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Have mobile video will travel?

I hardly go anywhere without my iPod. I use the iPod primarily to listen to my favorite tunes.
Written by Isabelle Chan, Contributor

I hardly go anywhere without my iPod. I use the iPod primarily to listen to my favorite tunes. I use it during boring train rides home and while exercising in the gym. And I no longer make a face when my husband suggests going to the golf driving range. I happily watch him from the sidelines (even take a video clip of him on my mobile so that he can play it back and check his golf swing), while listening to my favorite bands like OMD and Crowded House, or the latest tech news podcasts.

Although I chose the iPod Video for its video capability, I've watched videos fewer than 10 times on this device. I watched one of my favorite movies, Wedding Singer, and gave up after 10 minutes. Feature-length movies are just not made for the small mobile phone-size screen. Now, I'm not ruling out video completely--short clips may work--but 90-minute movies are still best watched on the big screen.

So for me, I use the iPod mostly to listen to music, followed by audio podcasts. I also view photos on the device more often than I watch videos.

Recognizing the limitations of the screen size, some broadcasters are hoping to get a piece of the mobile TV market opportunity by developing content that is tailored for the mobile phone. This week, the GSM Association announced a partnership to bring Bollywood to the mobile phone. However, creating content that suits mobile devices is only one piece of the puzzle. There remains thorny issues like technology standards, pricing and digital rights management. Does mobile TV really have an audience?

Of course, there are other reasons to have videos in your mobile. In his blog for businessMOBILE Asia, Lee Lup Yuen suggests potential business uses for videos, such as product demos. What do you think? Is this a good reason or just an excuse?

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