Coming Soon to a Cell Phone Near You: Movies

Just when you thought your wireless phone had maxed out on features, along comes . . . movies?

Well, it’s not happening yet, but San Diego-based PacketVideo Corp. is creating a buzz with products that allow smart phones and personal digital assistants to handle streaming video over a mere 14.4 kilobit-per-second wireless connection.

The company was a hit at Red Herring’s invitation-only NDA ’99 event last week in Carlsbad, Calif., and it has big-name backers already on board ranging from Intel to Siemens’ venture capital arm. A new round of funding is already oversubscribed, and a public offering could come in the first half of next year.

Trials are underway with Japan wireless giant NTT DoCoMo and with Sprint PCS in the United States, and the company is working with Sony Pictures with an eye toward offering movie trailers or soap opera bits.

The company believes the technology could be ready for launch as early as the first quarter of 2000.

“We’re surprising everyone,” said Jim Carol, PacketVideo’s chief executive. “What we are is a software company that has had a major breakthrough.”

The company had planned to launch its products once wireless networks offered quicker data speeds, but PacketVideo engineers found ways to make their technology work well over the slower speeds, using special encoders and decoders that conform to video standards and can be used with all current wireless technologies.