:: Nokia Visual Radio ::
Recently on the Mobile Applications Club at Ecademy there was a group discussion about device types. Barbara Ballard states:
.. I foresee (and intend to make happen) a plethora of devices that step outside the current phone/PDA/pager/game device taxonomy. I envision a future in which everybody has a general purpose "communications and control" device (exact feature set and design varies per segment), a general purpose computing/work device (again, exact feature set varies), and an "entertainment" device.
The taxonomies suggested could be argued, but I think the idea is valid. The current mobile industry is voice-centric and devices have evolved accordingly. Text messaging has not impacted device evolution at all - it is an additional feature of what remains a telephone. Notwithstanding a variety of service issues (including price) the fact that MMS is struggling suggests that it is possibly the wrong service for a communications device. Perhaps the better use for MMS is within an entertainment framework, which brings me to the entertainment device category.
Nokia are promoting their visual radio platform, which allows visual and interactive content to be received by special devices that receive FM radio. Nokia call these devices "media devices". This seems a clear attempt to create a new device family and certainly seems to confirm Barbara's thinking that the future of user interface design will be affected by the emergence of classes of devices leading to design strategies per class, rather than per device.
Of course, there is the issue of adoption. Without enough radio stations signing up to provide content into the parallel visual channels, the adoption rate might be problematic. However, this assumes that the only possibility is augmented FM radio. There is nothing to stop niche channels being created that are entirely digital. For example, I would propose that the in-store "Blockbuster TV" in Blockbuster video stores might make an ideal channel. A whole range of products could be offered: postal DVD rentals, retail DVD sales, film-related ringtones, wallpaper etc.
There is also no reason why visual-shopping services can't be so niche as to allow retailers to provide services for device users actually visiting a shop. I can't interact with the Blockbuster TV in the store, but with a suitable device, I could. The same goes for any other shop, whether they currently run in-store channels or not. Technologies like Cell Broadcast could be used to allow users to quickly "tune in" to nearby stores. Regardless of such enhancements, what's important is a device type design for this type of service and that any content provider can confidently design for.
It is currently my view that the emergence of entertainment devices will be the most likely business evolution for operators. Last on their list will be support for a general-purpose mobile computing industry.
5:21:03 PM 
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