Just a few weeks after the launch of MMS, Germany’s T-Mobile has become the first European operator to launch video messaging, where customers can send brief video sequences using their mobile phone. The first mobile phone which allows you to use this new service is the Nokia 7650.

“With video messaging, we are offering our customers a genuinely innovative product. It is now possible for the first time to record moving images using a mobile phone and to send these to friends or business associates simply and directly,” comments Martin Knauer, Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile Deutschland. “This represents a valuable expansion of the multimedia messaging service.”

The new video messaging service allows users to record, save and play back video sequences, up to a maximum of 95 kilobytes in size, on their mobile phone. A sound clip or a message in text form can be sent with the video message as attachments. The recipient will require the relevant media players in order to play back the video message and attachments on his or her PC.

Insight

Momentum is building behind multimedia messaging services in Western Europe. There are many hurdles to overcome prior to mass market adoption – handset availability and network interoperability to name just two. However, the Japanese market has demonstrated that video and picture messaging are disruptive technologies, sufficient to prompt people to switch networks and upgrade their handsets. It is a matter of when, not if, these services win consumer acceptance.