PangolinSMS To Show Cell Phone-Fed HDTV Messaging

PangolinSMS today announced that it will exhibit its SMS Interactive HDTV applications at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) trade show on next week in Las Vegas.

The company is a supplier of SMS- and MMS-based picture messaging systems to cellular phone providers. Its new system is called Interactive Messaging Unlimited (IMU), and provides an interface between SMS and MMS messaging systems and any HDTV system.

Any text message-capable cellular phone can send a message to the system, which will display the message on an HDTV screen, usually in a sub-window to the main screen. Cell phone-generated pictures sent through MMS may also be displayed.

It was first demonstrated last October at a concert during which music fans of the rock group Yellowcard could interact with each other about the band via SMS mobile text messaging. The IMU software displayed the live text chat session in the same HDTV screen as other windows. Those included a documentary about Yellowcard, SMS voting about the band, scrolling background text, and animated advertising graphics.

PangolinSMS representatives said that iHollywood Forum will also be using IMU during discussion panels at the 2005 NATPE Mobile++ conference in Las Vegas next Monday. Audience members and people watching a Web simulcast will be able to ask questions via SMS text messaging, and the questions will be displayed at the session using large-screen video projectors.