Coming Soon to Your Pocket: High-Definition TV Phones

[Suhit Gupta]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/21/technology/21phone.html?ex=1256011200&en=edc08ec991a753ac&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

"Miniature mobile phones, which already double as cameras, Internet devices and music players, are poised to merge with the largest of home appliances, the television. The cellphone industry is working to build phones able to receive high-definition television signals over the air, even though HDTV has yet to make its way into most American living rooms. Texas Instruments, the largest maker of computer chips for mobile phones, plans to announce today that it is developing technology that will allow wireless handsets to receive hundreds of high-definition channels. The phones would not be marketed until 2007."



Hmm, we'll have to see how this really plays out because all the reports about cell phones equipped with TVs that are coming in from Japan and/or Korea indicate that the battery life on the devices are severely lacking and the service costs are wickedly expensive. The New York Times, however, is more optimistic and does a good job in analyzing the entire market scene right now. Would you buy a cell phone TV if you were able to here in the US?

[Suhit Gupta]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/21/technology/21phone.html?ex=1256011200&en=edc08ec991a753ac&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

"Miniature mobile phones, which already double as cameras, Internet devices and music players, are poised to merge with the largest of home appliances, the television. The cellphone industry is working to build phones able to receive high-definition television signals over the air, even though HDTV has yet to make its way into most American living rooms. Texas Instruments, the largest maker of computer chips for mobile phones, plans to announce today that it is developing technology that will allow wireless handsets to receive hundreds of high-definition channels. The phones would not be marketed until 2007."



Hmm, we'll have to see how this really plays out because all the reports about cell phones equipped with TVs that are coming in from Japan and/or Korea indicate that the battery life on the devices are severely lacking and the service costs are wickedly expensive. The New York Times, however, is more optimistic and does a good job in analyzing the entire market scene right now. Would you buy a cell phone TV if you were able to here in the US?

[Filip Norrgard]

Originally Posted by NYT

Mr. Cetto said Texas Instruments was already participating in tests in Berlin, Helsinki, Finland and Pittsburgh, that have shown that disruption can be overcome. "A month ago, I was in Europe going 60 miles an hour in a car, watching television on a cellphone," said Mr. Cetto, who added that he was in Berlin and that he was not driving at the time.

Now, this is strange.... we do not have HDTV testing going here on AFAIK. Only digital TV standard being tested on mobilephones is DVB-H, which is not explecitively the same as HDTV (unless about VGA resolution TV picture is the resolution HDTV is supposed to have). This makes me afraid that New York Times has mixed up the technical terms once again... :?

EDIT: My 100th post. Time to celebrate!