Samsung Sends Satellite TV to Cell Phones

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114634,tk,dn020604X,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114634,tk,dn020604X,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Samsung Electronics is developing a cellular telephone that can receive multimedia programming broadcasts via satellite, the company says. The new phone, which is still in the development stage, is expected to be compatible with a new satellite broadcasting service that is planned to launch in South Korea and Japan later this year.<br /><br />The planned handset will be based around a new chip developed by Samsung which was announced this week. The chip includes an Arm processor core and can decode the satellite broadcasts as well as functions such as billing for pay-per-view services, the company says."<br /><br />Pretty cool idea, but I don't relish the idea of people watching TV on their phones...unless they have headphones. ;-)

[Jerry Raia]

Why is it that all this cutting edge stuff happens over there first and we here in the USA are the last ones to adopt anything?

This seems most pronounced with phone technology. Europe and Asia are way ahead of the USA it seems.

[David C]

People in the US complain about the price everytime something new comes out. Therefore, it is easier to test market something in a small market like Japan first where gadget buyer are less price sensitive. When the product sell well, they can then mass produce it for the US market at a lower the price.

That is my theory at least.

[rbrome]

TV on phones? Old news. Samsung announced the SGH-P705 for T-Mobile a few months ago. It's been delayed a few months, but it should be out in March or April here in the USA. It's not the slick digital satellite variety, but it does receive and display regular TV broadcasts.

Good news, Jason: it requires a headset, because the wire acts as the antenna, (just like the Nokia phones with FM radio that have been out for a while.) :)

[manywhere]

Wonder what standard the satellite phone will use, maybe something DVB-H-ish?

I'm waiting to see the TV phone Nokia's got coming around 2Q. What tickles my geekiness is what quality the DVB-H broadcasts will have. Supposidly better than any analog terrestial broadcasting, I hope that the H version of DVB will not take forever to spread out. However, since almost the whole country is covered by DVB-T broadcasting, it should not be any problems to IP databroadcast DVB-H on the side... :wink: