If your father happens to be in the mobile TV industry, though, here’s one thing he may appreciate: a chipset for receiving and displaying television on a mobile phone.
That’s right. Industry analysis firm
ABI Research reported today that several semiconductor manufacturers now claim to be making mobile TV chipsets for $10 a pop. That’s an important price-point milestone.
“At a $10 price tag for chipsets, mobile TV will start to gain serious traction in high-tier handsets and smartphones,” ABI analyst Alan Varghese said in
a press release. “This ramp-up in market penetration will begin to happen by early 2007.”
Prices for mobile TV chipsets will continue to fall, Varghese predicts, reaching $5 within a few years. That’s the next major price-point milestone.
“At that stage, large numbers of consumers will join the early adopters in choosing mobile TV handsets,” Varghese said.
ABI noted that price isn’t the only thing affecting adoption of mobile TV products. Frequency allocations, technology choices, operator strategies and content creator partnerships also are important.
As the market continues to develop, semiconductor vendors including
Analog Devices,
Freescale,
Philips,
ST Micro and
TI will have the an advantage because of their understanding of cellphone technologies, Varghese said in the release.
All vendors will have to contend with the variety of broadcast frequencies—VHF, L band, DVB-H, T-DMB, ISDB-T and MediaFLO—currently in use around the world.
“To address all possible markets, some IC vendors are showcasing solutions that support multiband and multistandard mobile TV,” ABI noted.
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Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke’s columnist page.
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