Wireless industry pushes TV for your cell phone

Nokia's impressive TV system
This is the second time I’ve been able to watch Nokia’s mobile TV system via their special new cellular handset. I’m happy to report that once again I’ve come away from the experience very, very impressed.

The N92 is Nokia’s first-ever mobile TV device dedicated to viewing and storing mobile broadcast content, as well as accessing interactive services. In addition to being a cell phone, the N92 is truly a portable multimedia center. Nokia calls the capability “watch and record TV on the go.”

It has an impressive 2.8-inch, QVGA (320 by 240 pixels) screen. There are 4-way media keys on the device which handle the built-in FM stereo radio, TV, video and music functions.  The handset also sports stereo speakers, MP3/AAC/WMA music file support, 802.11g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 2 megapixel camera.

The N92 is also a cell phone. The device operates on the GSM/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz bands as well as the WCDMA 2100 MHz band. The battery allows for up to four hours of talk or watch time before needing recharging.

I particularly love the fact that the Nokia has an electronic programming guide — similar to what you might have on your home cable/satellite system. Can’t wait for the day when I program my home TV to record one show while I’m recording/watching something else on my cell phone.

Nokia Nokia 7710 is another example of how cell phones will take on different shapes.

The phones being displayed here at 3GSM are not futuristic, science-fiction-based pipe dreams. These phones are for real. They are what multimedia devices will look like in the near future. The N92 is slated for release later this year. Mobile TV handsets may not take the exact same shape or form factor as current phones (see the photo of the Nokia 7710 for another example of this), but a number of future cell phone designs will be able to do a lot more than make/receive calls.

In original testing in Nokia homeland of Finland, the video service was offered for 5 euros ($6) per month for all the video you wanted to watch. I hope it’s offered at similar prices by the time it gets to the United States. It’s fun to test these hot, new cellular features but I’m not sure how much I would pay for the experience. How many users would be willing to pay exorbitant video fees — fees that might rival your monthly cable bill?  That’s something cellular carriers must consider.

Until these new features are ready for use in the United States, I’ll stick with my current cell phone video solution. I’ve been playing with the soon-to-be-released Slingbox player software for Windows Mobile 5.0 smart phones. I have to tell you, being able to watch local hometown news, weather and sports highlights on your cell phone when you’re thousands of miles from home is very, very addictive.

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