14 DAY TRIAL // Forget about e-mail, music and pictures on cellphones, it's time for a much more appealing offer for the mobile devices: pornography.
The New York Times' Matt Richtel and Michel Marriott talk about the advent of advanced cellular networks that deliver full-motion video from the Internet and the latest wave of phones featuring larger screens with bright color and the immediate consequence of this: cellphone pornography.
The authors are saying that some entrepreneurs in the United States are trying to achieve what their European counterparts have: tens of millions of dollars a year on phone-based pornography.
"The major American cellular carriers have so far been adamant in their refusal to sell pornography from the same content menus on which they sell ring tones and video games. But there are signs that they may soften their stance.", Matt Richtel and Michel Marriott note.
Still, despite the technological breakthroughs, the images take time to load and and appear grainy, and video feeds are often interrupted by inconsistent wireless signals.
Roger Entner, a wireless industry analyst for Ovum, a market research firm, told the authors that as use of the Internet on phones becomes easier, and as content ratings emerge, it was inevitable that phone-based pornography would become a fixture.
"It has every component that has proven conducive to the consumption of adult entertainment - privacy, easy access, and, on top of it, mobility," Mr. Entner said.
Aside from the technical difficulties, offering pornography would stir a tempest over indecency and possible pressure from regulators or Congress, the authors mention.
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