Nokia’s multimedia magic

Our visit to the Nokia Connection 2005 held at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel in Singapore last month heralded not just a bevy of new handsets (which I wrote about in this section two weeks ago), but several new technologies that underscore just what kind of potentials may be unlocked from the ubiquitous cellphone.

Of the several technologies we experienced at the show, perhaps the most intriguing was mobile TV. Imagine catching breaking news or your favorite sports live on your Nokia 7710 smartphone on your daily commute home. That’s the promise held by this ground-breaking new technology called DVB-H (digital video broadcasting-handhelds). DVB-H combines traditional TV broadcast technology with elements such as mobility, smaller screens, indoor coverage, optimized use of battery and built-in antennas that are specific to handheld devices such as mobile phones. And we experienced it in Singapore, thanks to Nokia’s pioneering work with Singapore broadcasters MediaCorp and MobileOne Ltd. (M1), both of whom conducted an island-wide simulcast of ChannelNews Asia and mobile TV feeds.

With the fast-growing portable audio player/MP3 phenomenon, Nokia couldn’t resist delving into the music genre with two novel technologies: Visual Radio and Mobile Music. Developed by Nokia and offered by HP, Visual Radio adds a new dimension to FM radio with interactive content and services for mobile listeners.

Visual Radio allows listeners to tune in to local FM radio via their mobile phones while simultaneously receiving interactive information and graphics that are synchronized with the broadcast. Text and graphics are delivered via the cellular network onto the screen of the mobile handset.

Visual Radio enables mobile phone users to view the title and artist of a song playing on the radio, check upcoming concert dates, purchase ringtones or other content from the artist, and participate in radio station promotions.

For radio station operators, Visual Radio can increase listener loyalty and advertising revenue. For mobile carriers, it provides an opportunity to increase data service usage and revenue, as well as the average revenue per user.

The technology will be formally rolled out this year in Singapore and Thailand, with HP signing on MediaCorp Radio and StarHub for Singapore and RS Promotions and TA Orange as HP’s Visual Radio partners in Thailand. MediaCorp’s Radio Perfect Ten 98.7 FM will be the first Visual Radio-enabled channel to be followed by the Chinese-language YES 93.3 FM.

Visual Radio will be available to users of the Nokia 7710, 3230, 6230i, 6111, 6270, 6280, and also on the Nokia Nseries devices – the N70 and N91 – later this year.

Mobile Music, on the other hand, uses Nokia’s music-enabled devices – spearheaded by the 4GB-memory N91 model and including the 6630, 6680, 6681, 3230, 7610, 6270, 6230i and 6280 handsets – to enable the users to enjoy high-quality music anytime, anywhere.

Nokia Mobile Music is a surefire hit, thanks to the support of Loudeye, a world leader in the development of digital media solutions. Loudeye’s commercial music archive is the world’s largest at 4.6 million songs. It powers more than 80 online music stores, using digital media infrastructure which enables partners to rapidly and cost-effectively launch complete, customized digital media stores and services.

Loudeye boasts a robust and scalable global wireless music platform, over-the-air music purchases (via 3G, EDGE or GPRS) through your mobile operator’s own music store, as well as eAAC+ format song downloads for better compression and sound quality.

Of course, all these technologies are network-dependent. And it will take time – lots of it – for the technology to be commercially viable before our local operators embrace it. The upside is that we already have the devices that can make use of these features. So let’s cross our fingers.

More than just a mere showcase of new phones and multimedia technologies, Nokia Connection 2005 introduced us to a whole new world of connectivity that transcends cultures, time, distance and space.