July 21, 2005
It rings, it plays, it has TV
First there were TVs. Then came PCs. Now, mobile phones are becoming the 'third screen' for viewing video. A good article written by staff reporter Gregory M. Lamb for The Christian Science Monitor
"... The littlest screen may have the biggest of futures. Already, cellphones serve as a third screen for some consumers - along with their televisions and computers. Because it's always with its user, some think the cellphone could become the most important of the trio - the first source for entertainment and information".
Lamb gives a wonderful overview of how we will use our cell phones tomorrow and how "the promise of a new viewing audience is luring everyone from manufacturers to content providers".
Interesting, these facts from a sidebar:
Look who's snapping up cellphones:
-- Three-quarters of the world live within range of mobile-phone services, but only one-quarter actually subscribe. Now, that's beginning to change, especially in Africa.
-- The fastest-growing mobile-phone market is Nigeria, where by mid-2003 the number of mobile phones had grown 143 percent in a single year.
-- It took 15 years for Britain to see mobile phones outnumber wire-line phones; it took Zambia five.
-- There were 6 mobile phones for every 100 Africans in 2003, a far smaller ratio than for Europeans (55 out of 100), Americans (49), or Asians (15). But Africa has twice as many mobile phones to wire-line phones, a ratio no other continent can match.
-- A group of mobile-phone networks is pushing manufacturers to come up with a $30 mobile phone for the developing world. Earlier this month, Philips Electronics said it would deliver key electronic components that could push the price below $20.
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