The Growing Location Free Media Market
Introduction: What is Location Free?
Location free computing and media refers to the growing possibilities of both creating and consuming media products and content, anywhere, any place any time.
This capacity is all part of the process of convergence which is based upon the rapidly growing hi-speed digitally based communications infrastructure which underlies everything. Increasingly higher speed wireless and broadband links and the potential for satellite uploads and downloads means that individuals wherever they are can access these links through their service provider and either upload or download content. In 2006 the advent of Sling-media (See New Media glossary) meant that somebody in the Phillipines could access a transmission of a live sports broadcast in Europe via their own home computer and a laptop connected to a broadband link in the Phillipines. Potenially this technology is reformulating audiences as broadcasting is now becoming far less nationally restricted than it was before.
What’s coming in 2007?
Predicting the future is an impossibility however identifying trends and visions of the movers and shakers in this world can give us an idea of the possibilities. At the end of the day it will be the audiences that decide whther something will be successful or not. Below is a prediction for an exciting year in mobile media from Keith Washo of memory technology company SanDisk. (They are the people who make things like SD cards for your digital camera).
New MP3 players and phones, for example, can access music downloads stores directly without the need for a computer or cable, whilst others can tap into internet radio channels. Both developments open up a whole new world of wireless listening.
Watch out for the Sansa media device from Sandisc which will allow you to watch and store moving images and show them on a TV anywhere.
For more on mobile futures check out this BBC Technology story.
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