Motorola and Nokia DVB-Hugging

Mobile telly heavyweights become heavymates

The world's two largest mobile manufacturers have agreed to collaborate on mobile TV.

Motorola and Nokia announced today they will be working together to promote DVB-H, one standard used for broadcast mobile TV, with a view to interoperability between all their relevant kit and services.

The pair have also thrown their collective weight behind DVB-IPDC standardisation efforts.

DVB-H is just one of many competing standards of mobile TV being trialled around the world, including DAB-IP, used by BT and Virgin Mobile, and MediaFLO, the Qualcomm-owned standard being piloted by Sky.

DVB-H is thought by many industry watchers to be the eventual winner in the standards war - a prediction which will likely be given more weight in light of today's announcement. According to research company Informa more than 50 million DVB-H devices will be sold in 2010.

Analyst house Gartner believes one in 10 of us will be watching TV via a mobile in 2009.