Apple aims QuickTime at mobile users

Apple is looking to push QuickTime and MPEG-4 (based on the former) encoded content out to mobile users via its new X-Serve G5 platform, a 1U Mac OS X server targeted at service provider racks. The new hardware combined with last week's release of QuickTime Streaming Server 5.02 gives mobile operators the ability to stream both live and on-demand content using the 3GPP and 3GPP2 specifications. Currently, Apple says its in trials with a number of providers in Europe, Asia and here in North America.

In announcing the new products, Apple managed to take a swipe at Real (who isn't taking swipes at Real?) a company also trying to push its streaming format in the mobile market. Frank Casanova, Apple's senior director for QuickTime Product Marketing, says his company's server has a flat fee for serving as many users as the hardware will handle while Real charges based on the number of concurrent users. Plus, the fact that MPEG-4 is based on the QuickTime file format, Apple can play the we're-based-on-standards card.

"[Mobile] operators live in a world of standards, they don't want proprietary technology," Casanova says. "We've got a one, two punch. We're standards based and we have no fees that scale as usage does. Operators have no idea how many people are going to show up for an event and with our solution it doesn't matter how many people show up."

For those already running QuickTime Streaming Server, the 5.03 update is part of the Panther 10.3.3. server release.