War and Peace: The Cell Phone Version

For an article ostensibly about the emerging mobile content market in Russia, this piece is a great read for just about anyone. The piece details the content available (everything that you’d expect, but they make the point that people are willing to pay for pr0n on their mobile despite the fact it costs as much as a real stripper) and then continues into some interesting areas. “In one report on cell phone usage in developed Western and Asian markets, researchers discovered that customers had their cell phone in hand for an average of six hours a day but only talked for an hour and a half. One can’t help but ask what they were doing the rest of the time. Content is the key to answering this question”. I haven’t seen the report, but it’s an interesting figure. Of course, while a lot of that time would be games, many people now spend more time texting than they do speaking. Personally, I’m constantly looking at my phone because I don’t wear a watch, so it’s the only place I carry the time.
Anyway, mobile cocktails are mentioned – services that are “a mix of services that change and follow the events affecting our lives. They are local, frequently updated and adjusted distribution channels”. So, if you subscribe to a mobile cocktail of Pete Sampras or Anna Kournikova, for example, you’ll receive images, ringtones, news, games, contests, exclusive invitations and so on about the celebrity of your choice. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a celebrity, it could be anything. These cocktails change over time, updating as new events unfold.
Finally, the article outlines the different approaches taken by the big three mobile telcos in Russia to promoting mobile content. They range from tight control to open slather, and it will be interesting to see which approach succeeds, or whether they all find a niche. Anyway, get you to Gateway To Russia and peruse this article, even though it doesn’t mention ‘War and Peace’ or even novels after the headline.

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