August 21, 2004
Let the music play
An interesting article from telecomasia.net thanks to Moco News.
"It's not hard to see why cellcos want in on the music download scene. We've known mucould be mobile since Sony invented the Walkman. And for all the hype over video being the big play for 3G, it doesn't translate nearly as well into a portable handheld format as music. We also know now that mobile users will pay for music-based content like ringtones, music video clips and even karaoke.
However, mobile's suitability for music content doesn't automatically guarantee success. DoCoMo has already learned this the hard way - its mobile download service will reportedly be discontinued later this year. The reason: it's just too expensive, especially in a market like Japan.
That's a market-specific business model issue, perhaps, but it illustrates the point that mobile music, like rock'n'roll, ain't easy - and not just because of the business side. Mobile music still faces a number of technical issues as well that are going to have to be dealt with before it reaches its potential.
Another issue is the device itself. Sorry, but as music players go, today's mobile phones can't hold a candle to the iPod. They don't have the storage capability or the battery life.
Storage and battery issues, for example, could be solved via removable flash memory and fuel cells. Until then, however, cellcos hoping to cash in on mobile music should think outside the box, because there's likely going to be more to mobile music than just download services.
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