Mobile phones have come along way. They are no longer just for making phone calls. People now use them to send text messages and surf the internet.
Everyday more features are being built in to the new models so that you carry fewer and fewer gadgets with you as you go about your day. They are now used as personal data assistants (PDA), digital cameras, for playing music - whether as a radio or as an mp3 player. The latest favorite is video on your mobile.
Mobile phones that are capable of showing videos have been out in the market since 2004. Mainly people have been watching videos sent to their unit by family or friends who used their own handsets to shoot the video. This has been a major improvement but not everyone shoots great videos so these shows truly are for a limited audience.
Thanks to the addition of expandable memories for the phones and some great software from really helpful creators, it is now possible to watch movies on your phone. The main requirement is that your phone is capable of playing videos. The next requirement is that you have the necessary memory space, the smallest being a 128 MB flash memory card. After that the next step is to just convert your personally owned movies to the format that your phone can read and storing it into the card. With that done, you're all set to go on a long road trip. You can carry your favorite movies with you without having to log along any additional equipment. You just need to have enough memory cards and battery charge.
Now that movie viewing is possible, people are wondering if television shows will come to mobile as well. It would be really convenient so that people don't miss their favorite shows. Getting news in real time with a live reporter is a more fun experience than just reading the news.
Some countries, like Japan and the United States of America, already provide this service. Though it isn't really like watching regular television, more like watching short video clips. This is great for people who are following a particular show and don't want to miss it but can't access a TV from where they are. You can already get video clips and previews from MTV, ESPN, and Disney just to name a few.
Among the current difficulties of video watching on mobile phones is the display quality. With the screen so small, a lot of detail gets lost such as bon fire scenes or where the ball is in a baseball game or tennis match. It won't be a surprise if soon there will be TV and movie shows that are made especially for mobile.
Currently, most mobile TV or videos are sent out over the internet. This basically means you need to download a clip which is usually in streaming format, and then play it. It unfortunately means that sometimes you do get choppy shows, just as you do on your personal computer (pc). In some countries though like South Korea, they go by Satellite while in Japan, they now have special handsets capable of receiving regular TV signals. Most though, rely on the 3G system at this time so you'd need to check if your phone, as well as you service provider does have the feature and additional service.
While Video on mobile isn't perfect yet, it can sure be entertaining. If you have an interest in videos, why not try to create your own shows? You never know; if the organizations behind the emmy pushes through with the new category, and you have great skill, you may just bring home an award.
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