Disposable phones, streaming video

Just as disposable cameras can come in handy, the company telespree is betting that disposable cell phones can also find a niche. Its device has two parts: a first-time purchaser would buy a handset and an "AirClip" with pre-packaged minutes. The phone has no keypad, rather just say the number into the phone and it dials. Current models can make only outgoing calls. Company officials say that with no contract or credit card necessary, it makes wireless communication available for a whole new wave of users. As for the debris created by the used minutes, the AirClips are designed to be recycled. Telespree is looking for sponsors, so that when returned, the user might get a coupon for a movie rental or a discount from a retailer. The Israeli company Celvibe has come up with the technology to deliver live television broadcasts to mobile devices. It enables wireless carriers to deliver streamed video and audio directly to smart phones,laptops and PDAs.The company hopes to capture a market for people who'd like to get spurts of live television for special events. Users could follow an important news story, catch a sporting event in which they have a particular investment or watch a climactic moment in a favorite soap opera. The service is expected to work on a pay-per-view setup.

EMBLAZE Systems showed off its MPEG4 streaming video, available on the Samsung SPH-X2000 phone. (It didn't hurt that the company was featuring a Madonna music video from the film "Austin Powers.") The company has signed an agreement with
Microsoft to provide streaming video for wireless devices.The video is available now in Japan and Korea, said EMBLAZE President Sasson Darwish. It should launch in Europe in six months and hit the United States by the end of the year. Darwish sees corporate uses, such as video messaging, as the first applications.