By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
SINGAPORE–An executive from Nokia Siemens Network said today’s mobile phones are no longer mere telephones. They are mobile or, better yet, multimedia devices.
That may sound like a marketing ploy meant to reintroduce what was once called smart phones. But newer handsets unveiled during the CommunicAsia 2007 offered multiple functions other than making calls, sending text messages, taking video or photos.
Mobile phone vendors showcased mobile devices that had bigger screens that were designed for better viewing of on-demand or pushed content. It was also evident that Internet browsing is becoming a standard feature.
Subscribers now expect multiple functionalities, said Mauro Montanaro, vice president for Nokia’s customer market operations in Southeast Asia Pacific.
Mobile phones are now doubling as cameras, he said.
But citing some market studies, Montanaro said users are using mobile phones to browse the Internet. In a showcase here in Singapore, Nokia featured emerging applications, such as mapping and navigation merged with mobile search applications on the mobile handset.
Tero Ojanpera, chief technology officer and executive vice president of Nokia, observed that today’s kids now carry their mobile phones as if they were their boom boxes.
Vendors like Sony Ericsson and Motorola have introduced small speakers designed to be plugged to a mobile phone player that can now hold gigabytes of music.
Nokia has also introduced widgets, or small programs designed to run a specific application, to mobile phones. Calling them “widsets,” Nokia said they already have different kinds of widgets that offer traffic information, news, among others.
Ojanpera said that vendors are now trying to change the notion of ‘browsing the Internet on a mobile phone is not a good experience.”
He in fact believes that there will be more Internet-rich features on mobile phones.
“Full Internet browsing is now possible, but the experience is not yet the same as using a computer,” he added.
All these functions are slowly becoming a reality because of the availability of faster, broadband wireless connections.
During CommunicAsia 2007, vendors demonstrated what is now known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), a faster version of 3G, which other label as 4G or fourth-generation mobile networks.
In a demo, Nokia Siemens Network showed that LTE will eventually allow content providers to stream high-definition video to mobile handsets.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:40 am
During that event at Singapore, I also learned that when today’s kids are asked what time is it, they will likely bring out their mobile phones and tell you the time. “Older” generations will look to their watches.