Eutrusca
17-09-2005, 17:14
COMMENTARY: This is the newest hot use of tech. Jump in while the field is still wide open! :D
Ring Tones, Cameras, Now This:
Sex Is Latest Cellphone Feature (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/technology/17porn.html?th&emc=th)
[ this article is two pages long, only one of which is posted here ]
By MATT RICHTEL and MICHEL MARRIOTT
Published: September 17, 2005
The cellphone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With 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 - the pornography industry is eyeing the cellphone, like the videocassette recorder before it, as a lucrative new vehicle for distribution.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend 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.
The cellular industry's major trade group is drafting ratings for mobile content - akin to those for movies or video games - signaling that phones, too, will be a subject of viewer discretion.
For now, the Web-based video available on many cellphones is crude. Images take time to load and appear grainy, and video feeds are often interrupted by inconsistent wireless signals.
But Roger Entner, a wireless industry analyst for Ovum, a market research firm, said 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.
For the carriers, it is a tricky proposition. Offering pornography would stir a tempest over indecency and possible pressure from regulators or Congress. But conceding the field to third parties would leave millions of dollars on the table.
At present, sales of pornography over mobile phones in this country amount to virtually nothing. But cellphone commerce is on the rise, with sales of ring tones alone expected to reach $453 million this year, according to the Yankee Group, a research firm. The company estimates that by 2009, sales of pornography for phones will hit $196 million, still meager compared with a projected $1.2 billion for ring tones.
But the likelihood that pornography will be increasingly accessible by phone has children's advocacy groups mobilizing. This month, the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, a nonprofit group that seeks to promote "biblical morality," met with leaders of the wireless industry to voice concern that phones could provide minors with all-too-easy access to inappropriate material.
"The Internet hit us blindsided," said Jack Samad, a senior vice president with the group, referring to the slow reaction of children's advocacy groups to the advent of online pornography. "We are attempting to stay ahead of the curve" with regard to mobile phones, pressing cellphone carriers to give parents the ability to block access.
The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, has its own concerns, said David Fiske, a spokesman. "The commission takes very seriously the issue of inappropriate material reaching cellphones that are in the hands of children," he said.
Mr. Fiske declined to comment on what actions the commission might take. To some extent, though, the agency's hands are tied in that mobile phone carriers, like other telecommunications companies, are not responsible for what Internet sites consumers visit. But the carriers could be held accountable, experts said, if they take part in selling pornography to minors.
In the past, pornography has helped to drive the popularity of new technologies. including the videocassette recorder, cable television and the Web itself, and it is a source of revenue for many major media companies, including cable giants like Time Warner and Comcast, which have pay-per-view channels devoted to pornography.
Many of those in the business of pornography are not deterred by today's technical difficulties in delivering cellphone video. Harvey Kaplan, director of mobile operations for xobile.com, a company in Charlotte, N.C., that sells two-minute hard-core video clips for download over phones, said he believed that thirst for sex-related content would drive the popularity of Internet-enabled phones.
[ this article is continued here (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/technology/17porn.html?th&emc=th) ]
Ring Tones, Cameras, Now This:
Sex Is Latest Cellphone Feature (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/technology/17porn.html?th&emc=th)
[ this article is two pages long, only one of which is posted here ]
By MATT RICHTEL and MICHEL MARRIOTT
Published: September 17, 2005
The cellphone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With 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 - the pornography industry is eyeing the cellphone, like the videocassette recorder before it, as a lucrative new vehicle for distribution.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend 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.
The cellular industry's major trade group is drafting ratings for mobile content - akin to those for movies or video games - signaling that phones, too, will be a subject of viewer discretion.
For now, the Web-based video available on many cellphones is crude. Images take time to load and appear grainy, and video feeds are often interrupted by inconsistent wireless signals.
But Roger Entner, a wireless industry analyst for Ovum, a market research firm, said 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.
For the carriers, it is a tricky proposition. Offering pornography would stir a tempest over indecency and possible pressure from regulators or Congress. But conceding the field to third parties would leave millions of dollars on the table.
At present, sales of pornography over mobile phones in this country amount to virtually nothing. But cellphone commerce is on the rise, with sales of ring tones alone expected to reach $453 million this year, according to the Yankee Group, a research firm. The company estimates that by 2009, sales of pornography for phones will hit $196 million, still meager compared with a projected $1.2 billion for ring tones.
But the likelihood that pornography will be increasingly accessible by phone has children's advocacy groups mobilizing. This month, the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, a nonprofit group that seeks to promote "biblical morality," met with leaders of the wireless industry to voice concern that phones could provide minors with all-too-easy access to inappropriate material.
"The Internet hit us blindsided," said Jack Samad, a senior vice president with the group, referring to the slow reaction of children's advocacy groups to the advent of online pornography. "We are attempting to stay ahead of the curve" with regard to mobile phones, pressing cellphone carriers to give parents the ability to block access.
The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, has its own concerns, said David Fiske, a spokesman. "The commission takes very seriously the issue of inappropriate material reaching cellphones that are in the hands of children," he said.
Mr. Fiske declined to comment on what actions the commission might take. To some extent, though, the agency's hands are tied in that mobile phone carriers, like other telecommunications companies, are not responsible for what Internet sites consumers visit. But the carriers could be held accountable, experts said, if they take part in selling pornography to minors.
In the past, pornography has helped to drive the popularity of new technologies. including the videocassette recorder, cable television and the Web itself, and it is a source of revenue for many major media companies, including cable giants like Time Warner and Comcast, which have pay-per-view channels devoted to pornography.
Many of those in the business of pornography are not deterred by today's technical difficulties in delivering cellphone video. Harvey Kaplan, director of mobile operations for xobile.com, a company in Charlotte, N.C., that sells two-minute hard-core video clips for download over phones, said he believed that thirst for sex-related content would drive the popularity of Internet-enabled phones.
[ this article is continued here (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/technology/17porn.html?th&emc=th) ]