2. SMS-based games. Games played by sending text messages; for example, live contests and polls, wherein SMS messages are sent to the game server, which processes them and sends back the result through SMS
3. Browser-based games. Games played using the mobile phone’s built-in Net browser, either in online or offline mode. You can play these games online through your cellular carrier’s or the game provider’s website, or download them for offline gaming. Options available are solo or multiplayer games, network games, offline games, arcade games and so forth
Among these, embedded games are going to become obsolete, while browser games are the most popular because of their multimedia-rich content, appealing presentation and lower cost of gaming than SMS-based games.
Mobile games can be developed using C++, J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) and the BREW platform from Qualcomm.
To enhance the gaming experience, Sony Ericsson has come up with a mobile phone with gesture gaming—Yari. With gesture gaming, you move your body to play instead of pressing buttons on the phone. Yari also features a 5-megapixel camera and music player.
Nitish Mittersain, CEO of Nazara Technologies and convenor of Mobile Sub-Committee, IT Committee, Indian Merchant’s Chamber, says 3D mobile games and multiplayer games on larger-screen-size mobiles with improving GPRS networks are the latest trends in India. Nazara Technologies is working towards this by relating the games with Bollywood celebrities like Sameera Reddy, mythological characters like Eklavya, and sports celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni.
Mobile video: 3G comes as a big push
Detractors of mobile video had previously cited poor handset quality as one of the biggest reasons why these services are yet to take off. However, with the launch of more viewer-friendly handsets, mobile video services are expected to gain popularity.
Kaustubh Kashyap, head-product management, mLifestyle, Comviva, forecasts that worldwide revenues from mobile video will nearly triple to reach $18.2 billion by end-2013, up from $6.7 billion at end-2008.
The advent of 3G networks worldwide is driving mobile video services such as mobile TV and video SMS. Mobile TV could be streamed over the mobile network or a proprietary network. The mobile network must be 2.5G or 3G. Mobile TV standards include DVB-H, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) and MediaFLO.
However, mobile TV poses challenges for handset manufacturers and content providers alike. To be feasible, it requires high processing power, low power consumption (improved battery life), large memory for long hours of TV viewing, and improved LCD and user interface of the handset. The wider and clearer LCD touchscreens will be preferred by the users but, at the same time, these should not make the handset very bulky. iPhone’s growing popularity is a case in point.
Content providers need to develop the content specifically tailored for mobile TVs, such as mobile episodes of popular shows which are relatively shorter in length (3 to 5 minutes).
China Telecom has rolled out high-end 3G video streaming services across mainland China. Its subscribers now have access to richer mobile applications such as live mobile TV, video on demand and download, thanks to the 3G CDMA EVDO video streaming service delivered by Nokia Siemens Networks.
The centralised 3G CDMA EVDO video streaming platform supports nationwide diversified audio/video format, with quality that is at least 50 per cent higher than the traditional 2G solution, the company claims.
Mobile TV is also available for the Indian consumers. ROK Entertainment Group, a mobile technologies, applications and services company, has launched Tiny TV across India with BSNL. Tiny TV is claimed to be the first nationwide, subscription-based, mobile TV service in India to be streamed over mass-market 2.5G GPRS.
Offering a range of live and on-demand mobile TV channels to include local and international news, sports, music and movies, Tiny TV is priced at Rs 150 per month payable via reverse-bill SMS.
Specifically, Tiny TV channels include News 24 (Hindi news), E-24 (Bollywood entertainment), ROK Bollywood (celebrity news), Geet (Hindi songs), Green (evergreen Bollywood music), Red (latest music from Bollywood), Gyan (devotional), regional channels of Gujarati and Marathi for West India, Bengali for the East Zone, Tiny Sports TV, Tiny Comedy, Mobifun and Movie Channel offering a regularly updated list of full-length movies wherein you can pause, fast forward and rewind, plus a Sony package.
Social networking: catching up
Internet social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace are also turning mobile. So you can now converse and connect with individuals of similar interest using the mobile phone.
