| Podcasts (audio that can be downloaded and | | | | focused topic. Information is shortened into news |
| played on the iPod) have redefined the listening | | | | snippets, or divided into chunks that people can |
| experience. Not only can you find thousands of | | | | listen to for a minute at a time. |
| very specialized content-from audio books like | | | | Also, these companies reviewed the kind of |
| Speak French in Thirty Days to stand-up comedy | | | | information people would want to get from a |
| routines to the latest song from a bluegrass | | | | mobile phone. The iPod has made it easy for |
| band-but you can customize your playlist, and | | | | people to download and play information-in fact, |
| choose exactly when you're ready to hear it. It's | | | | the convenience is one of the biggest selling |
| audio on the go. | | | | factors. What would prompt them to use another |
| Podcasts have been designed to play on the iPod, | | | | medium, instead of just hearing it over their |
| but the popularity has moved mobile phone | | | | trusty pod? |
| manufacturers to allow mobilecasts. These are | | | | Studies and surveys shows that there was a |
| podcasts that are played on the cell phone. After | | | | market for those who were very busy and |
| all, cell phones have made great strides in terms | | | | needed immediate information, something that |
| of storage capacity and audio quality. Many | | | | would help them in a pressing decision. The iPod is |
| ringtones actually parallel the kind of sounds you'd | | | | still largely seen as a product to relax with, and |
| get while listening to the radio. | | | | isn't always carried around. It can be left in an |
| What's missing? High speed phone networks which | | | | office drawer, or zippered into a gym bag pocket. |
| could carry the information, and memory capacity. | | | | But people always bring their cell phones with |
| MP3 files can be too large for a standard mobile | | | | them. A mobile cast would then have to provide a |
| network to manage, so the podcast had to be | | | | kind of immediacy, a quick solution to a problem |
| reformatted for easier download. There's also the | | | | that can't wait. This could be a restaurant review |
| question of why people would want to hear a | | | | (right before they decide where to have dinner), |
| podcast on the phone. What kind of content | | | | news headlines, or stock changes. |
| streams would be interesting to them, enough to | | | | One of the big players in the mobilecasting |
| go through the extra hassle of reformatting a | | | | industry is Melodeo, which introduced the Mobilcast |
| podcast file? | | | | application. Once installed in a mobile phone, it |
| Several companies have risen to the challenge. | | | | enables listeners to browse podcast catalogs. |
| They are creating podcasts specifically for mobile | | | | Pod2Mob also offers a service that lets people |
| phones. One of the steps they have taken is to | | | | stream a podcast to a phone, using the WAP |
| create shorter segments, usually on a very | | | | browser, and managing the files on the PC. |