'Movie' on the Cards

Tailor-made for those who thrive on an entertainment dose are movie cards
that are ready to set a new trend in the market. SIM-card or micro SD card are
targeting the youth, a segment that likes to carry entertainment in their
pockets, anytime and anywhere.

These cards are ideally 1 GB SD cards that can store and play a full-fledged
film, along with ringtones, wallpapers and other trivia related to the film.
Recently Spice Televentures' mobile handset retail chain, HotSpot, launched its
movie cards, and we may soon see more players in the arena.

The cards can be used with any handset that holds an SD slot and will enable
mobile phone users to watch latest Bollywood flicks on 320x240 pixel screen. The
Hotspot movie card supports IMP4 and 3gp movie compression formats. The company
started with some latest flicks and plans to add 50 more movies to the list by
the end of this year.

Considering the fact that 30-40% of mobile sets in the country support
various movie formats, there is no defined option for a legally sharable format
for movies. The segment is expected to grow as a handy option for carrying and
sharing entertainment content. The Bollywood market is worth Rs 600 bn and
likely to grow steadily to Rs 850 bn by 2010. Bollywood is not a new strategy as
the Nokia N96 was pre-loaded with Om Shanti Om movie, games and wallpaper. The
list is unending, games based on films ranging from Ghajini, to Chandini Chowk
to China have had their share of fame on mobiles. Latest in the queue is Dev D.

Also, given the fact that the digital format is leading all formats of
content consumption, more and more content is available for tapping. A good
thing is that the card is rewritable, so if one gets bored of the film and has
had enough rounds of exchanging it with friends, one can simply format it and
use it as a memory card.

Price: Rs 350-400 Memory:1GB Resolution (pixels): 320 x 240 SD Card slot Video formats: MP4 & 3GP Movies available: Namaste London, Om Shanti Om, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara, Devdas and many more to come Others: Games, wallpapers, ringtones has

The options can be several, at present they are being sold in the market only
as movie cards, later there could be a possibility of trying out a combination
of select movie, games and other entertainment package. The critics may have
their own arguments. Some may dispute that with 3G coming, mobile users will be
able to download quality video at a much faster pace, though price for the
service is yet not known. The number of users who would like to subscribe to 3G
services only to watch films can not be estimated at the moment. But an
advantage that a movie card has is that it enables you to get a complete film in
a high quality format and at an affordable price. Besides, you can still
continue to use the card even if you have removed the content. It is being
marketed as a handy solution in place of DVDs. The trend has just set in, how
far it will go is yet to be seen.

Heena Jhingan

heenaj@cybermedia.com