Check out this video of GIPS CMO, Joyce Kim presenting on mobile video at eComm in April.

Over the weekend, GIPS was featured on NBC’s San Francisco affiliate KRON 4 Evening News. The piece, which was part of Gabriel Slate’s regular technology segment, highlighted GIPS’ VideoEngine Mobile product, and discussed the future of real-time mobile video communication. Slate was right to focus on the lack of front facing cameras being a real barrier to adoption. It will be interesting to see how the public responds once the new iPhone and Android platforms start to eliminate this barrier, and as tablets become more popular and blur the lines between mobile and desktop computing. At the very least, the fact that mainstream media outlets are covering the trend can only be seen as a promising indication of market potential.

If you have trouble playing the video, you can view it on the KRON 4 website here.

I saw an interesting presentation this week that claimed mobile Internet usage is and will be bigger than most think. That’s quite a bold statement for an analyst to make – but in general analysts don’t make wild assumptions and Mary Meeker is no exception.

“Apple iPhone users account for 65 percent of data usage, but only 11 percent of the total mobile market share in the U.S.”

Earlier this week, Meeker gave a presentation to an audience in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 summit. She talked about both the economy and Internet trends. (Here’s a slide below that illustrates the adoption rate of a number of devices/applications.)

While it’s only one indicator early results show that the mobile Internet has accelerated far faster than any of its predecessors.  Commenting on the general economy Meeker said: “the leading indicators have turned the corner, but the lagging indicators are still weak.”

One of the fastest-growing sectors is the use of mobile data on smartphones devices such as the iPhone. Apple iPhone users account for 65 percent of data usage, but only 11 percent of the total mobile market share in the U.S.

AT&T, the exclusive provider of the iPhone in the US (at least for now) posted their Q3 results yesterday. They witnessed a 33.6 percent increase in wireless data revenues driven by growth in data plans and increased customer usage of Internet access, messaging and related services. While not as dramatic in growth terms AT&T did see an 18.7 percent growth in wireline IP data revenues – mostly driven by their U-verse expansion. Again, just an indicator from one company but certainly one the industry will be keeping their eyes peeled for, and an ear to the ground.

Last week, Silicon Valley start-up Qik announced that their application will come pre-loaded on the new Nokia N97. First, and certainly least importantly, for anyone who read my last blog, I want the N97 badly. Without actually having seen the phone, it appears to have everything I am looking for in a mobile device, if not another human being. Too bad Nokia has no concept of how to sell to the US market and hasn’t partnered with a carrier, giving it an outrageous $700 price tag.  

My cell phone desires aside, the real news here is the movement toward real-time mobile video. Qik is a social networking application that allows users to stream videos in real-time to their friends and family. There are also additional applications and plug-ins that enable users to instantly upload videos to their Facebook page or blog. I have heard a lot about streaming mobile video lately, and it seems like the most valuable application of the technology is for citizen-journalism. As the current situation in Iran illustrates, there is quite a demand for on-the-ground reporting for quickly evolving stories. As newspapers and traditional media establishments decline and devote fewer resources to investigative reporting, the need for this kind of coverage will grow.  And as the popularity of Twitter has demonstrated, there appears to be a clamor for real-time access to people’s thoughts and deeds. Beyond the mundane, there are certainly situations that necessitate quickly alerting a large number of people to your status (natural disasters come to mind). In any case, getting buy-in from a major handset vendor is a huge first step for a company like Qik.

I am curious to see what this means from a larger communication perspective.  As mobile video streaming becomes more popular, the technological line between true real-time communication and one way content broadcast begins to blur. From an end-user perspective, however, there is a huge difference between having a real-time video call with someone, and getting an inane video update from a friend at a party. Browsing the videos on the Qik website may make you question the social value of giving people the ability to constantly broadcast what is going on in their lives.

Riveting Video from Poland

As with most emerging technology, it all comes down to user discretion. Much like Twitter, early adopters will most likely use mobile video applications for pretty much anything they can think of, possibly giving the technology a bad name. However, it seems to me that the trend is heading in the direction of a more content-rich, interactive communication experience, which is something we can all appreciate.

The show has seen a reasonably good turnout. The exhibition stands with the shiniest, glitzy platforms have been busy but so have the companies that offer new revenue generating possibilities or cost-savings.

The one thing that is obvious though is the mobile phone is dead… as we know it. It’s a device that continues to offer multiple capabilities: SMS voice, video camera, payment services, still camera, computer, GPS location device, mini-television, movie projector, personal music player and on and on…

The mobile industry has spawned a tremendous amount of innovation, jobs and technology and this show is a great reflection of the future direction. While the number of people through the door has been down slightly (no official figures released yet), the number of deals being made appears to continue for all exhibitors judging by the busy meeting rooms.

Mobile broadband has been a hot topic at the show. Discussions about WiMAX, 3GPP and LTE will continue long after the show but it bodes well both for consumers and the mobile industry as the industry appears to be moving towards an IP centric-environment.

Consumers will have the benefit of browser-based services, P2P services such as VoIP and video calling capabilities, and operators will witness increasing Average Revenue per User (ARPU). As a movement towards an IP-based mobile system happens there will be a greater focus on providing dedicated bandwidth and controlling latency issues to ensure successful, high-quality VoIP and video-based services. The move to an IP-based system may only be starting but it demonstrates the industry is still innovating and growing.