January 22, 2005
Toons Go Mobile
More animation content providers are exploring the wireless frontier. Karen Raugust chronicles how wireless is creating a quiet animation boom in Animation World Magazine.
"[...] Animated applications — motion-based screensavers, ringtones, games and clips — are a growing component of mobile content for all types of brands".
One of the broadest mobile efforts to date is Marvel's just-announced deal with MFORMA to create content based on all of Marvel's 5,500 characters (except Punisher, which is under a preexisting deal with another publisher).
[...] Another recent streaming content deal involving animation is between Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment and multimedia content publisher Vidiator Technology. The partners will create wireless, streaming broadband content for carriers worldwide."
Related articles on mobile cartoons from around the world:
-- It's a mobile Marvel - Mforma has signed a multimillion dollar, multiterritory contract with Marvel that will mean its 5,000 comic-book characters will be available for the creation of new mobile games.
-- Charlie Brown Goes Mobile - FunMail plans to offer a downloadable "best of" anthology of the Peanuts Comics for $1.99 per month for unlimited viewing."
-- The Incredible Shrinking Comic - The next big thing in the comics world is the small cell-phone screen, according to Randy Dotinga reporting from the Comic-Con International in San Diego.
-- Cartoon Network introduces mobile TV in Italy - Italian mobile operator 3 will distribute Cartoon Network to its videophone subscribers.
-- KTF users can send cartoons on their mobile handsets - KTF (Korea) announced Wednesday its MMS or multimedia messaging service allows users to send cartoon mail on their cell phones.
-- mixipicts, cartoons for your mobile - A smart new animated messaging service for mobile phones has been launched by Glasgow-based company mixipix.
-- Mobile Phone Comic-books Launched - Net publishing firm iComic Press has launched a new technology which allows users to download interactive comic-books to their handsets and also provides the tools for artists to create and upload their own work.
-- Mobile Comics on Sprint - Sprint USA has launched a mobile comics service, in association with Funmail's Mobile Comics Networks. These daily comics include strips from household names such as Dilbert, Dick Tracy, Zits, Baby Blues, Momma and Beetle Bailey.
-- Kuwaiti mobile users get MMS Arabic cartoons - Wataniya Telecom has announced an MMS service offering Arabic cartoons and comics to mobile users in Kuwait. Called 'Action', subscribers will receive a weekly MMS cartoon
-- Dilbert comics on your cell screen - The Dilbert service offered by FunMail lets users receive a series of the funniest Dilbert comic strips, and store them in a virtual "archive" for viewing anytime they wish.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/01/006824.htm