Sep 18, 2006 12:43
Podcasting and mobiles
Posted by vcbothra
Podcasting is beginning to get traction in India. Portals and sites are adding podcasts to their bouquet of content on topics like entertainment, technology, sports etc. Bloggers are getting getting on the bandwagon using various software and services.
Any technology innovation generally starts with content and services in the technology category, moving outwards to entertainment, spreading to politics / current affairs and then becoming mainstream.
There are many entertainment-based Indian podcasts available today, while technology and general interest shows are beginning to appear.
India-centric podcast sites include PodBazaar, PodMasti, PodioIndia and the recently launched PodTech India.
Leading Indian portal Sify already has a dedicated podcast site. Yahoo India has one of Indian cricket's biggest names Sunil Gavaskar podcasting. There are reports that Indiatimes will soon add podcasts to its portal.
Podcast directories, viz. Podcast.net, Podcasting News, have sections listing podcasts related to India. The iTunes directory also has many Indian podcasts which one can subscribe to.
If podcasting has to become mainstream in India, mobile has to be the dominant device of creation and consumption. There aren't that many PCs, iPods or portable MP3 players in India. But there is a slew of mobiles with memory cards, GPRS and MP3 players.
Mobiles of today have enough storage to act as a podcasting device, if not yet as a replacement of iPod. MMC / MiniSD cards of 500 MB capacity are available at around Rs 700 and a 1 GB card would cost around Rs 1300 or so.
But how will a user download podcasts onto the mobile? If its via PC than the reach will be limited, since only about 10-15 million people have access to a PC at work or home. Others will have to do it through internet cafes and hope that they allow transfer of podcasts through data cables.
An alternative to messy cables in future could be the proliferation of Wifi phones. As I wrote in an earlier post, Nokia has introduced a series of Wifi phones in India. The lowest price point of a Nokia Wifi phone today is around Rs 18000. And if thats the price on introduction, we can safely expect Wifi phones to be available in the price-range of Rs 10000 - Rs 12000 in a years time. Once Wifi becomes abundant in phones, it can act as the preferred medium for transfer of content.
For users not having the option of a PC or Wifi phone, direct to mobile transfer via 3G or GPRS is the only way. But high pay-per-use download charges can cut a big hole in your pocket. If we count on the data pricing trajectory, following other markets like Japan and Western-European countries, then cheaper pay-per-use or unlimited packs are a sure thing.
For direct-to-mobile transfer of podcasts, clients and services like Spodradio, VoiceIndigo and Mundu Radio are a necessary tool to make it simple for the non-techies.
They say I'm a good listener. So please excuse me till the next post, while I listen to all the podcasts pending on my list!
Any technology innovation generally starts with content and services in the technology category, moving outwards to entertainment, spreading to politics / current affairs and then becoming mainstream.
There are many entertainment-based Indian podcasts available today, while technology and general interest shows are beginning to appear.
India-centric podcast sites include PodBazaar, PodMasti, PodioIndia and the recently launched PodTech India.
Leading Indian portal Sify already has a dedicated podcast site. Yahoo India has one of Indian cricket's biggest names Sunil Gavaskar podcasting. There are reports that Indiatimes will soon add podcasts to its portal.
Podcast directories, viz. Podcast.net, Podcasting News, have sections listing podcasts related to India. The iTunes directory also has many Indian podcasts which one can subscribe to.
If podcasting has to become mainstream in India, mobile has to be the dominant device of creation and consumption. There aren't that many PCs, iPods or portable MP3 players in India. But there is a slew of mobiles with memory cards, GPRS and MP3 players.
Mobiles of today have enough storage to act as a podcasting device, if not yet as a replacement of iPod. MMC / MiniSD cards of 500 MB capacity are available at around Rs 700 and a 1 GB card would cost around Rs 1300 or so.
But how will a user download podcasts onto the mobile? If its via PC than the reach will be limited, since only about 10-15 million people have access to a PC at work or home. Others will have to do it through internet cafes and hope that they allow transfer of podcasts through data cables.
An alternative to messy cables in future could be the proliferation of Wifi phones. As I wrote in an earlier post, Nokia has introduced a series of Wifi phones in India. The lowest price point of a Nokia Wifi phone today is around Rs 18000. And if thats the price on introduction, we can safely expect Wifi phones to be available in the price-range of Rs 10000 - Rs 12000 in a years time. Once Wifi becomes abundant in phones, it can act as the preferred medium for transfer of content.
For users not having the option of a PC or Wifi phone, direct to mobile transfer via 3G or GPRS is the only way. But high pay-per-use download charges can cut a big hole in your pocket. If we count on the data pricing trajectory, following other markets like Japan and Western-European countries, then cheaper pay-per-use or unlimited packs are a sure thing.
For direct-to-mobile transfer of podcasts, clients and services like Spodradio, VoiceIndigo and Mundu Radio are a necessary tool to make it simple for the non-techies.
They say I'm a good listener. So please excuse me till the next post, while I listen to all the podcasts pending on my list!
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