I once had a wise friend who predicted that one day it would be as easy to view streaming content on the web as it was to turn on a television. Because of broadband connectivity, that day is pretty much here. Granted, live Internet broadcasting isn’t perfect but it will be.

"Some bemoan the small scale of handheld screens but those tiny monitors are an almost perfect platform for delivering truly cloistered viewing."

Because of the web, we can view real-time adult content from the comfort of our domiciles and that’s pretty cool. However, cable and satellite networks are offering more explicit porn than ever before. While the web produces more graphic stuff than airwave networks, the whole idea of streaming smut hardly seems novel these days.

Mr. Smith can watch all the tranny fucking he wants from the privacy of his home. So what? So can Mr. Jones and Mr. Wilson and almost anyone in the connected world.

Then again, things aren’t that simple.

What if Mr. Jones is married? What if Mr. Wilson has kids? What if Mr. Smith is still living with Mom and Dad? What if one of these red-blooded souls wants to view their favorite porn in the back yard or on the patio? Maybe Jones wants to watch dirty movies in his hotel room but he doesn’t want the charges showing up on his expense account. Maybe Wilson would like to keep his bondage fetish a secret to his vanilla lover.

Porn may have permeated the culture but sexual activities are still pretty damned personal. People like their illusions because they own them. Sexual honesty and reality are fine but there’s a lot to be said for cerebral fantasy. Some things are better left private.

This need for intimacy is what helps drive the popularity of portable communication devices like PDAs and cellphones. Desktop PCs and notebooks aren’t really secluded environments if anyone is within 20 feet of your monitor. Users want to be able to read their email, check their bank balance and watch their porn in solitude. They want these things on demand and without cables or wires. Some bemoan the small scale of handheld screens but those tiny monitors are an almost perfect platform for delivering truly cloistered viewing.

This is why we at Cozy encourage you to explore the possibilities of selling adult content via cellphone. It’s not a fad. It’s a trend. It’s a trend that is evolving rapidly. Handheld and cellphone manufacturers come up with new technologies almost every three months.

For instance, did you know that pretty soon, you’ll be able to receive television signals through your Palm or download streaming broadcast content to your Nokia? Did you know that you will be able to outfit your portable with an antenna that picks up your local network news? Are you aware that very soon you’ll be able to see a boxing match via your cellphone on a pay-per-view basis?

There are two basic forms of cellphone television. There’s broadcast and streaming.

Technologists are perfecting portable broadcasting formats in the US, Asia and Europe. In Japan, they’re working on Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting ­ Terrestrial or ISDB-T. In Korea, they’re developing (Digital Media Broadcasting) DMB. Nokia is performing trials on DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) in Pittsburgh. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute just adopted DVB-H as a standard.

On the digital end, there are those that are already delivering content -in a streaming form- over handheld devices. Most work with to a format called 3G. Vodaphone, Verizon and Sprint are heavily exploring this format. These cellphone providers already have their billing infrastructure in place to accept payments from this evolving market.

Regular television feeds a transmission at a rate of anywhere between 25 and 30 frames per second. The DVB-H format broadcasts at up to 25 frames per second. Current cellphones and PDAs have processor chips as powerful as those desktop computers from yesterday, which covers the subject of capacity. Handheld makers are this close to making real-time imagery a reality.

The TV-cellphone-train is in sight. Mr. Jones, Wilson and Smith: Will you catch the ride? It might not last. However, television phones could become the norm. If so, you have another change to get in on the game while there’s room at the table. If you play your cards right, you could own the whole railroad!