- page 2

But while the phone’s processor delivered smoothly, its colour depth was lacking, and my real problem lay, as suspected, in the fact that the 6630’s screen was just too small to deliver to my satisfaction (it is 2.2in diagonal).

Now, I realise I need to be fair here. Rok Entertainment is interested in more than just movies. You can see a complete list of the company’s current catalogue here. You’ll find a mix of entertainments, mostly music and some stuff aimed at children at present. The company has done a deal with Granada Ventures, ITV’s licensing and publishing arm, for content, and at the Rok Entertainment site you’ll see a wide range of media partners and specifics listed including the BBC, MGM and Paramount (click ‘Content’ to view this).

Add to that the press release which announces Shawshank promising ‘a series of movies’ and specifically mentioning Carry On films (spare us that, please) and even stretching beyond movies to ‘Arsenal games’. My own toe-dipping also included a peek at episodes of Black Adder, Red Dwarf and the Fast Show, this time on a Nokia 7710, whose larger widescreen (3.5in diagonal) made for slightly better viewing of material that seemed a little better suited to the format.

So, on the evidence so far I am probably not in the market for movies on a handset, but I might take the odd episode of a TV programme or some music videos. But now I need to factor in cost.

The Shawshank Redemption will set you back £19.99. A squint at Amazon suggests I can get this on DVD for £12.99, or in a three disc special edition for £15.99, and for the price Rok Entertainment wants me to pay for the movie, I can even buy a DVD player from Amazon.

What about music? Morrisey’s You are the Quarry is listed at £16.99, though as I wrote this it was on ‘introductory offer’ at £14.99. At Amazon it is £10.99, and no doubt you know of other places where it is cheaper still. Converters from DVD to handheld formats don’t seem to cost more than about £20. Do your own maths.

What about DRM? Well the memory cards Rok Entertainment sells aren’t tied to hardware so you can share them, and chatting to Bruce Renny, Group Marketing Director the other day, I was pleased to learn that the company isn’t into the Digital Rights Management business. You go to a mobile phone shop or onto the Web, you buy the content you want, you watch it on whatever supported device(s) you have to hand. If you decide you don’t want to keep it, you can sell it or give it away, just as you would a DVD, a book, a music CD. Good-oh, but that outlay is high compared to buying on other formats, you can’t view what you buy on a TV (you’ll still need the DVD for that) or easily share the viewing experience with even one other person.

In the end my feelings are mixed. Praise goes to Rok Entertainment for finding a way to provide content I can share between devices and pass on to others. Shame on them for making it so expensive. And buyer beware – there are many types of video content out there, and some are more suitable for small screened devices than others.