News

Downloading ringtones, games, on the rise

January 13, 2005

San Antonio Express-News: If you think all people are doing with those $250 cell phones are snapping photos and downloading J-Lo ringtones, you're a little out of touch.

News and entertainment companies from Maxim magazine and Sports Illustrated to CNN and the Food Network are developing content to make the screen on your cell phone look more like what you see when you surf the Internet or click on your cable TV.

And wireless carriers - faced with a blazingly competitive market - are rolling out those new features almost daily in an effort to differentiate their service from those of rivals. At the recent International Consumer Electronics Show, for instance, Verizon Wireless announced new phones specifically targeting gamers.

Sure, the idea of watching CNN news on a handset still isn't reality for most of us, but interest in advanced services from streaming audio and video to downloadable games is picking up quickly.

Last year, U.S. cellular subscribers spent $850 million on perks like ringtones, graphics and games, compared to just $350 million in 2003.

"The cell phone is transforming into a small, networked social computer," said Lewis Ward, analyst for IDC, the technology research firm that gathered those numbers. "What's happening is it's becoming the third screen. The first is the television screen, and the second is the screen of your PC."

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