SINGAPORE--A new technology from Ericsson promises to let mobile users send pictures and transmit video in the middle of a phone conversation, according to a company official.
Dubbed Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), the solution allows cellphone users to combine voice calls with various types of content such as video and pictures, before sharing it with others.
For example, mobile users can share an image of a piece of furniture, or a video clip of a panoramic view, and speak with the other party simultaneously.
"IMS harmonizes the way we provide multimedia services for anytime access over mobile and fixed-line networks, including 3G, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and wired broadband lines," said Oscar Gestblom, Ericsson's strategic marketing manager. He added that cellphone users will also be able to access a common set of services from any fixed and mobile device.
To demonstrate this fixed-mobile convergence, Ericsson this week showed reporters an in-house developed whiteboard application. When loaded on a PC, it allows users to draw sketches before sending it to a cellphone user, who must have the same software installed on a smart phone.
Conversely, the cellphone user can make changes to the same drawing, and these are reflected on the PC user's screen in real-time.
For phone-to-phone communications, Ericsson also showed off an application that allows users to load a map on a smart phone, and send it to another smart phone user during a voice conversation.
At the same time, a user can mark out the route to a given destination on the map--this is reflected almost instantaneously on the other party's smart phone screen.
Ericsson believes there is a demand for such services after its market research arm ConsumerLab, concluded a recent study of this market space.
The annual study involved interviews with more than 13,000 people from 10 countries, including China, Japan, France, Germany and the United States.
More than 40 percent of the "young pioneers", which Ericsson described as early adopters in the study, indicated a strong interest in IMS services. "This group forms about 30 per cent of the market," said Gestblom, adding that the number sufficiently demonstrated IMS services to be commercially viable.
However, Gestlom admitted there are challenges to overcome before IMS can gain ground in the mobile services market.
The cost of data services remains high in most parts of the world and is likely to deter people from using IMS services.
Poor video and image quality taken on camera phones available today, coupled with limited battery capacity, are other bugbears to widespread adoption, Gestblom said.
If these barriers are not overcome, it will be uphill task to achieve a critical mass of IMS users, who may not know if their friends' phones support similar services.
Ericsson revealed that it has signed more than 20 IMS system agreements with fixed-line operators such as Telefonica, and mobile operators including Telecom Italia Mobile.
The contracts, distributed over the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia include both trial and commercial launch deployments.
"We have identified significant opportunities for IMS-based services in multiple market segments, and will offer an important enhancement to our current service portfolio," said Luca Luciani, Telecom Italia Mobile's head of operations in a statement.
"This is an excellent way to build our revenue base."
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