or as double card - commuter pass and prepaid fare card. Since August 2004, the interoperability of the Suica and ICOCA cards have been higher. Their usages were no longer limited to only certain areas defined in the beginning. In the near future, it is expected that anyone in Japan can travel only with one card. It has been claimed during the same year that there were more than 9 million people in Japan using Suica.

In addition to train card, the Suica card also offers possibilities for the users to do shopping as well. Touching your Suica card against Suica reader in kiosks, convenience store, cafes and restaurants enables users to pay for their shoppings, drinks and meal. There are more and more places in Japan, not limited to the ones inside the train stations, where you can go around and pay easily the bills without having to take out your wallet.

One travel and shopping card at the same time is the only beginning toward the efforts of creating convenience, effective and efficient life in busy Japanese environment. Mobile FeliCa, which are known as Osaifu Keitai, the mobile phone digital wallet system, has the answers. Developed by NTT DoCoMo in summer 2004 in Japan, each FeliCa mobile phone users nowadays can do online payment, e-ticketing, identification and normal shopping with a single FeliCa mobile phone. Since January 2006, FeliCa was introduced as the commuter tickets, Mobile Suica, for Japan Rail East customer.

Currently, there are more than 8 million users in Japan using the FeliCa Digital Wallet. Moving around with a single FeliCa phone in Japan makes your life easier.