Simplicity first in handheld streaming
Trade-show demonstration booths devoted to wireless devices invariably have handheld computers streaming video clips and movie trailers.
Commercial services offering mobile downloads are even expected by the end of this year in some markets.
But multimedia applications on mobile devices will be much less sophisticated when they hit the market, following the same development path that streaming media had on the wired Internet, industry experts say.
According to Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, highly sophisticated media streaming on mobile devices could be several years away.
'A lot of the first multimedia applications will be still images, like MMS [multimedia messaging system], and will be audio,' Mr Glaser said at the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong earlier this month.
'Once the consumer starts to think of the phone as more than just a voice and text message device, and once the networks get more reliable and more robust, then it will be an opportunity to do what everybody demonstrates today, which is video streaming and video downloading to a mobile phone.'
RealNetworks' and Microsoft's media player have become the de facto standard for playing video clips and streaming multimedia applications on personal computers (PCs). Lately both companies have made a push into wireless. Microsoft will probably push media players bundled with its various operating systems (OS) for mobile devices, Pocket PC and Stinger.
Meanwhile, RealNetworks has struck a deal with Nokia to put a mobile version of its player on all of Nokia's Symbian OS phones and with Sony that may see the same appear on Sony's music and home-networking devices.
Mr Glaser cautioned against exaggerating the possibilities for multimedia on wireless devices, since handsets and networks capable of delivering the services are only just arriving.
'Streaming video, everywhere, tomorrow' will not happen, he said.
Streaming audio is still more popular on the wired Web than streaming video, while audio-only broadcasts such as radio still hold their ground in non-Internet media.
Mr Glaser, referring to traditional broadcasting, said people in the United States spend two hours listening to audio for every three hours watching video.
RealNetworks, which has held mobile multimedia trials with AT&T Wireless, this month announced plans to work with Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan.
Other carrier partners in the region include some in Hong Kong and the mainland, but Mr Glaser declined to name them.
