Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The next big thing for mobiles

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 11:47:48 -0400

The next big thing for mobiles
Source: Evening News; Edinburgh (UK)
Publication date: 2003-04-15
Arrival time: 2003-04-16

PUT down that phone... the mobile phone, that is, because the next
big thing is on the horizon. Yet again.
Just when you thought phoning, texting, checking your e-mail,
surfing the net, sending silly pictures and playing games was all
you could do with your handy mobile phone, now there's something
else to get your head around.

Push-to-talk (P2T) technology arrived in Britain last week, the
latest craze in the mobile phone market which has taken America by
storm.

Instead of risking repetitive strain injury with hours of text
messaging, mobile users can now give their fingers a much-needed
break, save money and still get their vital, "meet you at the pub at
8pm" message across.

Chicago-based fastmobile believes its P2T technology will
revolutionise the UK mobile phone industry, bringing the kind of
instant messaging available to computer users straight to the mobile
handset, delivering messages instantly around the world - assuming
you happen to have friends in far-flung places - and rendering the
skills of the "fastest thumbs in texting" distinctly obsolete.

So what exactly is P2T? Who will benefit and how? And in what ways
will it change Britain 45 million mobile phone addicts' lives?
According to fastmobile, their "fastchat" system is a new kind
messaging, think of a "voice-text", they say, and you're nearly
there.

Simply hold down a keypad button, speak your message - however long
you want - and send it to up to 250 recipients. Then sit back and
wait for their replies to flood in.

"It's a very cool way to keep in contact," says John O'Boyle,
European Marketing Director for fastmobile. "It is ideal for keeping
in touch with a group of friends and organising social events is a
doddle - you can contact a bunch of people with the same message at
the same time. Then you can talk with them all together because
fastchat is like your own personal chatroom on your mobile.

"Three and a half million people in the UK are using instant
messaging on their PC so there is a huge group of people already
familiar with the technology. And in trials we've shown you could
have 250 people on the one call!"

Still confused?

"Think about it like turning your phone into a walkie-talkie,"
suggests David Chow, associate editor of monthly phone magazine
Which Mobile. "Your voice is stored on a little computer file and
sent across the mobile phone network as data, so it can go anywhere
in the world.

"You can chat by sending voice clips - that means instead of being
charged for all the time you're on the line, you're only charged for
your message. It works out as pennies, and you can send your message
to dozens of people at the same time. It's not a 'real time'
conversation like you'd get with proper telephone call, but it's as
real time as possible."

As a mobile phones expert - does he think it's any good? "I'm
impressed with it. It's a great idea," he says. "Of course, you
can't guarantee that it will take off here - they never really
thought text messaging would take off. But if you're in that 16-25
age group and you're looking for a cheap way to communicate with
your chums when this comes along, then you're going to explore it."

As well as sending your voice message, P2T can combine text,
graphics and voice messaging in one, whereas texting requires
separate messages for each. If you're trying to contact someone via
e-mail, it will let you know if they are online or not.

But perhaps most important if you're a text message addict, the new
system is likely to work out much cheaper - unlimited push-to- talk
messaging from fastchat costs GBP 6.99 a month, compared with, for
example, GBP 8 for a bundle of 120 text messages via Orange.

The advantages have not been lost on millions of Americans - in many
parts of the United States, P2T technology dwarfs the use of text
messaging. And with the number of British text messages sent
increasing by 50 per cent per year, it could be even bigger over
here.

Indeed, it has proved so popular with both business and private
users across the Atlantic, that US operator Nextel has turned its
losses into profit, generating around 20 per cent of its revenue
from P2T.

If the same popularity is achieved in Europe, then push-to-talk
would rapidly eclipse SMS as the messaging tool of choice.

But it won't happen overnight. Currently the system is only
available via internet registration with fastmobile on Nokia 7650
and 3650 handsets and the forthcoming Sony Ericsson P800 - phones
which, it must be said, are not at the cheapest end of the market. A
Nokia 3650 handset costs around GBP 299.99. However, most new phones
coming on to the market in the future will almost certainly feature
the facility.

"Push-to-talk messaging has become huge in the States, and is still
growing there," agrees fastmobile's managing director, James Tagg.

"But the UK is even more message-mad, so it could easily become even
more popular here than it is over there.

"We see fastchat as a similar kind of service, something that people
will discover and rapidly adopt, just like they did SMS. And one of
the best things about fastchat is that groups of people can chat
together - completely unlike SMS, which is just one-to-one."

Such is the furore in the US surrounding P2T that a shoving match
has erupted between phone and wireless giants over the technology.

Ericsson and Samsung are racing to produce phones equipped with
their own take on the technology. Meanwhile, a battle is brewing
between America's sole network provider, Nextel Communications -
which has made billions of pounds selling the service to
construction companies, trucking firms and others who previously
used walkie-talkie devices - and its two major rivals who are
rapidly devising their own P2T packages.

But John O'Boyle stresses the system isn't just for the young mobile
addict looking for a new trend or the building site.

"Women between 30 and 35 who never really got into texting have
found the push-to-talk aspect very useful," he says.

"You can leave the odd message or have a continuous dialogue walkie-
talkie-style by pushing one button.

"This is great for something like giving directions or commentating,
where you need to update someone, but don't want to be hanging on an
expensive call for ages."

But, of course, we've heard before about how we will be gripped by
the latest phone technology. It's not that long since we were being
told that WAP phones with internet connections and picture-
messaging would be the next really big thing.

"Have camera phones taken off, well yes and no," admits David
Chow. "People were initially interested but because you can't easily
send photos between networks, it's stalled. But that is changing. T-
Mobile have just signed an internet agreement so you can send and
receive images across O2, Orange and Virgin. So this Christmas could
be the year of the camera phone."

And that's when the fun may really start. London clubland has been
buzzing with increasing paranoia surrounding camera phones - one
story claims a man was spotted enjoying a rendezvous with a pretty
woman, snapped by a friend of his wife who then instantly sent the
image to his other half - which has led to some clubs banning their
use.

Ronan Keating was said to be less than thrilled when a customer in
the appropriately-named Click nightclub in Wardour Street snapped
him on a night out, while Tramp in Jermyn Street has banned camera
phones completely.

Embassy in London's West End, a regular venue for aristocrats, soap
stars and footballers, also issued a ban after rock star Prince
dropped in last year only after everyone inside had been frisked by
his security team.

The camera phones have also been banned from health centres and spas
across the country.

But camera phones are almost old hat already, according to
Chow. "Down south we are already playing around with video-
messaging," he says.

Kay Kavanagh, spokeswoman for Vodafone Group Services, agrees that
video telephony is about to hit the mobile market big time. "It only
has limited coverage at the moment, but it will grow," she says.

"Texting had been around for ten years before it really took off -
when lots of people had phones. The mobile phone industry grows by
evolving like that and picture-messaging and video will become more
popular and common in the same way."

At least the industry hopes so. Some GBP 22 billion has been spent
for the rights to build and operate the third generation and
universal mobile telephone system - 3G and UMTS - capable of
handling video calls.

But conservative industry estimates suggest 3G is still nine months
away - and even then it looks like uptake will be cautious to say
the least.

Meanwhile, James Tagg says push-to-talk could be the answer to the
mobile phone industry's dreams, to plug the hole left by the failure
of WAP internet phones and those 3G delays.

"The mobile world has been racking its brains to find something that
will succeed on the scale of SMS," he adds. "Our estimates suggest
the push-to-talk market could well become a multi-billion euro
market in a few years."

l Details of push-to-talk services can be found at
www.fastmobile.com. What Mobile appears monthly, price GBP 3.95. The
latest issue, due out on Thursday, analyses the latest video phones.

Pushing the case for new 'walkie-talkie'

SO how does push-to-talk work?

The technology effectively turns a mobile phone into a walkie-
talkie, enabling people to send and receive what amount to "voice
texts" to and from other users immediately, either one-to-one or
between a group.

A user simply selects the friend or group of friends from their
electronic phone book, presses and holds the talk-button, and talks.
Releasing the talk-button ends that particular message and allows
the recipient to reply. If the recipient is not available the
message is stored and delivered later like a voice text.

The user can manage many push-to-talk conversations simultaneously -
enabling them to hold "conference call"-style conversations.

Users don't have to reply to a voice message with another voice
message. A reply can be sent in text or picture format - whatever is
suitable for the given situation.

While this "walkie-talkie" idea sounds distinctly "retro", P2T
messaging represents a significant improvement over SMS by bypassing
the slow and clumsy process of entering text via phone keypad.

Each message costs a fraction of a penny to send because it uses
GPRS to send data at high speeds rather than on the cumbersome text
message network. For pay-as-you-go users, it provides an alternative
to a credit-eating phone call.

A number of UK mobile network operators have already expressed
interest in offering the service to their network subscribers.

Publication date: 2003-04-15
 http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=38128422&ID=cnniw&scategory=Business+and+Finance&

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From: Jack Daniel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 11:25:34 -0700

What a neat invention: voice messaging! 
No wonder it has 'taken America over by storm'.

And I love the latest buzz-acronym: P2T ( = push to talk) 

For us wireless dinosaurs, the way they describe PTT (ancient acronym
for Push To Talk) is absolutely hilarious.

Ah... the wonderful world of re-invention.

Jack Daniel
============================

Marcel wrote:
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