Wired News delivered to your inbox or hand-held device. Although no products have been formally announced, the companies are working on a variety of devices to deliver wireless audio. European and Asian markets are currently in the process of upgrading their networks to 40 Kbps, and the United States is expected to follow one year later. People don't sit at the other end of a copper cable and listen to music. They move, they drive autos, they work out.
Music is to the mobile what television is to the home.
It has to be wireless to make any difference at all. People are expected to embrace wireless audio once it can be delivered at broadband speed. According to a report published earlier this month by Coleman Research and Arbitron, broadband users are twice as likely to listen to streamed content than people with dial-up connections. The wireless media revolution will also ultimately include high-quality video, but that's expected to develop even more slowly because of higher bandwidth requirements. In the meantime, Jordan sees a huge opportunity in mobile streaming audio such as music, news, sports, and financial information, much as that content has inspired 750,000 RealVideo broadcasters to set up shop on the Web.