This category covers applications that are primarily designed
for leisure and entertainment, such as music and video-movies,
horoscopes, jokes, and soap opera updates. Games, sporting
events, icons, ring-tones, postcards, and video clips are included
in this category. Most of these will be multifunctional, provide
information and advertising, and may change according to
season or nature of the event.
Entertainment and lifestyle will be a popular category of
applications as users look for ways to personalize devices.
These applications will offer truly personal services that follow
the user throughout the day and offer bursts of entertainment
when convenient.
Key drivers for entertainment and lifestyle applications are:
• Cool, current, and compelling data. Entertainment is a very
personal and fickle subject because user preferences and
content that is “in” changes often.
• Notifications of events with limited timelines. Concerts often
sell out within minutes of being announced, leisure events
are often subject to last minute promotions, and special
offers make timeliness and mobility a benefit.
• Changes and delay. Weather can cancel or delay travel or
other personal activities with little notice. Consumers with
the right wireless applications can regroup and plan an alternate
course of action to better utilize personal time and
efforts.
During 1999, over 19 million people worldwide used mobile
phones to download or access online games, audio, or video
services. Entertainment will be one of the leading forms of content
carried over wireless networks. Surveys of industry confidence
indicate that entertainment is perceived to be the second
most popular mobile application after email and SMS.*
In 2000, simple embedded games and ring-tone downloads
are popular. As new low-cost broadband wireless services
become available, we will see more new applications. These
include playing interactive mobile games, listening to music
downloads (in MP3 format) via the wireless phone or attached
accessory, and watching video clips (e.g., football highlights) on
your wireless video-phone.