 Our experience at CTIA Wireless 2004 in Atlanta GA began on Sunday with the Mobile entertainment Summit. The Summit, presented by iHollywoodForum featured a day long lineup of panel sessions and case studies looking at what else... Mobile Entertainment! See also our Images from the Show & News Announcements Affecting the Symbian Community
Of interest was a session on attracting investment. For those of you searching for the elusive venture capitalist to line you pockets and fun your applications, the speakers in this track had some advice to share with us. Andy Rabhan of Ericsson told us how the company generally looks at complementary technologies with a shared vision. Nokia
Venture Partners seem to like early stage companies, particularly those targeting semi-conductor markets, services, and mobile marketing. Sun Microsystems’ Laura Lindquist describes the VC environment as relatively “hot” compared to last year… a good sign for
developers! New applications that leverage new technologies such as mobile music, multi-player gaming, streaming video, and MMS applications are a good bet, particularly if the solutions being pitched address content management solutions rather than content delivery.
The industry's leading corporate investors shared their thoughts on attracting VC
Some tips for the developer in search of capital
- It helps to already be seeded and to have some cash in place. Appear to be “well” funded and don’t appear desperate!
- You product or service should be brand able and marketable
- Know where you’re going and where you want to go. Don’t approach VC for direction and vision, bring those ideas to the table.
- When looking for a venture partner select an investor who knows your space and knows your potential customers
- Look for a partner with commitment to your space and to commitment for the long haul.
Don’t expect cash to fall out of the sky! One VC on the panel indicated that of some 400 deal he looked at last year, 4 were funded. This is not to say that all the others were “bad” investments, however, they didn’t seem to be a good fit according to some of the criteria mentioned above.
iHolloywood Forum CEO, Michael Stroud leads discussion panel
MMS… the future is now!
Sunday’s keynote session at the Forum was presented by News Corp’s (FOX TV) Sr VP of Content, Lucy Hood. She presented us with a look at “American Idol and Beyond”. The American Idol example was presented to us because the “reality show” is truly driving the uptake and direction of TXT and MMS messaging in North America. The
topic is of interest to the Symbian developer community because MMS is the future and holds the most opportunities for developers to score.
 The opportunity – In the US, voice apps and services currently account for roughly 98% of ARPU. Enter wireless (txt) messaging. Last year’s Idol campaign with AT&T wireless accounted for more than 7.5 million messages and 6 million text votes. This year’s show
(currently in progress) is on target for 4x that of last year and there’s no signs of slowing down. Looking beyond American Idol there’s plans for some very compelling app’s that will drive the usage of MMS and increase ARPU.
- Hotel Franklin – look for this weekly “reality” series on your handheld device. Each week a 60 second video strip will be streamed to subscribers. Will the girl get the guy? What will happen? Think of this as “Melrose Place” for wireless device users!
- Todd TV – watch “Todd's every move” on your device
- Localized content from TV guide and similar offerings.
Scene from Hotel Franklin - mobile reality show
So what’s generating revenues?
My take from the day’s sessions was that it’s a lot more about entertainment and less about the technology. Hollywood is driving the uptake and usage of technology and will continue to do so. Digital imaging, streaming videos and movies, multi-player gaming…
this is what people (and carriers) are looking at. The phone is now being viewed as a “data” device in North America and not just a supporting platform for voice… there’s the opportunity.
On the downside, the technology is evolving so fast and like the PC a decade ago, users are going to feel that their device simply can’t keep up and there’s going to be a feeling of never being able to have the optimal device. For example, millions of users now have camera enabled devices, however, solutions and services are now coming to market to
support the 1 mega pixel mobile camera… unfortunately most of us are in possession of a VGA resolution camera phone. Will users upgrade their phones once a year or more? Perhaps but I won’t hold my breath.
The future of mobile entertainment
The challenge will be to provide answers to the consumer. They will demand to know what they can do with their device, how to do it, and how much it costs. Once again, it was apparent from listening to the device manufacturers and solution providers that there’s a real problem in the marketing of technology – I agree. In North America the
outlets where the end user is exposed to enabling technologies (and apps) fall short on selling and informing the consumer.
The crystal ball
- 1 mega pixel digital cameras will be the norm… 2 and 3 mp will come
- mobile streaming video
- true multi-player gaming
- fully integrated products and apps
- look for us to follow Japan and Korean markets
Challenges:
- interoperability
- billing models
- educating the user
An observation/prediction: Mobile entertainment and MMS will no doubt drive the growth in marketshare of Symbian powered devices, particularly those bundled with applications built on Series 60. Signifigant opportunities exist for the Symbian developer, particulaly those that focus their applications on data and the management of data. Consider the fact that camera-enabled mobile devices now outsell digital cameras. Streaming media is another consideration... EDGE is a reality and more EDGE devices will hit the market, enabling streaming video to the end user.
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