DivX Video for Samsung Mobile Phones Featured at GSMA Mobile World Congress

The GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain has kicked off with several sessions featuring keynote speakers from such tech giants as Yahoo!, Nokia, Vodafone, and Adobe.

Among several new developments from these companies, DivX and Samsung have announced a new line of mobile phones now DivX-certified for enhanced video playback. Samsung's new mobile phones include BEAT DJ, Ultra Touch, and OMNIA HD.

In their PR Newswire press release, DivX says Samsung's new mobile phones "offer consumers seamless playback of high-quality DivX video on the go and in the living room."

DivX made a simultaneous announcement in addition to Samsung's new line of DivX-certified mobile phones. DivX's new certification profile called the DivX Mobile Theater aids mobile licensees in making sure their mobile phones are certified to support studio requirements for DivX video playback.

Popularity of Mobile Phones in Our Multimedia Age

Since the public introduction of cell phones back in the early 1980s, mobile phones have steadily increased in popularity. Whereas in the past mobile phones were way to bulky to place in purses and pocketbooks, today's version is smaller, lighter, and ultra-portable.

Today's mobile phones are improved in another significant way. While the mobile phone of yesteryear was comprised of a simple keypad, earpiece, and microphone, modern-day mobile phones are clearly emerging as all-in-one multimedia electronic gadgets.

Increasingly popular are smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry Storm. These phones feature connection to the internet from anywhere, thus allowing the user to perform tasks such as location mapping, restaurant ordering, and web surfing. Unique applications, particularly for the iPhone, have become wildly popular.

Additional multimedia features of today's mobile phones include on-board digital cameras, video cameras, and instant messaging devices. But for quite some time, video has posed a problem due to its high memory usage.

Challenges of Video Compression

Introduced in 1998, MPEG-4 (Motion Picture Experts Group) comprises methods for visual and audio digital data compression. For web applications where more memory can be easily allocated for video, MPEG-4 has worked well. But for mobile phones where on-board memory is far less available, it presents a challenge.

DivX Video Compression

DivX is an increasingly popular video codec (coder-decoder). DivX 7 is their latest version and is based on H.264 video compression technology for today's high-definition video. Both the free DivX 7 high-definition player and the full version are available on DivX's website for Macintosh, PC, or mobile phones.