NY Times On Mobile Pornography

I was a bit dissappointed to find the NYT had followed the trend and published an article on adult content on mobile phones (the initial headline, “Ring Tones, Cameras, Now This: Sex Is Latest Cellphone Feature” did not inspire confidence). Happily the article was completely without hype and there’s a few things that I found interesting when contrasted with similar articles. The figures were described as “millions” not “billions”, and when it was pointed out how much the mobile porn market was expected to grow it was also pointed out that the “gee-whiz” figure of $196 million is “still meager compared with a projected $1.2 billion for ring tones“.
It appears that a lot of the companies seeking to supply adult content want to get onto the carriers deck, and believe it’s only a matter of time. I’m not sure I agree with that, but once carriers manage to make their portals completely customizable so people can choose which segments to put on there they will probably offer it as an option which isn’t available to minors.
I also liked this nugget of wisdom…”Mr. Kaplan, from Xobile, said the growth of Internet-based pornography for phones let major wireless carriers benefit from the activity – through the data charges when their customers download information – without having to sponsor it. “When you allow people access to Net by phones, the telecom companies are empowered with one of my favorite legal terms: plausible deniability,” Mr. Kaplan said.”
Related stories:
More Movement In Adult Mobile Content
Family Group Presses Wireless Content Issues
Preloaded Porn Promotes Phones

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