Mobile phones? First the music, then the funny.

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on November 27th, 2006

In an article in Converge Digest, Roman Polz, senior marketing manager of the Mobility division for Agere Systems, makes ten predictions about the cell phone industry in 2007. (Polz is responsible for 2.5G and 3G terminal specification consolidation and technology road mapping– whatever that means– so you know he knows what he’s talking about.)

Prediction Number Two caught our eye. Tiny mobile phone screens, says Polz, will make long-term, non-stop viewing unappealing and “not a wonderful user experience.” But…

…music will be a non-stop, slam dunk appealing feature of a cell phone that won’t require staring into a small screen. It will only require the cell phone user to listen and relax.

The most likely mobile TV applications will be people checking sports scores and updates; cartoons, videos, standup comedy and general news. All these will need to fit in about a 3-to-20-minute time frame, according to industry experts. Most people won’t watch TV on a cell phone for much longer than that, except for some special, out-of-the-mainstream reasons.

Bold face brought to you by SHECKYmagazine.com, of course.

We’ve been skeptical of just how much folks are going to dig “never before seen footage from the upcoming release of “Bad Boys VI,” but we’ve always figured folks would be fine with catching a laugh or two on the train home from work. If the comedy clips are part of the promotion of an upcoming special or a standup show, it just might entice mobile phoners to tune in.