(Another good reason to keep Bluetooth on your cellphone disabled when not
sync'ing with your computer or PDA.......rf)

A cell phone, a movie lobby and a message

By Andrew Zipern
http://news.com.com/A+cell+phone%2C+a+movie+lobby+and+a+message/2100-1039_3-
5792429.html 

Story last modified Mon Jul 18 06:01:00 PDT 2005

The promotional material can be picked up by anyone with a cell phone
equipped to handle Bluetooth, a form of short-range wireless transmission.

Downloading a full-length movie trailer from the kiosk takes about 30
seconds, and there is no fee from the phone's service provider. One ring
tone offered is an emphatic voice from the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" that
declares, "Protect the stones!"

Moviegoers can also download cell phone screen "wallpaper" of Brad Pitt or
Angelina Jolie in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." (Pitt has been downloaded more
often.)

"Everyone in the entertainment space is looking for creative new ways to
access consumers," said Grant Wakelin, chief executive of the WideRay, the
San Francisco company that developed the wireless technology behind the
service. "This is a cool new approach."

WideRay also struck a deal in October to provide mobile games to cell phones
via in-store kiosks at 100 Electronics Boutique retail stores. While video
game shoppers are a natural audience for Bluetooth downloads, the summer
movie crowd seems like a less obvious choice.

Although the companies involved would not release numbers on downloads,
Wakelin said that several hundred people a week elected to download some
material at each location. (Those who answer the call are asked if they want
to accept the download before proceeding.)

The Fox promotion is limited by the number of Bluetooth-compatible phones,
which, according to industry analysts, account for 10 to 15 percent of the
market. Gartner, a research company, predicts that by 2008, 60 percent of
all cell phones will be Bluetooth-enabled.

Entire contents, Copyright © 2005 The New York Times. All rights reserved.


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