Real Networks Signs Content Delivery Deal with Ericsson

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:RNWK&Feed=RTR&Date=20030219&ID=2326817">http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:RNWK&Feed=RTR&Date=20030219&ID=2326817</a><br /><br />"Internet media company RealNetworks Inc. on Wednesday said it had signed a deal with equipment maker Ericsson to help make audio and video content available on wireless networks."<br /><br />So, is <b><i>that</i></b> the "mobile internet?" Can you not just write software for Ericsson phones and let it download content from where ever? Maybe not. Can you imagine Real One on a cell phone? You are happily pounding out an SMS to your buddy and this pop up appears - "Click here to learn more info about scheduling Real One updates." :roll:

[jizmo]

It just seems like another bad move from Ericsson. There are many good alternatives when it comes to wireless media. The real advantage that Symbian smartphones have over their m$ counterparts is that the programs are designed to be light and small.

I just don't know how well Real will fit into this picture.

/jizmo

[rbrome]

Major point of clarification: Do not confuse Ericsson and Sony Ericsson.

Ericsson makes wireless network equipment - cell phone tower stuff and servers, not phones. Sony Ericsson makes phones.

So this deal is about combining Ericsson's wireless media servers with Real's media server stuff. It has very little to do directly with phones or client software.

Second, this isn't big news. As the article states, Nokia signed a similar deal with Real a long time ago, except that deal included the network stuff and Nokia phones. There are already RealOne players available for several Nokia phones.

[freitasm]

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:RNWK&Feed=RTR&Date=20030219&ID=2326817

"Internet media company RealNetworks Inc. on Wednesday said it had signed a deal with equipment maker Ericsson to help make audio and video content available on wireless networks."



It's the Helix server, an engine for streaming media that is being signed, and it'll be deployed as part of Ericsson's content delivery solution. The server can stream Real files, but also MPEG4 and 3GPP media.

The player can be the RealOne player, but it can be any other that supports 3GPP or MPEG4.

http://www.realnetworks.com/products/media_delivery.html for more info on Helix. You can have the basic version for free, which is really cool!

Mobile internet is not easy. I've been in a Content Management and Delivery project deal for a major 3G provider, including things like content gathering, management, distribution, presentation, location, billing, profile, etc, and I kid you not, each little piece of this kind of project is provided by a third-party. A big system integrator comes and put this things together (our job in this case).

[marlof]

Mobile internet is not easy. I've been in a Content Management and Delivery project deal for a major 3G provider, including things like content gathering, management, distribution, presentation, location, billing, profile, etc, and I kid you not, each little piece of this kind of project is provided by a third-party. A big system integrator comes and put this things together (our job in this case).

I know it's not what the providers want to hear, but I can only laugh at "Flat Fee GPRS" when it only gives you access to the providers intranet, and their own content. When my cable company offered my broadband access, I expected it to offer me internet access. When my mobile phone service provider offers me GPRS access, I expect it to offer me internet, and not intranet, access. That's the cool thing about the real internet, that you can access with mobile devices. Most of the content is already out there, and all you have to do is to pinpoint your clients that way. I want GPRS access to the real internet, and I will decide for myself what I like to see. Or not. And if I want to pay for that content. Or not. Must be me.

[PlayAgain?]

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:RNWK&Feed=RTR&Date=20030219&ID=2326817

"You are happily pounding out an SMS to your buddy and this pop up appears - "Click here to learn more info about scheduling Real One updates." :roll:

T'ain't necessarily so old fella. I've used Real one on a Nokia 9210 and 7650 and seen no annoying popups whatsoever. Do PocketPC users of RealOne get such on their machines?

[Ed Hansberry]

T'ain't necessarily so old fella. I've used Real one on a Nokia 9210 and 7650 and seen no annoying popups whatsoever. Do PocketPC users of RealOne get such on their machines?
No clue. Took me 5 minutes to install Real One on my PC. Took 45 minutes to figure out that the popups and annoying crap was not configurable and another 5 minutes to do a system restore to ensure everything from Real was purged from my system. If it isn't Windows Media, I just won't hear/see it.

To bad because Real Player used to be a decent product. :(