Cell phone use could become free, if you accept ads

E-mail service via the cell phone is a major potential growth area, says Guy Bauman, vice president of content at cellular services provider Pelephone. Speaking on a panel on the future of mobile phone content, Bauman sees cellular e-mail service as just one aspect of the general growth for cell phone content applications.

Guy Ami-Ad, who is the CEO of cellular content company Mobi, has put his bets on the field of mobile phone advertising, and sees free cell phone use in exchange for the running of ads as a promising business model, a "freemium" as he calls it. He says this is the reverse of what occurred on the Internet, where free content developed first, followed by content for a fee. He considers the freemium cellular trend inevitable, pointing out that songs can already be downloaded onto a cell phone without charge by connecting it to a computer. Web use on the cell phone, he notes, is taking off in a big way.

The VP for cell phone development at Golden Pages, Zeev Gruber, has faith in global positioning technologies. When he is in his car, he explains, the system will tell him exactly where there is parking in the area or perhaps where to find discount gasoline. Not only will the system provide a positive experience to the customer, he says, but it will also generate revenue, because businesses will be willing to pay to appear on the system.

Restaurants will not only be interested in being featured, but might also provide information about discounts and special offers. Gruber expects cell phone-related services to generate 10% to 15% of the cellular-based revenues of Golden Pages within a few years, primarily from small and medium-sized businesses.

Panelists Dan Chen of Tapuz Mobile and Eran Hertzman of Mobixell saw a tremendous future in Internet access via the cell phone.