The 35-percent stake that NTT DoCoMo is investing in PacketVideo will help the San Diego-based company expand more in the Japanese market, particularly when it comes to the connected home.
In a joint interview after yesterday’s announcement, PacketVideo CEO James Brailean and Chief Business Officer Joel Espelien characterized the investment as an opportunity for the software company to introduce its TwonkyMedia product. PacketVideo acquired TwonkyVision in 2006 to bridge the media gap between mobile phones and the connected home.
PacketVideo has worked with DoCoMo for many years, and it’s common for companies like DoCoMo to make investments in strategic suppliers, which PacketVideo is considered. But it’s less common for the likes of DoCoMo to make an investment in a North American software company.
The PacketVideo executives say they envision the mobile device becoming the control point for accessing content on the Web and sending it to whatever device the consumer wants to view it on. Consumers will stop worrying about whether they have their content stored on their PC or phone – it will be available to them regardless.
PacketVideo’s framework is part of the Android platform, and executives expect to see a number of those phones shipping later this year. While many in the press have been anticipating Android phones since early this year, PacketVideo executives say the early expectation was the phones would hit in the second half of this year, and generally they remain on schedule.