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Convergence of Mobile & PC Worlds
Christened "Push-to-Talk", this new technology will soon see more
& more cell phone operators offer services which offer "walkie talkie"
radio features - similar to those in use by the Police Dept, road
transport services (taxi drivers & truckers), railways, security
teams and other businesses.
Also known as "SMS with Voice" and "Instant Messaging with Audio",
most mobile phone operators are gearing up to roll out cell-phone
based walkie-talkie services in 2005. Initially, services may be
city / nation-wide. Later, these will become global 2 way walkie
talkie services.
Taking the common-man technology to another level, "push to talk"
will be for everyone. One can already imagine couples radioing each
other inside a supermarket. Or friends arranging meetings. Mothers
keeping tabs on their kids. And 'flash mobs' radio-messaging the
next venue!
Cellphone subscribers wll be able to communicate with each other
via SMS, email as well as Instant Message (like Yahoo! Messenger™).
Cutting across different mobile services operators who may be using
different mobile network technologies (GSM, CDMA) in different countries.
Including multiple friends in a single conversation. And managing
many conversations simultaneously !
Merging text, voice and pictures in their conversations, Push-to-Talk
will ultimately link the mobile and PC worlds via Instant Messaging,
SMS and email.
Push-to-Talk
- A Technology Update
* U.S. based Nextel, is a pioneer in Push-to-Talk. For the past
2 years, Nextel was the only company to offer walkie-talkie
service on cellphones.
* Today, Nextel competitors Verizon, T-Mobile also offer Push-to-Talk
via Fastmobile technology. And Sprint PCS has already announced
its plans.
* Fastmobile of Chicago, offers "fastchat" - a global service
that allows mobile phone users to use their existing cellphones
as both a multi-media messenger and a walkie-talkie to interact
with other cellphone users.
* By downloading software from the Fastmobile website, cellphone
subscribers who are signed up with "partner" mobile operators
can immediately start using "fastchat".
* Fastmobile, has also tied up with an Indian mobile operator
to offer its "fastchat" service to over 5 million Indian users
in 2004 Q3.
* Meanwhile mobile phone makers Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and
Siemens have collaborated on a push-to-talk standard to ensure
their cellphones work with each other. * And Nokia has already
announced its plans to release a walkie-talkie cellphone in
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The Next Killer Application?
Most analysts say that mobile operators may be onto something big
- because Push-to-Talk will be used by the common citizen (not just
business). The prime reason will of course be cheaper cost of mobile
communication - the expected cost is between cellphone calls and
SMS and this trend is already visible in the early stages, with
operators offering Push-to-Talk cheaper than regular calls. Nextel
the U.S. leader in Push-to-Talk, bundles 4,500 minutes of Push-to-Talk
time along with 500 minutes of cellphone local calls.
Another reason may be the more "instant" nature of Push-to-Talk,
if you ignore the typical walkie talkie delay in transmission (latency).
But all these advantages may be insignificant compared to the real
advantage of Push-to-Talk when fully implemented : genuine, low-cost
connectivity between cellphones and PCs using the Internet - via
email & instant messaging.
Who
wants Push-toTalk?
A recent study by U.S. market research co. Zelos Group claims
that 45 % of 1,300 U.S. cellphone subscribers will insist on
Push-to-Talk feature in the next cellphone they buy.
The same study ranked Push-to-Talk second only to embedded digital
cameras as desired feature in a cell-phone. (Bluetooth wireless
incidentally, was ranked 10th most desired feature in cellphones.)
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The
Final Word
Obviously, one appeal of push-to-talk over regular calls is being
able to 'talk' to a group of subscribers instantly, without waiting
for an answer.
And with mobile operators already offering subscribers access to
TV channels on a per-hour basis, the cellphone is ready to take
its place as the most widely used technology globally. Overtaking
the personal computer, web servers as well as email technology in
just a few years of its existence !
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