Playtime on the Mobile Internet

There’s a time for work and a time for play. The mobile Internet is one of the most fascinating playgrounds in the world. You can use your phone almost anywhere, and have more fun with your phone than you could with your computer. From grabbing the latest ringtone or hit from Timbaland to Led Zeppelin on the Alltel Axcess mobile storefront to playing games such as Tetris or Downtown Texas Hold’em from EA Mobile, it’s just the tip of the mobile-Internet iceberg.

Mobile phones have become pocket-size multimedia computers. They have screens, keyboards, computer chips, and modems built right in, and they have access to the Internet through all the wireless carriers in the world. Almost every mobile phone model now made can keep you entertained for hours. The following sections describe just a few of the ways you can enjoy the mobile Internet while on the go.

Mobile games aren’t just for kids

It’s fun to be a kid again whenever you get the chance. And mobile games are one of the best ways to keep the kid in all of us playing away. Gameloft thinks so too: In 2007, it hit a milestone of selling more than 100 million mobile games. Hundreds of mobile game developers exist, with funky names like Glu Mobile (www.glu.com), EA Mobile (www.eamobile.com), and Sony Pictures Mobile (www.sonypicturesmobile.com) — yes, the same Sony that sells TVs, computers, and stereos — pumping out all kinds of games for you. They’re easy to get to on your mobile-Internet-enabled phones, and are available from all wireless carriers. You can spend a couple of bucks or pay as much as $10. And, you can grab them on your mobile phone while you’re waiting for the bus.

To give you an idea of what you can play, check out the Verizon Wireless list of Top 10 Mobile Games in 2007:

1. Tetris

2. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

3. Guitar Hero III

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

5. Need for Speed ProStreet 3D

6. Diner Dash 2

7. Assassin’s Creed

8. Madden NFL 08

9. The Simpsons

10. God of War: Betrayal

Rock ’n’ roll and hip-hop

With the mobile Internet at hand, you have access to your favorite tunes and music wherever you go. Whether you’re going for a walk, jogging, riding a bike, or just catching the next train to Georgia, you’re covered. Pick a favorite artist — any artist — she probably has a ringtone, a callback tone, or a full song available for you from your favorite wireless carrier. If you’re not on the carrier mobile portal, that’s no problem — you can subscribe to one of the hundreds of mobile storefronts, such as Jamster.com, ringtones.mobi, and MTV.com, to subscribe to and buy the music you love best. Mobile music tones and songs cost from $1 for a single tune to about $10 for a monthly subscription to all-you-can-eat (or listen to) services.

Lights, camera, action!

Suppose that you’re having fun with a few games and listening to some cool songs and then you see the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen right before your eyes. If you have a mobile phone with a camera built in, you’re in business. Take the shot and send it to your best friend right away. You can send it to her mobile phone or computer or upload it to your Facebook or Flickr site. It’s all ready to go with your mobile Internet connection

If the sunset outside your window has reminded you of the Young and the Restless TV episode you just missed, you can get the highlight clip from CBS Mobile and watch it before the moon comes up. All kinds of movie trailers, TV shows, and even made-for-mobile episodes (mobisodes) are available to download to your mobile phone. Companies such as MobiTV.com and traditional TV broadcasters — such as ABC, CBS (see the example shown in Figure 2-9), ESPN, and FOX — all have mobile videos produced to work on most mobile phones.

When you’re off to the movies, the mobile Internet can offer you a hand: Major movie studios are also making clips and trailers filled with your favorite movie stars and sidekicks. Here’s one cool feature: You view the movie clip of the latest Brad Pitt film, find on your mobile browser the next time slot that it’s playing at your local theatre, and buy the tickets to the movie and have them delivered directly to your phone. It’s a concept of the future, you say? You can do it today: Have it charged to your mobile phone bill or credit card at MovieTickets.com or the Fandango mobile service and you’re good to go.

TV episodes for your mobile phone: Mobisodes!

Mobisodesare short, made-for-mobile, TV-like productions in which each episode is specifically produced with a duration of no more than two to three minutes. Traditionally, mobisodes are highly edited short versions of TV shows and are intended to allow fans to view their favorite shows at any time and anywhere on a mobile phone. One of the first mobisodes produced was “Love and Hate” in January 2004, followed by “Sunset Hotel” and “24: Conspiracy,” a spinoff of the highly successful TV action drama 24. All were launched on the Verizon Wireless network in February 2005. Fox Mobile followed up with “Prison Break: Proof of Innocence” in April 2006, available on a variety of wireless carrier networks. Mobisodes are evolving from a mainstream TV extension to a made-for-mobile miniseries or event and casting a wide net that attracts consumers to their mobile phones regardless of whether they’re at home in front of a TV.