Philips Launching TV on Cellular in the US

An anonymous reader writes "News.com is reporting that Philips plans to soon bring the TV-on-cellular chipset to the US. TV enabled phones should be hitting the stores sometime in 2006 and to ensure that they meet their goal, Philips has partnered with Crown Castle Mobile Media to help make it happen. From the article: 'The company announced a similar chipset--which consists of a TV tuner, a decoder and peripheral components--for the European market earlier in the year. Three out of the six largest handset makers are currently building phones containing the chip for trials that will likely start soon. [...] The U.S. chipset is essentially the same product. "It is a small shift in the frequency band. The rest is all the same," Kaat said.'"

Comments

Product Placement

[elronxenu]

So does this mean the directors will now be instructed to zoom in more on the product (coke can, etc) since the screen is so tiny?

Why a TV Tuner?

[Vivek Jishtu]

Its like going a step backwards. When its possible to send Audio/Video using IP based technology what's the point of stepping backwards.

Re:Tichy

[earthstar]

If that screen is so difficult to watch...what about ipod video screen?I thought people who owned it,liked it.

Re:2 inches is not enough

[ttsalo]

But the screen is still way too small.

I agree. This same technology (small handheld TVs) has been around since the 80s at least and never really caught on. I think the cellphone companies are pushing this now because they need the next gimmick to sell the next generation of phones. We've now seen, in addition to plain old phone functionality, PDA functionality, Web browsing, digital cameras, and now they need more.

I think they're wasting their time and money in this. Video-on-demand is what the people really want, and that in a package more like a PSP than a cellphone. But that is out of the question until we get some sort of reasonable cellular data transfer. (I hear some areas already have it, most do not, due to completely ridiculous per-megabyte pricing by the service providers.)

Re:Detail levels

[leonmergen]

As a matter of fact, these types of mobiles with TV on them are already quite popular over here (in .nl) and I must say, for things like the news and such, it works pretty well... good sound, a good quality video stream and well, yeah, the screen might be a bit tiny but you sure as hell can see what's going on (a friend of mine owns such a mobile)...

The only bad side about this is the cost - it's simply not worth the money (yet) to watch the news over your mobile. You can just as well call your auntie, ask what was on the news, ask her how she's doing, have a good discussion and then hangup and you'll still be off cheaper than watching the news for a few minutes...

Darwin In Motion

[Malangali]

TV on the mobile - this is an idea that will thin the herd. Pedestrian strolling down the street watching Friends re-runs on tiny cellphone screen. Traffic light flashes the big red hand, but Monica just said something funny to Chandler. Ha ha! Bam! Pity the SUV didn't notice you when you stepped off the curb, but seriously, what did you expect, the driver was watching the game on satellite.

Seriously, have you noticed that people don't even know how to share a flight of stairs or a sidewalk when they are yapping on their phones, they'll just bump right into you if you don't jump out of their way? Imagine what happens when you add moving pictures to the mix?

We need this, we really need this.

Canadian Carriers Have Been Pushing Video On Phone

[xoip]

This has been around for some time...putting tv on the phone is in response to carriers demand for new revenue streams not from consumers saying they need it or, want to pay a premium to watch something on a very small screen. The pitch up here is you can watch the Hockey game from where ever you are...I'd just walk into a sports bar...Big Screen and Cold beer if I really needed to watch a game. Why would I pay a premium for a diminished viewing experience?

Re:Tichy

[Golias]

Rather, I think that they like the iPod itself coupled with how society perceives iPods and their owners.

Oh, for fuck's sake. Can we please let the "people buy iPods just to be trendy" meme die already? It's total bullshit, but it seems like certain people need to tell that to themselves in order to "justify" their decision not to buy one.

So you decided an Archos (or whatever) is the right personal media gadget for your needs. Good for you. Enjoy it. There's no need to piss all over the choices other consumers made. Not owning an iPod does not make you a better person or anything.