This is the second part of my experience with ICO mim at CES 2008. Read Part 1 here.

As part of my meeting with ICO Global Communications at CES I had the distinct opportunity to ride in a vehicle outfitted with their Mobile Interactive Media ("mim") service. The vehicle had LCD screens everywhere you looked, all streaming live video direct from ICO mim. The accompanying photos are all taken from within that vehicle.

Since the satellite is scheduled to launch in March, the service was being provided through a terrestrial signal coming from a temporary tower called a COW ("Cellsite On Wheels"). We'll cover more on the COW later.

But first, I know what you're thinking. Is broadcast video really something that the public would want in their cars? Afterall, drivers should be spending their time watching the road, not watching TV. But, it looks like ICO has factored all that in.

For instance, with the advent of polarized screens, drivers can view the GPS navigation interface (provided by ICO mim) while passengers can view the live video content (also provided by ICO mim). In addition, the driver can listen to the video content as if it's a radio (much like how Sirius and XM broadcast the TV feed of CNN, CNBC, Fox, etc). But once the vehicle in is park, the driver can choose to watch sections of the broadcast after the fact - all because the feed is cached much like a DVR/TiVo.

Also ICO mim doesn't just provide mobile video content, it also will offer vehicle assistance similar OnStar. In fact, they pointed out that there is no "star" in OnStar because the service is cellular based - if you have no signal, you have no assistance. ICO mim will provide true nationwide roadside assistance, regardless of whether there's a cell signal.

Navigation capabilities are very similar to what XM and Sirius are rolling out with NavTraffic/NavWeather and Traffic Link. ICO mim will provide real-time traffic and weather alerts, and re-route you based on the conditions ahead.

But there's also an added layer of interactivity.

Using you're regular internet connection at home or work, ICO mim will let you pre-program tasks and activities into your account. Then you can download and access them from your car. So you don't just have the regular points-of-interest on your navigation system, you have personalized data and a custom agenda for use on the road. Pretty cool.

My next question was about content. It's all fine and dandy to have the mobile video capabilities, but that's useless until you have something that people want to watch. That's when ICO told me that they just signed a deal with NBC Universal, and the stream we were watching was live MSNBC. Suddenly this took on a whole new level of reality.

Follow the jump for additional in-vehicle photos (and I do apologize for the blurry shots)...

ICO Global Communications first caught my attention back in June 2007 after they announced a partnership with Alcatel-Lucent and Hughes. That's when I first learned about "ICO mim" (which stands for "Mobile Interactive Media"), and the potential of a new mobile entertainment platform entering the market.

When the company said they would be demonstrating ICO mim at CES this year, I jumped on the opportunity. Afterall, this is a company that will be launching a satellite in March, and delivering live broadcast media nationwide through a hybrid (satellite + terrestrial repeater) network. Just like what Sirius and XM currently do.

What I learned, and experienced first hand, is by far the next-generation in mobile entertainment. I absolutely believe that this is what "satellite radio" will transform into for the years ahead.

In fact, after spending a couple hours with the company at CES, I'm initiating ongoing coverage of ICO. I think this is definitely a company to watch.

ICO mim calls itself a "converged mobile media service" that offers live (and cached) mobile video in vehicles, interactive navigation, as well as roadside assistance. But understand that data is data. Just as Sirius and XM are able to provide live video, next-gen navigation services, as well as a myriad of other satellite-based services - ICO (pronounced eye-ko) will be able to do the same.

The company also plans to make the service interactive, with social networking capabilities, meaning that it won't just be a dumb "bent pipe" but rather will progressively build itself as consumers use it. And I have a feeling that's just the beginning.

Follow the jump for more photos and a further explanation of my experience with ICO mim...

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting writeup on how automakers are using next month's Consumer Electronis Show as a launchpad to showcase their latest in-vehicle technologies.

And rightly so. Next year, sales for the booming in-car electronics market are expected to top $12 billion, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) - that's double the level from five years ago.

"Detroit is going to Las Vegas," said CEA president Gary Shapiro. "All the excitement in the home is moving to the car."

Demand is consumer driven, who increasingly want to bridge the gap between their digital lifestyles and the dashboard. And consumers are more likely to spend $600 for in-vehicle gizmos if they're already spending $30,000 on a car.

"Two years ago, CES wasn't even on our radar screen," said Ford Motor Co. spokesman Mark Schirmer. "Consumer electronics have become important because it is what people talk about, and it is part of what they ask about when they are buying a car."

The proof is in the pudding. Ford models equipped with SYNC are selling twice as fast as those without, according to WSJ.

Ford SYNC, which made its debut at last year's CES, will be highlighted at the upcoming show alongside the newly announced navigation system: Sirius Travel Link. Sirius will again be showing off its Sirius Backseat TV service, though no longer under the "prototype" status since it hit the market earlier this year. And while there's nothing official yet from XM, I think we can assume that the company will take the wraps off some new technologies at the show as well.

This year's CES includes a focus on the latest safety equipment, entertainment systems and the integration of digital devices (mobile phones, digital-music players and TVs) with the vehicle. WiMax and other means of internet connectivity will be shown... all spearheaded with a keynote by General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner

Can't wait.

[Wall Street Journal]
Photo credit: Wired

We saw pretty much all there was to see of Sirius Backseat TV at CES, and we even learned of the monthly $6.99 price point shortly afterwards, but there was something new shown at Sirius headquarters yesterday...

A big remote!

Now, that's the kids remote mind you. But it's new nonetheless, and it's one of the small details about Sirius Backseat TV that I think parents will greatly appreciate. Follow the jump for more photos and info (including the official release date)...

Last month, ICO Global Communications announced a partnership with Alcatel-Lucent and Hughes Network Systems to launch a mobile video network in two US cities, starting in Spring of 2008.

The "Mobile Interactive Media" service includes in-car video, broadcasting 8-15 channels plus interactive navigation, and other information like emergency voice and test messaging. The mobile video offering will be delivered via satellite and repeater network, and will be offered at a month subscription charge (hmm, sound familiar?).

ICO plans to roll out a more extensive repeater network (somewhere between 1,600 and 2,500 repeaters) with a goal to cover 74% of the US population, in up to 100 US metropolitan areas, starting in 3Q07. Note that ICO isn't targeting the handheld video player market - only the in-vehicle market.

TMF Associates analyst Tim Farrar wrote in a recent report that, "ICO will face competition from Sirius, which already plans to launch a three channel mobile video service later this year, and could conceivably face competition from MediaFLO, as that company builds out its national footprint."

Farrar also considered other potential services that ICO could participate in like "a next generation OnStar service (with an addressable market of several million vehicles) or provide interactive navigation services (again with a potential opportunity of perhaps several million vehicles given the level of competition from other providers)."

TMF estimates that the costs would run up to $100k per repeater (or $250M for the 2,500 repeater network)... which is peanuts considering what XM/Sirius have spent.

The new hotness from Panasonic has just been released: introducing the Panasonic Strada CN-NVD905U In-Dash Nav System/DVD/Hard Drive/Satellite Radio/Swiss Army Knife.

The double-din Strada CN-NVD905U features an integrated 7-inch touch panel LCD screen, a 30Gb Hard Drive, a MOS-FET High-power Amp (50W x 4 max), DVD video playback (with support for homegrown DVD-R/RW discs), WMA/MP3 playback with support for CD-R/RW, and... why not... a Voice Guidance/GUI in English, French and Spanish.

The pre-loaded NAVTEQ mapping software provides map data for the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, plus detailed maps of 86 U.S. cities. You can easily upgrade the software with DVD map database updates. There's also an SD Memory Card slot for map data upgrades.

The CN-NVD905U is ready for pretty much anything. It's Satellite Radio-ready (for either XM or Sirius), expansion module-ready, iPod-ready (including displaying Video content stored on your iPod), Bluetooth-ready, and Rearview camera-ready (Panasonic model CY-RC50KU).

Panasonic's  first mobile navigation system for the U.S. market also sports the option to display real time traffic information using Sirius Traffic. Icons can automatically show traffic flow or tie-ups on the screen, allowing the driver to take an alternate route. This feature is available by connecting the Panasonic CN-NVD905U to an optional Sirius tuner and antenna, plus of course a subscription to Sirius Traffic. 

Drooling yet? Well, save your lunch money kids, because the Panasonic Strada CN-NVD905U Double-Din HDD navigation DVD receiver will be available sometime this month with an MSRP of $1799.95.

[Panasonic Strada Mini-site] 

Long before Sirius Backseat TV was even announced, many a satrad geek has questioned how much bandwidth would be required to deliver the mobile video entertainment.

Well, the math-geniuses over at Satellite Radio TechWorld have a pretty darn good theory. Based on Sirius' response to a complaint filed by the WCS Coalition about Sirius Backseat TV, we learn that the video programming will use less than 1/5 of its bandwidth.

Now for some number crunching:

"So, we can calculate that [Sirius Backseat TV] will consume 2.5 MHz of the 12.5 MHz band, or 0.625 to 0.833 MHz per channel. Since it is broadcast on 3 carriers (two satellites and one repeater), the numbers have to be divided by 3, meaning that each channel per carrier will consume 208 to 278 KHz. If we understand the technology correctly, that should translate into video streaming somewhere on the order of 625 to 833 kbps per channel."

That might be our nearest indicator as to the level of quality to expect for the service. The demo at CES looked pretty damn good, though that could have been, well, just a demo.

[Satellite Radio TechWorld] 

Delphi, which is working to rise up from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has historically depended on GM for a huge chunk of its sales. But with the introduction of Sirius Backseat TV in 2008 Chrysler vehicles, Delphi is further expanding their business beyond GM and getting cozier with the Chrysler Group.

You may not have known it, but Delphi makes the hardware for Sirius Backseat TV that Chrysler plans to introduce in the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan soccer-mom-mobiles this fall. Delphi makes the receiver that accepts the satellite signal and the decoder that interprets those signals. The hardware is made in Delphi's plant in Matamoras, Mexico.

The technology will be exclusive to Chrysler for a year, and Chrysler is the first to offer live backseat TV as a factory-installed option. Other auto companies reportedly are interested but haven't committed to offering it just yet.

"We're proud to be working with Chrysler Group to help usher in the next phase of in-car entertainment," said Ken Erickson, Delphi product business unit executive, entertainment & communications. "With this video technology, passengers will be able to bring new entertainment content directly into their vehicle. They won't have to watch and carry around the same DVDs anymore."

[Detroit Free Press]