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The user

Every user who can access a mobile TV accessible handset or a smart phone that access online video content could be a potential user of Pixie TV.

Largely that would open up the consumer group from the ages of 13 and upwards…

However the active participation and interaction with the application varies according to the individual user’s interests and requirements. On this basis the user groups can be divided as:

‘Active Users’

Users who are not intimidated by the possibilities the application opens up typically these users are well versed with the various concepts of social networking and are active users of social media such as YouTube Facebook Twitter etc...

Regularly share content with peers and treat video content as social currency as conversation starters and see ‘pinging’ ‘poking’ ‘buzzing’ as typical and legitimate practices of social interaction.

‘Passive Users’

Users who have no interest in or are not exposed to social networks and other social media. These users typically look view video content as a fillers between tasks and are not keen on interacting with the application.

They require an application to be simple and appropriate to their needs any other features are simply extras and maybe even deemed unwanted and confusing.

The experience

The convergence of media on the mobile phone, allows for several new channels of communication which are always on. However, such a convergence brings along with it large amounts of data which is uniquely characteristic of each medium.

In the area of mobile television, this convergence brings to the small screen, broadcast content, video on demand, streamed content from the web, content from the device’s hard disk etc. The nature of mobile television watching makes it more suitable for short duration watching typically between tasks, at least initially, though if suitable content and services are available mobile TV will develop its own dedicated user group that may use it extensively.

Typically, electronic program guides (EPG) deliver content details linearly and on time line, however with the convergence of medium, content would no longer be distinguished by the medium nor bound by time/schedule, therefore this sort of interface would no longer be appropriate. The need to have content that is immediately valuable to the user when he chooses to access the service would be imperative.

To enable this, it is proposed that customization and personalization of content and EPG’s would be essential. Beyond searching for content by interest, content accessed thru peer sharing and recommendations are more likely to be relevant to the user. The sucess of this model would mean mean minimum effort/intervention from the user for content of maximum relevance to him.