Image Share is a service for sharing images between users during a
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
call. It has been specified for use in a
3GPP-compliant
cellular network
A cellular network or mobile network is a communication network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless. The network is distributed over land areas called "cells", each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver (typically thre ...
by the
GSM Association
The GSM Association (commonly referred to as 'the GSMA' or ''Global System for Mobile Communications'', originally ''Groupe Spécial Mobile'') is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More ...
in the PRD IR.79 Image Share Interoperability Specificatio
According to the specification, "The terminal interoperable Image Share service allows users to share Images between them over PS connection with ongoing CS call, thus enhancing and enriching end-users voice communication."
An Image Share session begins by end-users setting up a normal
Circuit switching, circuit switched (CS) voice call. After the voice call is set up, terminals perform a registration to an
IMS core system with a
packet switched
In telecommunications, packet switching is a method of grouping data into '' packets'' that are transmitted over a digital network. Packets are made of a header and a payload. Data in the header is used by networking hardware to direct the pack ...
(PS) connection. Then based on successful capability negotiation between the terminals, the end-user will be presented with an option in terminal
UI offering the possibility of sharing one or several images. If this is selected, then these images are transferred between the Image Share software clients located in the mobile phones using the PS connection and the recipient is able to see the images. During this process the normal CS voice session has been ongoing continuously.
Image Share can be seen as a kind of spin-off from the
Video Share mobile phone service. Video Share is commercially launched for example by
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
in USA, but Image Share is not yet available from any mobile operator/service provider.
Technical features
*
Interoperable
Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader defi ...
multi-vendor compliant service, i.e. Image Share works across different mobile phones from various vendors (as long as they have the necessary software client installed)
*
IMS service, i.e. 3GPP compliant IMS core system required for the service provider/operator offering Image Share
* CSI (CS and IMS combinational) service compliant to 3GPP specifications TS 22.279, TS 23.279 and TS 24.279, i.e. CS voice call set up required prior to sharing the images
*
SIP used for signaling via IMS, i.e. registration for the service is performed using the capabilities offered by IMS platform with SIP protocol
* MSRP (Message Session Relay Protocol, RFC 4975) used for transporting media between the mobile phones
* IETF File transfer mechanism
utilized for negotiating shared images between offerer and answerer via SIP/SDP offer/answer model
* Capability query performed using SIP OPTIONS method between the mobile phones to find out whether the recipient is Image Share capable
*
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer n ...
service, i.e. no server required in the network for sharing the images
* Both live and pre-stored images can be shared between the participating mobile phones
* Requires
3G or
EDGE
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
DTM (Dual Transfer Mode) mobile network
Usage
According to GSMA press releas
interoperability between different Image Share clients was successfully tested in a multi-vendor trial in May 2007, including interworking between multiple networks.
No mobile operator has launched Image Share so far (as of March 2008).
See also
*
Video Share, which (re)uses similar basic architecture
* IM, especially OMA SIMPLE I
which also utilizes MSRP for transporting media
*
Multimedia Messaging Service, MMS, which also provides the means for users to exchange images between mobile phones
* Multiple different
file/image sharing applications & services available from various companies
References
* GSM Association PRD IR.79 Image Share Interoperability Specificatio
* IETF RFC 4975 Message Session Relay Protocol
* 3GPP TS 22.279 Combinied Circuit Switched (CS) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) sessions; Stage 1
* 3GPP TS 23.279 Combining Circuit Switched (CS) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services; Stage 2
* 3GPP TS 24.279 Combining Circuit Switched (CS) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services; Stage 3
IMS services