Qualcomm has unveiled a third-generation mobile data
network infrastructure claimed to deliver streaming video to mobile
phones that makes the experience of selecting content similar to
channel-surfing on a TV.
The MediaFlo Content Distribution System product and service
offering was just one piece in a set of technologies the CDMA (Code
Division Multiple Access) pioneer touted as the answer to
consumers' mobile multimedia needs.
They included the high-speed CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network and
enhancements to that technology for efficiently sending out
content, as well as new and future Qualcomm processors with
multimedia power.
On the phone, MediaFlo users can scroll through a listing of
video clips, audio clips, live streaming programming and other
multimedia selections, and sample each one by clicking on it. The
interface is designed to make it easier and quicker for users to
decide if they want to see content, said Paul Jacobs, group
president of Qualcomm's wireless and Internet group.
MediaFlo also has a server component that allows service
providers to bring in multimedia content in many different forms
and distribute it from one place to another. It is not locked in to
certain formats or codecs but can distribute any kind of data the
mobile operator wants to provide.
MediaFlo is available now for service-provider deployment and
can run on any packet data network, including existing CDMA2000 1x
systems, but is designed to take advantage of EV-DO.
An enhanced version of EV-DO, called Revision A, boosts the
network's top speed to a maximum of 3.1Mbps downstream and 1.8Mbps
upstream from the user. It also includes a multicast
capability.
This technology, called Gold Multicast, lets service providers
send one copy of a piece of content to many handsets at once,
rather than sending many copies individually. This makes better use
of the network's capacity when supplying content that a lot of
users want. Carriers also can send content to individuals if only a
few want that particular channel or if a user missed an earlier
multicast because the phone was turned off.
MediaFlo also has a client-caching function so carriers can
perform multicasts when the network is not in heavy use and users
can enjoy that content later.
Qualcomm also gave a glimpse of new and upcoming generations of
processors designed to play that multimedia content. The MSM6550,
which forms the basis of EV-DO handsets due in the middle of this
year, can support a phone with a two-megapixel to four-megapixel
digital camera and video at 30 frames per second using the
videoconference-quality Common Intermediate Format, said Sanjay
Jha, Qualcomm's executive vice president and president of Qualcomm
CDMA technologies.
That chip, which runs at about 250MHz, will give way next year
to approximately 500MHz processors that can support a
four-megapixel to six-megapixel camera and VGA (Video Graphics
Array) video at 30 frames per second.
"Thirty frames per second VGA is your television," Jha said.
"You will have a camcorder in your phone." The high capacity of
EV-DO will mean subscribers can send the pictures and video they
capture over the network easily, he added.
Qualcomm and ATI Technologies also announced a strategic
collaboration to create a next-generation wireless
three-dimensional (3D) gaming platform. The deal will bring ATI's
ImageOn graphics architecture into Qualcomm's MSM platform.
Stephen Lawson writes for IDG News
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