Qik is a great service that lets you use your mobile as a live webcam and create a live channel for others to see on the web. Of course it is already possible to stream live on the web, but allowing people to simply do this form their mobile makes it more accessible than ever before, the key as with so much new technology is that it takes away previous elements of commitment, effort and cost. Believe it or not this isn’t a particularity new service, Qik has been running since 2007. Furthermore, Qik is not the only mobile to live stream service there is a similar service called Kyte, but unlike Qik it is not free for all users. Up to now it’s been a pretty unheard of service, but it might not be long before the service starts to gain a bit of mainstream attention.
Of course back when qik was first released 3G phones and unlimited data packages were somewhat a rarity, so not many people could really make use of the service. But now 3G phones and unlimited data packages are much more accessible so is the possibility of using qik. Of course when we talk unlimited data packages, 3G, and mobile Internet we’re often talking about the iphone 3G, unfortunately Qik is not actually an app you’ll find in the apple app store. This is thanks to no video recording function on the iPhone 3G and various app store rules and regulations, however Qik is available to those who ‘jail break’ their iPhones. It’s also available (legitimately) for over 40 other phones, from manufactures including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Blackberry.
Qik has just announced a potential break through move that Qik will come pre loaded on the Latest Nokia smart phone the N97. This move could bring Qik to many people who would otherwise not heard of the service, and it also breaks down a major boundary for all mobile applications of actually making users find and download the service themselves (this has been a major boundary for technology such as QR codes). With the video enabled new iPhone 3GS release just round the corner, there is a chance it might even get an official iPhone release, this is far from certain but if it becomes disadvantageous to apple to not allow the app I’m sure they’ll let it through.
Of course making it effortless for people to stream to the web from their mobile will provide many issues, but also opportunities. For example people will be able to stream the content of live gigs to the web without even having to think about it. This brings up various copyright issues, and won’t exactly sit well with whoever has any rights to the live broadcast. Who knows we might no longer see that now familiar sight of hundreds of camera phones in the air if rights holders decide they want to try and stop people broadcasts their content. Another example would be live sport, currently a small minority chose to broadcast live content such as live premier league football to which they do not have the rights, due to their low numbers many can be stopped by the rights holders, and those that don’t are unable to get their stream to many people. But imagine when people can create a live stream by simply holding up their phone, think of the amount of potential streams, they can hardly stop an entire stadium from using a mobile, and as youtube have found that when you have such a high number of users, you take a video or live stream down but you’ll just find another two put in it’s place.
As we continue to see with issues such as file sharing resisting technological change is not a long term option, the right thing to do is to prepare for these potential future scenarios and look as to how we can embrace the opportunities that mass live streaming can provide.
