[AP] An underappreciated feature of the iPhone, Apple’s fancy new handset, is its ability to mesmerise a toddler in her terrible twos long enough for a parent to take an espresso break. Just call up a YouTube video — tots love the dog on a skateboard — and put the sleek, high-resolution screen on the table. After a few minutes, tap on another clip — of a man dancing in exotic places, say. The quality of iPhone’s video “experience” points the way to what the industry sees as the next step: not just video clips but live television on mobile phones. Except for islands of early adopters, such as South Korea, consumers have so far shown little interest in watching TV on their handsets. Once they see the ease and fun of the iPhone clips, the logic goes, they will want video on their phones too.
http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9519417
Mobile television – The third screen: Having spread to computers, television is starting to reach mobile phones
An underappreciated feature of the iPhone, Apple’s fancy new handset, is its ability to mesmerise a toddler in her terrible twos long enough for a parent to take an espresso break. Just call up a YouTube video — tots love the dog on a skateboard — and put the sleek, high-resolution screen on the table. After a few minutes, tap on another clip — of a man dancing in exotic places, say. The quality of iPhone’s video “experience” points the way to what the industry sees as the next step: not just video clips but live television on mobile phones. Except for islands of early adopters, such as South Korea, consumers have so far shown little interest in watching TV on their handsets. Once they see the ease and fun of the iPhone clips, the logic goes, they will want video on their phones too.