It rings, it plays, it has TV

While standing in line at the ATM "you might not want to watch an entire episode of 'Seinfeld,' " Greengart says, "but a 2-1/2-minute standup comedy routine could be compelling." Some companies are creating serials told in one- or two-minute episodes. Dubbed "mobi-sodes," they are suitable for viewing in a spare moment, such as waiting in a supermarket checkout line or at a dentist's office.

A video-equipped cellphone can be a mobile baby sitter, too. "I can tell you there's nothing better than sticking 'Sesame Street' in front of a 5-year-old," Greengart says.

As for what Americans can watch on their cellphones, Sprint offers Sprint TV, which includes programming from Fox News, Fox Sports, the Weather Channel, ABC, and other sources. Some of it is identical to the televised version; some is specially adapted for use on phones. The Weather Channel, for example, prints its text larger in proportion to the screen size than on TV to make it readable.

Early video on phones has been herky-jerky - "a slide show with audio," acknowledges Dale Knoop, manager for multimedia services at Sprint. But even before the arrival of 3G handsets, quality has greatly improved, he says. Sprint now sends its video at about 15 frames per second; a conventional TV signal sends 30 frames per second.

Two Minute Television is offering short original programs like "Genius on a Shoestring," "Adventures in Speed Dating," and "News with a Punchline," asking users to watch ads instead of pay a fee. SmartVideo Technologies, which is distributing the programming, claims a current rate of 15 to 18 frames per second. With 3G, that will rise to 24 frames.

Early signs from overseas indicate video-phone viewers have little tolerance for conventional ads, Mr. Steinbock warns. Advertisers must be entertaining or risk the wrath of viewers. "You don't want to turn on your mobile device just to be turned off by 10 advertising messages," he says.

Another cellphone development that could draw viewers: video projectors. This fall, Mitsubishi Electric will introduce its Pocket Projector. About the size of a digital camera, it attaches to a mobile phone. Using three advanced light-emitting diodes (LEDs), it can project the incoming video image onto a wall or desktop at sizes up to 40 diagonal inches.

To extend battery life, a consumer will probably turn it on only when he or she needs to display a big screen, as when playing an online video game, says Ramesh Raskar, a scientist at the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in Cambridge, Mass.

The device can also be attached to other mobile devices, such as DVD players or digital cameras, to let a group of people see a movie or snapshots more easily. Eventually, the projector may shrink enough to be built right into the phone.

In the end, though, what people will want most is a reliable way to communicate, Greengart says. "Does it have a camera, does it have a music player, does it have videos, is it a PDA [personal digital assistant], does it make me a sandwich? All those things are nice," he says. "But it has to be a phone first."

Three-quarters of the world live within range of mobile-phone services, but only one-quarter actually subscribe. Now, that's beginning to change, especially in Africa.

• The fastest-growing mobile-phone market is Nigeria, where by mid-2003 the number of mobile phones had grown 143 percent in a single year.

• It took 15 years for Britain to see mobile phones outnumber wire-line phones; it took Zambia five.

• There were 6 mobile phones for every 100 Africans in 2003, a far smaller ratio than for Europeans (55 out of 100), Americans (49), or Asians (15). But Africa has twice as many mobile phones to wire-line phones, a ratio no other continent can match.

• A group of mobile-phone networks is pushing manufacturers to come up with a $30 mobile phone for the developing world. Earlier this month, Philips Electronics said it would deliver key electronic components that could push the price below $20.

Sources: PC World; Vodaphone

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