It's become clear by now that just about everyone with access to your mobile phone wants to sell you something--ringtones, TV downloades, animated shorts, music. To many in the industry, the
tiny screens on the ubiquitous mobile are perceived as future profit centers. Already, early adapters are using their phones for a plethora of purposes, only one of which is carrying on actual phone
conversations. Therefore, this story in The New York Times is somewhat sobering, pointing out that the industry may be overly optimistic about the near-term revenue potential of the emerging
mobile media. First of all, the U.S. cell phone industry is not as advanced, technologically, as those in some other countries, The Times notes. That may prove to be an impediment
to moving product. Secondly, a number of surveys have turned up evidence that lots of phone users aren't really all that keen about using their hardware for entertainment purposes. The Times
points to a series of recent deals that suggest that while the action in the mobile market has been fast and furious (CBS, Fox, and ABC, among others, are making shows available for download),
optimism about the medium may be running a bit high at this point.
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