WindowsMobileToday: News: LG Pocket PC TV Ready

The mobile TV industry is in its infancy, with players and consumers scrambling to make sense of a jumble of standards, delivery mechanisms and viewing platforms.

Today comes word that LG Electronics has introduced the first Pocket PC with an integrated TV receiver. As is the case with many such developments, the device only functions in South Korea.

The Pocket PC, called the PM80, uses a television broadcast standard called DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting), which is not commonly found outside the Korean market. In addition, DMB required LG implement an unsightly, ungainly and unappealing old-fashioned-style antenna.

Additional known features of the PM80 include Microsoft's dated Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition operating system, 64 MB of RAM, a Secure Digital slot for memory and peripheral expansion, and a 312 MHz Intel XScale processor. According to specifications, the PM80's battery lasts for about 2.5 hours while watching television on its 3.5-inch, 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) resolution display.

LG expects to sell the Pocket PC for around $385, with a GPS-enabled edition for location-based services and navigation going for $575.

DVB-H
One emerging mobile broadcast standard for mobile devices like Pocket PCs and mobile phones is DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld). This technology doesn't rely on older television and local (e.g. South Korea's DMB) technologies. And for handsets, its chief application, DVB-H bypasses an operator's cellular network to deliver television directly.

DVB-H frees up bandwidth for other mobile operator content and promises excellent quality video. Intel demonstrated multi-channel TV broadcasts on Windows-based mobile devices equipped with add-on DiBcom DVB-H receivers, a first in the United States, at the Fall CTIA show in September.

The Intel demonstration included live, brand-name TV services, digital music, and a feature-length movie, beamed from terrestrial transmitters using the DVB-H protocol to Windows Mobile-based PDAs and smartphones. The media content was encoded using Microsoft's Windows Media Audio and Video 9.

Nokia and Samsung are already committed to making DVB-H handsets. For more on DVB-H and mobile TV in general, see our three part series on the subject below.