Thomas is currently leading Flytxt's software architecture development. Previously Thomas was a senior architect with IBM Global Services in Germany, where he acted as lead architect on large scale e-business implementations in the banking, insurance and travel sectors.

Techbyte: MMS
MMS represents a new breed of mobile messaging services, which enables MMS-enabled handset users to send colour picture images, video clips, life-like sounds and voice attachments. MMS lifts limits on text length, allows for links and click-throughs (like the web) to splash pages and better data capture. MMS also retains the added benefits of mobile: instant interactivity and location pinpointing.

How it works
MMS is able to send more than just a short message to mobile devices, but how is this done? From a technology standpoint this can be broken down into the following steps.

Content Structure and Creation
MMS can send many different media types. These media types can be pictures, text and sounds, with more types to come in the future. An MMS message can also contain more than one item at once. One can, for example, compose a MMS message that is similar to a slide show in Power Point. The message then consists of a list of images, sounds and text items which are played one after the other. How long the pictures show for or sounds play for, as well as the particular order in which they are shown, can be defined. This sequence of media sources obviously needs a structure or file format to be stored in, just like Power Point PPT files do. The standard that is used for MMS messages is called SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) and is an open standard from the Word Wide Web W3C Consortium.

Unlike Power Point presentations, MMS messages are played on a small mobile device with less computing power, and are transferred over a network with a much lower throughput. On top of this mobile devices from different manufacturers can be very different in screen size and capabilities. These are factors that need to be taken in consideration when creating MMS content. For example, it is advisable to not exceed a message size of 30kB of data as handsets have limited memory to store messages.

Content Delivery

Once an MMS message is composed it needs to be delivered to the mobile device. One would expect that just a bigger message would be pushed down the same stream as an SMS message to the handset. To the recipient it appears that way. In reality the process is a bit different. The process can be compared with the way you get delivered a parcel. The postal company deposits the parcel in a postal office and sends you a postcard with the address of the postal office. MMS messages are deposited on a known location on a web server that is accessible from the GPRS network. Then a message is sent to the mobile device to notify the device that there is a message waiting to be collected. This request is called Session Initiation Request (SIR). The mobile device then contacts the address that has been given and downloads the MMS message over the GPRS network, just like one downloads a file from the Internet. Before downloading, the mobile device submits it's model identifier. This is used to adapt the message to render it best on that specific device. Images are effectively resized on the fly to allow for best presentation. Once the message is completely downloaded it appears in the inbox of the mobile device and can be viewed, edited and forwarded.

MMS penetration

Just 2% of UK mobile users are now able to send pictures from phones with built-in cameras, and only one fifth of them are interested in the technology (June 03 MDA). These figures make the immediate future of MMS seem rather bleak. Let's understand what's behind the issue of MMS penetration…

      ·  First, is the cost of handsets (the majority cost between £150 - £500)

·  Second, despite the existence of the interoperability (IOP) Group, interoperability issues between handsets remain, preventing some messages being correctly received by different handsets

·  Third is pricing. For those operators charging per message, you have to ask will consumers really be willing to pay 25p to 35p per message? Even if they are, how many will they send? This issue is heightened when you realise the most likely early adopters of MMS is the youth market. The hefty cost of MMS will swallow up teenagers' spending money quickly, and that is after they have spent money on upgrading their handsets to be MMS enabled.

·  Fourth is lag between penetration and usage. Even though SMS was invented in '92 and texting began in earnest on all handsets by '97, it took another five years to reach critical mass usage with SMS. There will be a similar situation with MMS.

·  Fifth is having no one to message. Just because you have an MMS enabled handset, doesn't mean you have anyone to message. If this is mobile user's experience - people's uptake of MMS will be dampened.

      ·  Finally, MMS will face some competition from other messaging formats such  
      as mobile email and mobile instant messaging, which also allow subscribers to      
      send/receive pictures and files.

Despite this bleak outlook, we are convinced of the power of multi-media on mobile handsets. It's arrival is analogous to moving from Laurel and Hardy's silent, black and white pictures to the surround sound, digitally enhanced experience of the modern day cinema!

P2P or A2P, that is the question

Whether MMS will succeed as a peer-to-peer phenomenon (i.e. friends sending each other MMS messages) or an application to peer phenomenon (i.e. brands or content owners sending MMS messages to consumers) is an issue widely debated in the industry.

We believe it will be the latter, for several reasons. Prohibitive costs of mobile users sending MMS on a regular basis; the lag between handset purchase and handset usage - but most of all, the rationale behind messaging. One of the reasons why SMS became such a successful peer-to-peer phenomenon, was the ease of use. Typing '5 mins l8' or 'miss u' takes two minutes, trying anything more elaborate and people would quickly give up. We liken the usage of SMS and MMS to that of plain text and HTML email. Ask yourself - how many times have you bothered to highlight text or insert pictures when you're emailing your peers? On the whole, both email and mobile messaging is about short, quick, efficient communication. It is therefore our view that it will be the brands and not the consumers that will ultimately drive the world of colour and enhanced sounds on our handsets.

Having said this, some of the SMS services that seem to be taking off are 'blogging' services, whereby consumers can take pictures or record sounds, and then send them via MMS to a 'blogging' site. There everyone can see or listen to them via WAP or WEB. In this respect, maybe some P2A services will take off (Peer to Application).

How operators are marketing MMS

The stakes are high: network operators are banking on MMS to generate significant data revenues over the next five years. They've forked out millions on advertising campaigns for MMS, but there are few compelling MMS services available and operators haven't, to date, been sending many push MMS messages to MMS-enabled clients. Odd? We think so, given that they're banking on it.

What you can do with MMS

To find out more about how MMS can help your bring colour and life to your mobile brand, please contact our sales team to find out more on 0207 841 6408.

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