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[Wednesday at NAB]
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Blazing the Mobile Trail
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by Walter Schoenknecht,
~ April 16, 2008
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TV TECHNOLOGY
There’s one thing both technologists and content providers can agree on: The future of mobile content delivery will be decided by its audience, and not by a group of theorists.
Tuesday morning’s “New Devices, New Opportunities” Super Session clearly displayed the independent approaches employed by technology developers, represented by Intel’s Kevin Kahn, and content developers and distributors, voiced by a panel discussion following Kahn’s talk.
As director of Intel’s Communications Technology Lab, it’s Kahn’s job to envision a future for mobile content delivery devices — and his work begins by evaluating the suitability of present-day technology.
“Today, if you look at mobility,” said Kahn, “we’ve got some pretty marginal devices.” Current technological limitations dictate, in no small part, a device’s form factor, which in turn influences and limits the human interface design.
“In the English language, we had an expression, ‘He’s all thumbs,’ but that’s got a whole new meaning these days,” Kahn said, wiggling his thumbs as if sending a text message. “It’s not a really great way to interface with a device.”
Invoking Intel’s tag line for its mobile initiative, “Carry Small, Live Large,” Kahn spoke of his lab’s targets not only for the devices’ underlying technologies, but for their usability as well.
ENABLED BY TECHNOLOGY
“This is not just an engineering geek’s view of what people will want,” Kahn said, pointing to the addition of anthropologists and sociologists to Intel’s research staff. Using resources like this, he said, would help to make devices more “personal” for users.
“Context awareness” may be a hallmark of next-generation devices, according to Kahn. Even with today’s technology, devices have plenty of sensors available to learn about users and their environments … microphones, cameras and GPS systems, for instance.
“For the most part,” Kahn said, “the devices we carry are clueless as to what we’re doing and where we are.”
One big challenge is forming the standards and protocols that will allow portable electronic devices to easily and comprehensively interface with other devices, such as consumer electronics.
Kahn’s own field, typified by Intel, Apple and others, has been more than willing, he feels, to create industry-wide standards at the slightest provocation; others, like the consumer sector, are more accustomed to blazing their own trails through the technology wilderness. “If you want proof of that,” Kahn said, “count the number of infrared remote controls sitting on your coffee table at home.”
Kahn acknowledged the standardization struggles ahead, but promised that Intel’s resources will remain committed. “It’s not like this is going to happen automatically,” he said. “We’re going to have to put effort into this, and find places where we can agree.”
Following Kahn’s talk, a panel of industry executives discussed the challenges inherent in moving content from more traditional outlets to mobile devices and other distribution technologies. Chaired by BIA Financial Network Chief Strategist Rick Ducey, the panel explored the differing expectations of mobile device audiences regarding digital rights management, the user experience and, in particular, ways in which traditional broadcasters would need to adjust their operations to meet those expectations.
Gary Gannaway, CEO of WorldNow, suggested that simply making content streams available to viewers would help define a strategy for refining mobile content offerings. “If we can get all [of a station’s] news content to all the mobile device [viewers], we’ll find out what the consumer wants,” he said.
The panel also responded to Kahn’s concerns about the importance of technical standards to the goal of making mobile media platform-agnostic. Apple Computer’s proprietary, non-standard family of media technologies and content were cited as an example of an implementation that could easily have been negatively impacted by a wait for industry-wide standards negotiation.
Sling Media founder Jason Hirschhorn expressed innovators’ concerns. “While everyone’s in a room trying to agree, [Apple’s] running down the street eating everyone’s lunch,” he said.
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